The New York Police Department defended itself yesterday amid speculation that one of its police officers might not have died on Monday if the department had responded to a request from the Philadelphia’s Police Department to extradite the suspect in the fatal shooting.

“We checked our records in November 2003, all of December 2003, January 2004. We have no correspondence from Philadelphia,” New York’s police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, said following one of yesterday’s two police promotion ceremonies dedicated to the memory of the fallen officer, Dillon Stewart.

The suspect, Allan Cameron, has been a wanted man in Philadelphia since he failed to appear in court in 2003 to face aggravated assault and resisting arrest charges, a spokesman for the Philadelphia Police Department, Inspector William Colarulo, said. Mr. Cameron has been arrested several times in New York City in addition to the Pennsylvania bust.

Philadelphia authorities claimed to have faxed a request for Mr. Cameron’s extradition at the end of 2003, according to published reports.

Mr. Kelly said that Philadelphia authorities did not notify the New York Police Department about the extradition request and that they failed to input the suspect’s name into a national warrant database, the National Crime Information Center. “They never, and up until this morning, 9 o’clock this morning, never filed a warrant in the NCIC database, the national database,” Mr. Kelly said. “So, we wouldn’t have done anything if we didn’t have a warrant filed in the NCIC database.”

On Tuesday, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office charged Mr. Cameron with murder for the shooting death of Stewart, after Mr. Cameron allegedly ran a red light and led police on a chase through the streets of East Flatbush. Mr. Cameron was also charged with attempted murder for the shooting of an off-duty police officer, Wiener Philippe, during a November 19 robbery near the officer’s Crown Heights home.

When asked whether the circumstances surrounding Mr. Cameron provide evidence of a weak relationship between law enforcement agencies in the two states, Governor Pataki said: “It’s the 21st century. It should not be that you can commit a crime in one state and move to another state and not be held accountable as a convicted felon. And we have the computer technology.” Mr. Pataki, who backs the death penalty for anyone convicted of slaying a police officer, spoke to reporters yesterday after paying a visit to the 70th Precinct, where Stewart worked during his five years as a police officer.

Mr. Pataki’s visit to the Brooklyn precinct followed one from the Reverend Al Sharpton, who brought flowers, signed a memorial book, spoke with the precinct’s commanding officer, and addressed reporters outside.

“We felt what happened to Louima was an example of insensitivity and injustice,” said Rev. Sharpton, who last visited the precinct in 1997 after police officers beat up Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant, after his arrest outside a Brooklyn nightclub. “And what happened to this officer was insensitivity and injustice, and something that can’t be tolerated in our community.”

As the Police Department and Stewart’s family planned for his funeral, now slated for early next week, Mayor Bloomberg promoted Stewart to a detective at the afternoon promotion ceremony in recognition of the officer’s “remarkable heroism.” Mr. Bloomberg said Stewart displayed “exceptional bravery,” “presence of mind,” and “devotion to duty.” The upgrade will provide Stewart’s wife with a pension of $80,000, a $21,200 increase.

Mr. Kelly commended Stewart’s “courage” and “tenacity,” saying Stewart “stayed focused. He stayed the course.”