Fired Philly cop found guilty of obstruction of justice for 2013 arrest of war veteran


MENSAH M. DEAN

The Common Pleas Court jury of five women and seven men found Corcoran not guilty of two other charges - false imprisonment and official oppression.
Corcoran, 34, a 10-year police veteran at the time of his dismissal in March, could receive up to 1-to-2 years in jail when sentenced Jan. 9 by Judge Robert Coleman. He remains free on bail.
The two-day trial centered on Corcoran's clash with Roderick King and three of King's friends on 13th Street near Lombard just after 2 a.m. on March 31, 2013.
King, 31, an Air Force retiree, testified that Corcoran arrested him and took him for a ride to a darkened street after he and his friends complained that the officer nearly hit them with his marked SUV as they crossed 13th Street.
Corcoran testified that he arrested King for being drunk and disorderly, but he released him after King tearfully told him that he had served in Iraq - working on F-15 fighter jets.
"I felt bad for the guy . . . I said, 'I'm going to cut you a break,'" Corcoran testified Thursday.
King testified that he was not drunk and felt at the mercy of an enraged cop who slapped cellphones from his hand and a friend's hand during the dust-up.
Corcoran did not charge King with a crime and failed to document the incident, according to trial testimony.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Bonner said the charge Corcoran was convicted of speaks to his arrest of King and his slapping the vet's cellphone to the ground.
"I think he was just one rogue police officer that, by no means, represents the entire Philadelphia Police Department that otherwise has outstanding officers that protect and serve every day," Bonner said after leaving court.
Defense attorney Fortunato Perri Jr. said he planned to appeal because he believes the jury verdict is "inconsistent based on the evidence."
He added: "He was acquitted and exonerated of all the underlying offenses, so it would be inconsistent for him to be found guilty of obstruction of justice having to do with those offenses he was acquitted of."
Corcoran, a married father of two, appeared downcast upon seeing each juror stand to affirm the verdict.
His conviction marks the second week in a row that a former city cop has been found guilty of a crime.
Last week, Richard DeCoatsworth, 28, was convicted of simple assault. His ex-girlfriend testified that the once-celebrated cop punched and choked her during a May 2013 argument.