Aaron Rainey Obituary, Death; – Authorities have provided additional information regarding the fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred outside Friends Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia. The incident took place shortly before 12:30 p.m. on March 20, in the 4600 block of Roosevelt Boulevard.
At the time, two officers were escorting 36-year-old Aaron Rainey from Philadelphia to the hospital for a voluntary self-committal. Upon arriving at the hospital’s rear driveway, one officer opened the back doors of the transport vehicle and began to explain the self-committal process to Rainey. During this interaction, officials report that Rainey became increasingly upset and agitated.
Suddenly, police state that Rainey charged at one of the officers, knocking him to the ground, which led to a physical struggle involving all three individuals. Officials allege that Rainey attempted to seize one officer’s Taser and firearm. In response, Officer Thomas Thompson deployed his Taser, which appeared to have no effect.
At this juncture, police assert that Rainey gained control of the other officer’s gun, prompting both officers to distance themselves from him. It was then that Officer Thompson discharged his weapon, hitting Rainey, who reportedly fired the stolen gun at Officer Thompson but missed.
During the confrontation, the other officer, a 30-year-old with five years of service, was struck in his bulletproof vest. Preliminary investigations suggest that the projectile that hit the injured officer’s vest was fired from Officer Thompson’s weapon. It has been confirmed that the injured officer did not fire his weapon during the incident.
Rainey was transported to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was later declared deceased. Both officers were taken to Temple University Hospital for treatment and have since been released.
Officials noted that they possess video footage from both Friends Hospital and the body-worn camera of the injured officer. Officer Thompson, aged 37, has been with the Philadelphia Police Department for nine years.
