Philadelphia police officer shot during June traffic stop in Kensington dies

Last updated on Sept. 11, 12 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia police officer who was shot in the neck during a traffic stop in Kensington nearly three months ago has died, the police commissioner announced Tuesday night.

Commissioner Kevin Bethel said Police Officer Jaime Roman died in the hospital on Tuesday surrounded by his family.

Roman was critically injured on June 22 after a traffic stop turned violent. Roman and another officer pulled over a car near F and Tioga streets for unregistered tags, which had to be towed.

Officers must search a car before towing, per police protocol. Authorities said everything was fairly calm for about a half-hour until the pair noticed an empty gun holster in the car. They tried to confront the driver about it but he took off running.

They chased the driver — later identified as 36-year-old Ramon Rodriguez Vasquez — but he fired three shots toward them, hitting Roman in the neck, police said. The other officer returned fire but the driver continued running.

Roman was rushed to the hospital and put on life support, where he remained until he succumbed to his injuries Tuesday night.

Rodriguez Vasquez faces a long list of charges, which now includes murder as well as evading arrest and other offenses related to a home invasion he completed while fleeing police.

Roman, 31, was two weeks shy of his seventh anniversary with the police force. He leaves behind a wife and two children, ages 4 and 7.

City officials became choked up as they remembered Roman at a city press conference Wednesday morning. Bethel said Roman, who grew up in Philly, always wanted to be a cop. He was in the hospital room when Roman took his last breath Tuesday night.

“Jaime was a good man,” he said, “and I am sure if his father was sitting here, he’d say it.”

“We ask them every day to go do a job for the people of Philadelphia,” added Mayor Cherelle Parker. “We ask them to protect and serve us to the best of their ability, and it’s a very, very difficult job.”

City officials are planning Roman’s funeral and will have more details to follow. For now, the mayor has ordered all city flags be flown at half staff.