Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey showed no remorse over the alleged bad behavior of a former "hero" cop who is now being held on a $60 million dollar bail -- charged with sex assaults at gunpoint. (Published Monday, May 20, 2013) 
 
 Former Philadelphia police officer Richard DeCoatsworth, once honored by President Barack Obama for his heroism, remains in jail on $60 million bail for allegedly raping two women -- forcing one into prostitution. 
 
 Now, NBC10 has learned the City of Philadelphia is spending more than $1.5 million defending itself against DeCoatsworth's checkered past on the force. 
 
 Law enforcement sources say DeCoatsworth had nine citizen complaints against him over his nearly five year stint with the department. The complains, sources say, included allegations of assault, abuse and misconduct. 
 
 Issues with the 27-year-old began to arise in 2005 when he was in the Philadelphia Police Academy. DeCoatsworth allegedly injured a Girard Avenue business owner during a fight. However, he was allowed to remain a recruit despite the allegations. 
 
 Former Hero Officer Charged With Rape 
 
 A former Philadelphia Police Officer once hailed a hero is now in jail on $60 million bail after he allegedly raped two women at gunpoint. NBC10's Katy Zachry has the latest details. (Published Sunday, May 19, 2013) 
 
 In 2007 as a rookie officer, DeCoatsworth was severely injured after being shot in the face. After being shot, he managed to chase down the suspect for several blocks before collapsing. He called in enough information by radio that police were able to track down and arrest the suspect later the same day. 
 
 His actions earned him an invitation from Vice President Joe Biden to attend President Obama’s first congressional address at the U.S. Capital in February 2009. The officer sat in the gallery with First Lady Michelle Obama during the speech. He was also honored by his peers as a 2008 Top Cop. 
 
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 Soon after, though, he was involved in two more dramatic incidents. 
 
 In April 2009, police say DeCoatsworth was jumped and attacked by a man when he tried to disperse a crowd at the Logan section of the city. During the struggle, sources say DeCoatsworth’s gun went off and hit the suspect who took off running. Another officer responding to the scene shot the suspect dead, according to sources. 
 
 Bail Set at $60M for Hero Officer Charged With Rape 
 
 Bail was set at $60 million Saturday for a former Philadelphia police officer Richard Decoatsworth who has been charged with raping two women at gunpoint. NBC10's Nefertiti Jaquez reports on the developing case. (Published Sunday, June 9, 2013) 
 
 In September 2009, DeCoatsworth and another officer stopped a man on a motorcycle in the Kensington section of the city. While they were questioning him, a second man allegedly jumped on the motorcycle and drove at the officers. Police say DeCoatsworth shot at the suspect, who sped off. The suspect was found later at the hospital where his mother had taken him to be treated for a shotgun wound. 
 
 During the incident, local witnesses claimed the two suspects did nothing wrong and that DeCoatsworth and the other officer acted recklessly -- shooting while children were nearby. 
 
 In November 2011, Internal Affairs investigated an alleged scuffle between DeCoatsworth and another officer, according to Philly.com. 
 
 DeCoatsworth retired from the police force on disability back in December 2011. 
 
 Hero Officer Charged With Raping Women 
 
 A former Philadelphia police officer once hailed as a hero and given a seat next to the first lady at a speech by President Obama has been arrested and charged with raping two women and other crimes. Former officer Richard DeCoatsworth was arrested and charged Saturday with rape, sexual assault, terroristic threats and related offenses. NBC10's Cydney Long reports. (Published Saturday, May 18, 2013) 
 
 In February of 2012, an arrest warrant was issued for DeCoatsworth after he allegedly threatened a woman in Port Richmond. 
 
 The most recent incident began two weeks ago after DeCoatsworth allegedly met a woman at a bar on North Front Street. Police say the former officer forced the woman into prostitution at a Days Inn hotel along Roosevelt Boulevard in the Lawncrest section of the city. 
 
