NORRISVILLLE, Pa., Sept. 18 (UPI) -- An off-duty transit police officer shot and killed a neighbor in a quiet Philadelphia suburb during an argument over a near-collision, officers said.
Darryl Simmons, 48, told investigators that he fired at Joseph McNair Jr. after McNair reached into the back of his car as if he were going for a gun, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Simmons then called 911 and waited at the scene for the ambulance and state police.
McNair had a history of run-ins with Simmons and other neighbors in Perkiomen. In January, Kevin Rodzinak shot one of McNair's Rottweilers because the dog was attacking a Jack Russell terrier.
Simmons said that when they had their confrontation Wednesday McNair threatened him, saying "You're not built for this. I'll blow you away."
Simmons' lawyer held a news conference Thursday to portray McNair as a violent man with a long arrest record. But the dead man's cousin, the Rev. Lewis Nash Sr., said that Simmons could have remained in his car instead of getting out and shooting McNair.
A 22-year veteran of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, Simmons has been put on desk duty while the shooting is investigated.