PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia police officer has died of his wounds, nearly three months after being shot in the neck after stopping a vehicle while on duty, city officials said.
Officer Jaime Roman, 31, who spent 80 days in intensive care without regaining consciousness, died Tuesday night. Roman leaves behind a wife, a 7-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son. He had been with the department for nearly seven years.
In a statement released Wednesday, the department said the driver was removing personal belongings from the vehicle in the city's Kensington neighborhood on June 22 when Roman noticed an empty holster on the floorboard.
The driver, Ramon Rodriguez Vazquez, 36, of Philadelphia, then ran away, and Roman and his partner chased after him, city police said. Rodriguez Vazquez “then turned and fired three shots,” hitting Roman, according to police.
Rodriguez Vazquez forced his way into a home, where police arrested him.
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said murder charges would be filed against Rodriguez Vazquez.
Rodriguez Vazquez was previously charged with attempted murder, assault, gun offenses and other counts. George Jackson, a spokesperson for the Defender Association of Philadelphia, which represents Rodriguez Vazquez, declined to comment Wednesday.
Fellow officers stood outside Temple University Hospital to honor Roman Tuesday night as a vehicle drove his body to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office.
At a news conference Wednesday, Mayor Cherelle Parker vowed to “not allow his death to be in vain” and ordered city flags to be flown at half staff.
Department leaders at the news conference remembered Roman as a vibrant person who could light up a room, and who had always wanted to be a police officer.
Law enforcement investigate the shooting of Philadelphia Police officer Jaime Ramos in Philadelphia on Saturday, June 22, 2024. (Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Law enforcement investigate the shooting of Philadelphia Police officer Jaime Ramos in Philadelphia on Saturday, June 22, 2024. (Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
This undated photo provided by the Philadelphia Police Department shows Philadelphia Police Officer Jaime Roman. (Philadelphia Police Department via AP)
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Franz Wagner scored 23 points, Cole Anthony came off the bench with 18 points and the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 96-76 on Wednesday night to clinch seventh place in the Eastern Conference and the top spot in the play-in tournament.
Baylor Scheierman and Payton Pritchard scored 15 points each to lead the Celtics, who did not use their top six players and made 7 of 40 3-point shots.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford did not play for the Celtics.
Paolo Banchero had 15 points and six assists for the Magic. It was Wagner’s 12th straight game of scoring 20 or more points.
76ERS 122, WIZARDS 103
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jeff Dowtin Jr. scored a career-high 30 points and Philadelphia snapped a 12-game losing streak with a victory over Washington.
Lonnie Walker IV had 24 points for the 76ers, who won despite a lengthy list of injured players that included Joel Embiid, Paul George, Eric Gordon, Kyle Lowry, Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain and Andre Drummond.
Dowtin, a Washington, D.C.-area native on a two-way contract for Philadelphia, played for the 76ers for the first time this month. He went 11 of 15 from the field and made four 3-pointers, surpassing his previous career high of 24 points from March 14 against Indiana.
Tristan Vukcevic led Washington with a career-high 24 points. The Wizards were without Jordan Poole, Khris Middleton, Corey Kispert, Bilal Coulibaly and Malcolm Brogdon. Marcus Smart was not listed on the injury report, but did not play.
RAPTORS 126, HORNETS 96
TORONTO (AP) — Jonathan Mogbo had 17 points, a career-high 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the first triple-double by a rookie in the NBA this season, helping Toronto beat short-handed Charlotte.
Jared Rhoden scored 23 points in the Raptors’ ninth straight home victory over the Hornets. Scottie Barnes added 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Raptors finished 18-23 at home.
AJ Lawson scored 14 points and the Raptors matched their biggest margin of victory this season. Toronto also had a 30-point win at Brooklyn on March 26.
Nick Smith Jr. had 28 points and 10 rebounds and Jusuf Nurkic added 26 points for Charlotte. The Hornets have lost five straight and seven in a row in the road.
LAKERS 112, MAVERICKS 97
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 45 points in his first game in Dallas since being traded to Los Angeles, helping the Lakers wrap up a playoff spot with a victory over the Mavericks.
Doncic’s emotional return came two months after a seismic trade out of nowhere that sent the five-time All-Star to Los Angeles. The 26-year-old star from Slovenia spent his first 5 1/2 seasons with the Mavericks, and still had two seasons left on his contract.