 Then, between 2 a.m. Thursday and Friday evening, DeCoatsworth went to the woman’s home along North Howard Street in the Fishtown-Kensington area, according to a law enforcement source close to the investigation. 
 
 Once he arrived, DeCoatsworth allegedly forced that woman and a second woman, both in their 20s, to use drugs and perform oral sex on him at gunpoint. The alleged victims reported the assault Friday only after DeCoatsworth went home, according to police. 
 
 Hero Officer Arrested 
 
 A former Philadelphia Police Officer once hailed a hero was arrested on Saturday for allegedly holding two women captive. NBC10's Katy Zachry has the details. (Published Saturday, May 18, 2013) 
 
 Police raided DeCoatsworth’s house on the 2700 block of Salmon Street in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. 
 
 He was arraigned and charged with rape, sexual assault, terroristic threats and other related offenses. Police also confiscated drugs and guns from the home, according to a source. No word yet on what kind of drugs were removed from the home. 
 
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 According to court documents, bail was set at $25 million for each of the alleged victims. Another $10 million bail was set in a separate domestic violence case DeCoatsworth is now being charged with, according to investigators. 
 
 Police say he assaulted his live-in girlfriend on May 9. The $60 million bail is reportedly one of the highest set in Philadelphia history. 
 
 DeCoatsworth faces more than 32 crimes in all three cases. He is scheduled for another court appearance on June 17. 
 
 One of DeCoatsworth’s neighbors said she was relieved to hear about his arrest. 
 
 “I am scared to be saying this now but I hope he stays where he is at, he has been a thorn in the side of this neighborhood for so long,” said the woman who did not want to be identified. 
 
 Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's Office says of the nine complaints lodged against DeCoatsworth -- one resulted in a lawsuit. The suit alleged DeCoatsworth used aggressive behavior while on the job. 
 
 The city settled that suit for $1.5 million. However, officials say Philadelphia has accrued other legal costs related to DeCoatsworth. 
 
 Last year, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told police he believed he failed DeCoatsworth by letting him go back to work with a stressful unit too soon after he was shot in the face. 
 
 "I think I screwed up on that," Ramsey told the Daily News. "I think I should have given him more time. He didn't want more time but I should have done that." 
 
 In light of his most recent arrest however, Ramsey had much harsher words for DeCoatsworth on Monday. 
 
 "He has to be held accountable," Ramsey said. "Just like anybody else. There should be no special consideration given simply because he once served as a police officer." 
 
 DeCoatsworth is being held on $60 million bail. A figure that is rarely seen in the U.S. criminal justice system. 
 
 Philadelphia District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Tasha Jamerson said prosecution did not request a high bail amount, rather that DeCoatsworth be held without bail. 
 
 “Being held without bail is the highest bail situation you could face as a defendant in Philadelphia," Jamerson said, “At DeCoatsworth's arraignment on Saturday, we requested that he be held without bail, but the judge instead chose to impose bail at $60 million.” 
 
 Other high-profile cases, including federal trials held in Pennsylvania, have included large sums, but none are near what the 27-year-old is held on. 
 
 While many with similarly egregious crimes are held without bail, some are held on bonds that reach into the millions of dollars. 
 
 Christina Regusters, the 20-year old woman charged with abducting and raping a 5-year old girl in Cobbs Creek, is currently held on $4 million bond. 
 
 Ariel Castro, the Ohio man who is facing four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape for holding three women captive in his home for a decade, is held on only $8 million. 
 
 While DeCoatsworth is listed as being represented by a public defender, family members are currently helping him acquire an attorney. 
 
 NBC10's Emad Kahlil contributed to this report. ||||| Get the latest Philly.com Daily Headlines newsletter delivered to your email. Sign up now! 
 
