Eric Ruch Jr. (Philadelphia Police Department) PHILADELPHIA - A first-degree murder charge filed against a former Philadelphia police officer in a deadly shooting has been dropped, according to court documents.Former officer Eric Ruch Jr.
still faces a number of charges, including third-degree murder in the Dec. 2017 shooting death of Dennis Plowden in 2017. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner had first announced the charges in Plowden's death in October.On the night of the incident, police say plainclothes officers in an unmarked vehicle observed a white sedan that police have said was wanted in connection with a homicide.