Sergeant Christopher D. Fitzgerald
Temple University Police Department, Pennsylvania
End of Watch Saturday, February 18, 2023
CHRISTOPHER D. FITZGERALD
Sergeant Chris Fitzgerald was shot and killed while struggling with a suspect near 1700 W Montgomery Street in Philadelphia at about 7:30 pm.
Sergeant Fitzgerald was patrolling the area when he saw three masked individuals in dark clothing standing in an area where several robberies had recently occurred. As he exited his patrol car to speak to them, all three fled on foot. He pursued one of the subjects and began to struggle with him in the 1700 block of W Montgomery Street. The man produced a handgun and shot Sergeant Fitzgerald multiple times.
The subject then attempted to steal Sergeant Fitzgerald’s duty weapon, belongings, and patrol car before carjacking a citizen several blocks away. Sergeant Fitzgerald was transported to Temple University Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.
The man who shot him was arrested at his home in Bucks County early the next morning. He was charged with the murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking, and several other offenses.
Sergeant Fitzgerald had served with the Temple University Police Department for 16 months and previously served with the Philadelphia County Sheriff’s Office for two and a half years. He also served with the Sugar Land Police Department (Texas) and as a Lehigh County Corrections Officer. He is survived by his wife, four children, mother, father, sister, and brother.
His mother and father retired from the Philadelphia Police Department. Currently, his father serves as the police chief of the Regional Transportation District Police Department in Denver, Colorado, and his mother is a Criminal Investigator assigned to Special Crimes in Tarrant County, Texas.
He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.