Ex-Philly Cop to Stand Trial in Bizarre Imprisonment Case
Former Philadelphia Police Officer Kevin Corcoran has been ordered to stand trial on charges of false imprisonment, stemming from an incident in Center City in March.
The bizarre tale began, appropriately enough, outside the food market that’s also known as the “Cop Shop.” Roderick King was walking with three friends around 2 a.m. near 13th and Lombard when he says Corcoran almost hit them with his car after making an illegal turn. One of his friends yelled something.
That’s probably where the story should have ended, and King and his friends would have forgotten it by now. Instead, King and another friend testified, Corcoran got out of his car and started getting aggressive. When King began filming the altercation, he says Corcoran cuffed him, threw him in an SUV and took him to a dark alley. He says he wasn’t told he was under arrest.
King says he was released after telling Corcoran he was an Air Force vet. Corcoran was later fired from the police force.
The indefatigable Fortunato Perri, Corcoran’s defense lawyer, says the case is over money.
Defense attorney Fortunato Perri said all the charges should be dropped because his client did what he thought was reasonable at the time and ultimately gave King a break by not charging him.
“Officer Corcoran is an innocent man. He’s a good and decent Philadelphia police officer, he loves his job and we’re satisfied that at the end of the day he will be acquitted of all of the charges,” Perri said after leaving court.
King and his friends have filed a federal suit against the city.