A white city police sergeant made up a story about being shot by a black man while on patrol last month and actually intentionally shot himself for unknown reasons, the city's police commissioner said Tuesday. 
 
 Sgt. Robert Ralston, 46, confessed to making up the story and will have to pay the costs of the massive manhunt that followed, Commissioner Charles Ramsey said. Ralston has been suspended with intent to dismiss, but will not face criminal charges because granting immunity was the only way to obtain his confession, Ramsey said at a news conference. 
 
 The case was especially troubling, Ramsey said, because Ralston identified his supposed attacker as black. When Ralston confessed Tuesday, he said he made the claim so his story would be more believable, Ramsey said. 
 
 "He wanted the story to be consistent with the environment he was in," a largely African-American neighborhood, Ramsey said. "I am troubled by this whole situation. ... He violated the trust the people have given him." 
 
 The commissioner said investigators aren't really sure why Ralston intentionally shot himself. 
 
 "He did not give a reason for doing that ... he denied that he was trying to get attention," Ramsey said. "He said he first considered shooting himself in the chest, but he thought better of it." 
 
 A telephone listing for Ralston had been disconnected and he could not immediately be reached for comment by The Associated Press. 
 
 Ralston, a 21-year veteran, told police he was on patrol in the city's Overbrook section early on April 5 when he stopped two black men for questioning along some railroad tracks. 
 
 He told investigators that one of the men put a gun to his head, but that he knocked the weapon away and suffered a graze wound to the shoulder when it fired, investigators said. Both men fled, he said. 
 
 Police combed the neighborhood for hours looking for the men. Officers never stopped or arrested anyone matching Ralston's description of the gunman, Ramsey said. 
 
 Investigators quickly found inconsistencies in his story. Forensic evidence didn't match Ralston's story, and gunpowder on Ralston's shirt matched the kind of powder used by the department, Ramsey said. 
 
 The Fraternal Order of Police had put out a $10,000 reward for information leading to the alleged suspect. 
 
 On Tuesday, FOP President John McNesby condemned the sergeant's actions, saying they took away from the good work of police officers. 
 
 "Nobody knows what he was thinking to do something like that," McNesby said. "He wasted a lot of time, a lot of manpower. It could really stir up a lot of stuff in the city when you don't really need it." 
 
 District Attorney Seth Williams commended Ramsey's decision to suspend Ralston and said the goal was getting to the truth. 
 
 "Unfortunately, we could only arrive at the truth through his statement given to the police and that statement cannot be used against him," Williams said. "We took a badge and a gun from a person whose actions proved him unfit for either." ||||| Sgt. Robert Ralston, who said he was shot in the shoulder after a gun was put to his head on April 5, 2010. 
 
 A Philadelphia police sergeant who said he was shot last month by an unidentified black man in the city's Overbrook section actually fabricated the entire story and shot himself, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said this morning. 
 
 Sgt. Robert Ralston, a 21-year veteran of the department, admitted to homicide detectives early this morning that his previously reported story was false. 
 
 Ramsey called the incident, "a terrible and embarrassing chapter in our history." 
 
 Asked why Ralston concocted the tale and injured himself, Ramsey said he didn't know. 
 
 "There's some speculation he did it to get attention, or to get transferred," Ramsey said. 
 
 Ralston will be suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss, Ramsey said. Ralston, married with five children, will face no criminal charges in the case, because he was offered immunity in exchange for his confession. 
 
 Ralston will also have to pay the cost of the massive manhunt that was sparked by his tale on April 5, Ramsey said. Police spent hours combing the West Philadelphia neighborhood for possible suspects, but no one was formally questioned or arrested. The Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 5, posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the suspect. 
 
 Ralston said he was on patrol in the early hours of April 5 when he stopped two men for questioning. One of the men ran, the other drew a gun and put it to Ralston's head, he told police. Ralston said he knocked the gun out of the way and it went off, grazing him in the shoulder. He told police he shot at the man as he ran off and possibly struck him. 
 
 From the start, police said the facts of the case didn't add up. There was powder residue on his shirt that matched his own service weapon, indicating he was shot at close range. His reaction to the shooting also drew suspicion, and police said he seemed eager to cast himself in the role of a hero. 
 
 Ramsey said Ralston's badge number would be retired, and that no other officer would ever wear the same number. 
 
 Ralston apparently described his assailant as black because the area where the shooting took place is predominantly African-American, the commissioner said. 
 
 "It's troubling in a lot of ways," Ramsey said. "It inflames racial tensions in our community, and that's certainly something we don't need." 
 
 Ramsey said it was fortunate that officers never stopped or arrested anyone matching Ralston's description of the gunman. 
 
 Contact staff writer Allison Steele at 215-854-2641 or asteele@phillynews.com
– A white police sergeant in Philadelphia has admitted that he made up a story about being shot by a black assailant and instead purposely shot himself in the shoulder, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. "There's some speculation he did it to get attention, or to get transferred," said the city's police chief, who called it a "terrible and embarrassing chapter in our history." Sgt. Robert Ralston originally said that after he stopped two men for questioning, one pulled a gun and aimed at his head. He said when he knocked the gun away, it went off and grazed him. That set off a huge manhunt before the details of Ralston's story fell apart, notes AP. Ralston has been suspended and is expected to be fired. The 21-year veteran won't face criminal charges, but he must reimburse the city for the cost of the manhunt.