City cop fired, charged with assault, terroristic threats

John King couldn't keep his cool when he got into a spat with a hospital security guard in 2009, and it ended up costing him big time.

King, a veteran Philadelphia police officer who had 14 years on the job, was booted from the force yesterday by Commissioner Charles Ramsey.

The 54-year-old officer was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, terroristic threats and related offenses for his alleged role in a confrontation inside Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital.

King was off duty and not in uniform when he walked into the hospital, on Cedar Avenue near 53rd Street, on Oct. 14, 2009.

A security guard asked him to sign in at the visitor's entrance, and King got physical, the District Attorney's Office said.

A brief fight ensued, and King allegedly pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the guard, police said.

King, who had worked in Southwest Philly's 12th District, surrendered to investigators yesterday.

He's the 15th Philadelphia cop in the last year to be arrested and fired from the force.