The hero cop facing rape charges sat next to first lady Michelle Obama four years ago. Now, the “top cop” is “in jail on $60 million bail after he allegedly raped two women at gunpoint.” NBC Philadelphia reports on May 19, 2013, that “the $60 million bail is reportedly one of the highest set in Philadelphia history. Decoatsworth faces more than 32 crimes in all three cases.”
“A source tells NBC10 former officer Richard DeCoatsworth, 27, met one of the women at a bar on North Front Street two weeks ago, then forced her into prostitution at a Days Inn hotel along Roosevelt Boulevard. Between 2 a.m. Thursday and Friday evening, DeCoatsworth went to the woman’s home along North Howard Street in the Fishtown-Kensington area … Once he arrived, DeCoatsworth forced that woman and a second woman, both in their 20s, to use drugs and perform oral sex on him at gunpoint. … The alleged victims reported the assault Friday only after DeCoatsworth went home, according to police.”
Around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, police raided the former hero cop’s home on the 2700 block of Salmon Street in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia and confiscated drugs and guns from his home.
The $60 million bail for the former hero cop consists of $25 million for each of the two female victims and $10 million for a separate domestic violence case that the hero cop is being charged with. The former “top cop” is also accused of having assaulted his live-in girlfriend on May 9, 2013.
In 2007, Richard DeCoatsworth, who was still a rookie at the Philadelphia Police Department, was hailed as a hero and “top cop” after he was shot in the face with a shotgun but still pursued his attackers who were then caught and later sentenced to 36 to 72 years in prison.
In 2008, the Philadelphia Police Department rewarded Richard DeCoatsworth for his heroism, promoted him to an elite highway patrol unit, and he received the “Top Cops” award from the National Association of Police Organizations.
In 2009, Richard DeCoatsworth was invited by Vice President Joe Biden to attend the president’s televised February 2009 address to Congress and he sat next to first lady Michelle Obama.
In April of 2009, “police say DeCoatsworth was jumped and attacked by a man when he tried to disperse a crowd at the Logan section of the city. During the struggle, sources say DeCoatsworth’s gun went off and hit the suspect who took off running. Another officer responding to the scene shot the suspect dead.”
In September of 2009, the “top cop” was involved in a second incident during which “another officer stopped a man on a motorcycle in the Kensington section of the city. While they were questioning him, a second man allegedly jumped on the motorcycle and drove at the officers. Police say DeCoatsworth shot at the suspect, who sped off. The suspect was found later at the hospital where his mother had taken him to be treated for a shotgun wound.”
According to local witnesses, however, the two suspects were described as having done nothing wrong and Richard DeCoatsworth and the other officer were said to have acted recklessly and shooting even though children were nearby.
In November of 2011, an Internal Affairs investigation was conducted after Richard DeCoatsworth and another officer got into a fight. Additional complaints by citizens accusing the “top hero” of assault, abuse, and misconduct eventually led to Richard DeCoatsworth disability retirement from the police force by December of 2011.
In February of 2012, an arrest warrant was issued for former hero cop Richard DeCoatsworth after he allegedly threatened a woman in Port Richmond.
After Saturday’s arrest of the so-called hero cop, one of Richard DeCoatsworth’s neighbors expressed her relieve about the former cop’s arrest. “I am scared to be saying this now but I hope he stays where he is at, he has been a thorn in the side of this neighborhood for so long.”