The 45 points matched Doncic’s season high — he did that once for Dallas and one other time for the Lakers. He also had eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.
LeBron James had 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers fell behind before a strong finish.
Anthony Davis, who went from the Lakers to Dallas in the Doncic heal, had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Naji Marshall led the Mavs with 23 points and eight assists.
BULLS 119, HEAT 111
CHICAGO (AP) — Josh Giddey dominated with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists and Chicago beat Miami in a game with heavy seeding implications.
Giddey extended a career high with his seventh triple-double as the ninth-place Bulls (37-43) moved a game ahead of Miami in the Eastern Conference. They also pulled within a half-game of Atlanta for the eighth seed. The ninth-place team gets a home game against the 10th seed in the play-in tournament. The winner then visits the loser of the game between the seventh and eighth seeds.
Kevin Huerter scored 22. Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 11 rebounds. Coby White scored 18 and Matas Buzelis finished with 17 points, helping Chicago win for the eighth time in 11 games. They also completed a three-game season sweep of the Heat.
Miami had won seven of 10 after dropping 10 in a row.
Tyler Herro scored 30. Bam Adebayo had 18 points and Davion Mitchell scored 17.
JAZZ 133, TRAIL BLAZERS 126
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Kyle Filipowski scored 30 points including a dunk that sent the game into overtime and grabbed 18 rebounds as Utah snapped a nine-game losing streak with a win over Portland.
Brice Sensabaugh added 22 points and Keyonte George had 18, including eight in overtime, for the Jazz.
Shaedon Sharpe had 37 to lead Portland, but missed three critical free throws in the final minute of regulation.
Rayan Rupert added 19 for the Blazers.
SPURS 114, WARRIORS 111
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Harrison Barnes made a 3-pointer at the buzzer after committing a foul moments earlier that could have cost his team, and San Antonio stunned Golden State.
Draymond Green made two free throws with 3.1 seconds left to make it 111-all after Barnes fouled him, then the veteran guard let it fly over Jimmy Butler and was immediately swarmed by his teammates when the horn sounded.
Keldon Johnson made a go-ahead layup with 11 seconds left after tying the game with 32 seconds remaining and finished with 21 points.
Butler scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and converted 16 of 17 free throws and Stephen Curry scored 30 with five 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds, but this loss could jeopardize Golden State securing a top-six playoff seed and avoiding the play-in tournament.
Stephon Castle also had 21 for San Antonio.
Green contributed 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists but the Warriors lost a critical game at home for a second straight time.
THUNDER 125, SUNS 112
PHOENIX (AP) — Jalen Williams scored 33 points, Chet Holmgren added 22 and short-handed Oklahoma City beat Phoenix, eliminating the Suns from the playoff race.
Phoenix will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020 despite having a roster that included the high-priced All-Star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
The Thunder have already wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and were without several key players on Wednesday, including All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, defensive star Luguentz Dort and center Isaiah Hartenstein.
That didn’t stop them from topping the Suns, who have lost eight straight.
NUGGETS 124, KINGS 116
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Nikola Jokic had his 32nd triple-double of the season with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists and Denver beat Sacramento in the Nuggets’ first game since head coach Michael Malone was fired.
Christian Braun scored 25 points and Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. each had 21 points to help Denver end a four-game losing streak and complete a season series sweep of Sacramento.
With two regular-season games remaining, the Nuggets (48-32) are tied with the Clippers for the No. 4 playoff seed in the Western Conference.
CLIPPERS 134, ROCKETS 117
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — James Harden had 35 points and 10 assists and streaking Los Angeles beat playoff-bound Houston for their sixth straight win.
The Rockets had already locked up the No. 2 seed in the West and will be making their first playoff appearance since the 2020 bubble in Florida. They rested most of their starting lineup, including Dillon Brooks and Alperen Sengun.
Ivica Zubac had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Clippers, his first career triple-double and the third by a center for the team. Kawhi Leonard returned with 22 points and 10 rebounds after sitting out Tuesday to rest his surgically repaired right knee. Nicolas Batum added 15 points, including the Clippers’ first 12 of the second quarter, before leaving with a sore right groin.
Reed Sheppard led six Rockets in double figures with 20 points.
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) dunks the ball against the Boston Celtics during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)