 Richard DeCoatsworth in happier times, as he joined first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden at a presidential address in 2009. (Associated Press/File) 
 
 A retired Philadelphia police officer once hailed as a hero and invited by Michelle Obama in 2009 to sit next to her during the president's State of the Union address has been arrested and charged with raping and holding two women captive for two days. Richard DeCoatsworth, 27, was taken into custody early Saturday. When police arrived at his Port Richmond house on the 2700 block of Salmon Street, DeCoatsworth, who was armed, went to the basement to open a garage door and let out his pit bull, a law enforcement source said. The dog ran away after police fired two flash grenades. DeCoatsworth, discarding his gun, ran into the bedroom, where there was a loaded shotgun. Police subdued and arrested him without incident, the source said. DeCoatsworth had been under investigation by the Special Victims Unit after two women alleged that he forced them to use drugs and engage in sexual activity. 
 
 The women said they came into contact with DeCoatsworth about 2 a.m. Thursday at a party, said Officer Christine O'Brien, a police spokeswoman. They left the party with him, and the three went to another location. 
 
 Police did not identify the site of the party or say where the alleged crimes took place. 
 
 At the second site, DeCoatsworth took out a handgun and allegedly forced the two women "to engage in the use of narcotics and sexual acts," O'Brien said. 
 
 The women reported the incident to police, and DeCoatsworth was charged with rape, sexual assault, terroristic threats, and related charges. His bail was set at $60 million. 
 
 The women told police DeCoatsworth had held them captive for two days, according to the law enforcement source. 
 
 It was a long fall from grace for the former officer, who in 2007 was lauded as a hero. 
 
 2009 tribute 
 
 As a 21-year-old rookie, DeCoatsworth took a shotgun blast to the face and, bleeding heavily and returning fire, pursued his attacker for several blocks before collapsing and radioing for help. 
 
 The gunman, Antonio Coulter, was caught and later pleaded guilty in the shooting. DeCoatsworth underwent extensive surgery and returned to duty in June 2008. 
 
 His heroism in that case led to an invitation to sit next to the first lady during the president's 2009 address. 
 
 DeCoatsworth then became involved in two controversial incidents in which he shot at suspects. In April 2009, he shot Anthony Temple when the man lunged for his gun, police said, and a backup officer then shot and killed Temple. 
 
 The following September, he wounded a man in a leg who allegedly ran at him on a motorcycle. 
 
 DeCoatsworth racked up a number of Internal Affairs complaints, and he retired in December 2011 at age 25. He left, a police spokesman said at the time, due to injuries from the 2007 shooting. 
 
 'Something like this' 
 
 Some in the Police Department had feared DeCoatsworth was badly troubled. One officer said DeCoatsworth's unpredictable behavior and temper had led some in the department to view him as a time bomb. 
 
 "I hate to say it, but I did see something like this coming," the officer said Saturday. 
 
 Neighbors at a diner down the block from DeCoatsworth's home said he had been known to behave erratically. A woman who asked not to be named said she avoided the former officer after an incident in the fall in which his pit bull allegedly charged at her chihuahua. 
 
 "From the look in his eyes," she said, "I was terrified." 
 
 Shattered glass from DeCoatsworth's door spilled out over his front steps Saturday afternoon, and people inside refused to answer the door. When two people left the apartment, they declined to comment. 
 
 Contact Jonathan Lai 
 
 at 856-779-3220, jlai@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @elaijuh. 
 
 Inquirer staff writer Allison Steele contributed to this article.
– In 2007, now-former Philadelphia police officer Richard DeCoatsworth was hailed as a hero for chasing down a suspect after being shot in the face. Yesterday, he was arrested on charges of rape, sexual assault, and terroristic threats, as police raided his home, also confiscating guns and drugs, NBC Philadelphia reports. According to police, DeCoatsworth met two women at a party, then is alleged to have pulled a gun on them and forced them "to engage in the use of narcotics and to engage in sexual acts." His bail was set at $60 million. DeCoatsworth received a "Top Cops" award in 2008 and was promoted to an elite highway patrol unit following his act of bravery. But he retired from the force in 2011, after accruing a large number of Internal Affairs complaints and two controversial incidents where he shot at suspects, reports the Inquirer.