Off-duty police officer intentionally run down after dispute at ex-girlfriend’s Mt. Airy home [Updated]

Police officers in North Philadelphia’s 22nd Police District mourned the loss of one of their own Monday morning when they learned Officer Marc Brady died hours earlier in what appears to be a domestic dispute turned fatal.

Brady, 32, was riding a bicycle near the intersection of Musgrave Street and Meehan Avenue in Mt. Airy around 11:31 p.m. Sunday when he was allegedly intentionally struck by a white Acura.

He was transported to Albert Einstein Medical Center where he was declared dead at 12:05 a.m. Monday.

Afternoon press-conference details

At a brief 4 p.m. press conference in the Roundhouse lobby, Commissioner Charles Ramsey and Homicide Division Capt. James Clark identified the driver as Kareem Alleyne, 35, of the 900 block of E. Price St. He is currently dating Brady’s ex-girlfriend, police said.

After speaking with investigators following the collision, Alleyne was charged with homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter.

Clark stated that Brady was riding toward his ex-girlfriend’s home when Alleyne, driving the other direction on Musgrave Street, veered to hit him head-on just before 11:40 p.m. Investigators said that was the first time the men had seen one another that day.

Brady, who was on administrative duty resulting from an unspecified departmental investigation, suffered severe head trauma.

Brady and Allenye “had bad blood between them,” said Clark, who also noted that investigators “believe it was a chance encounter” on Sunday night.

“Nothing justifies taking the life of another human being under these circumstances,” said Ramsey, who noted that Brady will not receive a formal departmental burial as he was off duty at the time of the incident.

Early reaction

While homicide investigators interviewed the alleged killer Monday morning, 22nd District Commanding Officer Roland Lee said fellow officers were jolted by the death, which comes just days after police Officer Brian Lorenzo was laid to rest following a fatal collision on I-95 while returning home, in uniform, after a shift.

“He was well-liked by his fellow officers,” Lee said of Brady at the district’s headquarters, located at 17th and Montgomery streets in North Philadelphia. “He was a quiet person, but well-respected. He’ll be deeply missed.”

Brady graduated from the police academy in May 2004. Several months later, he was assigned to the 22nd District as a patrol officer.

“Nobody deserves to die like that. He was just trying to do the right thing, to be there for his kids,” said Lee, noting that Brady is survived by six children.

Neighbor reacts

Thomas Wilson, who has lived on Meehan Street for three years, was inside his home watching the news when he saw the instantly recognizable blue-and-red lights bouncing off buildings on the block.

He said he heard a dull crash but, thinking it to be a possible fender-bender, paid it little mind.

“It wasn’t too much action on the block. Nobody was out here,” said Wilson as he stood on his front porch Monday morning.

After later learning that Brady had died just two houses away, Wilson said, “I feel for the cop’s family.”

Background

According to a report from 6abc, Brady was “being investigated internally by the Philadelphia Police Department, though the details of that investigation have not been released. Authorities say he had been on desk duty pending the outcome of the investigation.”

In Nov. 2010, Brady was shot in the leg following a wee-hours altercation on Musgrave Street, but police did not say whether that incident was related to Sunday night’s fatal collision or the internal investigation.

At the afternoon press conference, Ramsey acknowledged that Brady had been shot (and was on “administrative duty” at the time of his death) but could not link Sunday’s incident to the shooting, for which no arrests have been made.