Roxborough Man Says Off-Duty Cop Unjustly Held Him At Gunpoint

ROXBOROUGH, PHILADELPHIA — A Roxborough man is calling for a Philadelphia Police officer's termination after he said the officer searched him at gunpoint while off duty after the man put paper in the officer's trash can.

In a Philly.com report, Roxborough's Sammy Parker said he was held up by Philadelphia Police Officer Anthony Barbera on April 11 on Leverington Avenue.

Parker said he was collecting mail from his former residence on Leverington Avenue and threw a piece of junk mail in a trash can on the street, according to Philly.com.

That's when Barbera came out of his home and told Parker to freeze, held him at gunpoint, and searched his pockets.

Philly.com reports Barbera thought Parker was an identity thief rummaging through his trash.

Barbera has been reassigned and his gun taken away as police investigate the incident.

Parker, according to Philly.com, wants Barbera removed from the force.

"I want him off the street," he told the outlet. "He has to pay for this. God forbid I had a heart attack. I take medicine to stay alive every day, and this guy wants to pull a gun on me?"