Lancaster City Police Department via Reuters
- Protests erupted in Lancaster Pennsylvania after a local police officer shot a man several times when responding to a domestic 911 call on Sunday.
- The Lancaster City Bureau of Police released the bodycam footage of the incident and said an officer shot at 27-year-old, Ricardo Munoz because he “had a knife in his right hand as he was chasing the officer.”
- Munoz, according to his sister who said he battled mental health issues, was having “an episode,” and a non-emergency police number was called “to get him some help.”
- “Yesterday was a heartbreaking day in our city,” Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace said on Monday. “My heart breaks for Ricardo Munoz’s family and the devastation it brought our community.”
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Protests erupted in Lancaster, Pennsylvania after a man was fatally shot by a local police officer who had been responding to a domestic incident on Sunday.
Lancaster City Bureau of Police responded to a 911 call and arrived at the scene in Lancaster City at around 4:20 pm after a caller said “her brother was reportedly becoming aggressive with his mother and was attempting to break into her house,” according to authorities. The man was identified as 27-year-old, Ricardo Munoz, according to the Lancaster District Attorney Office.
Munoz’s sister, Rulennis Munoz, told Lancaster Online that her brother had been dealing with mental health-related issues for years including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She told the outlet that she was trying to get her brother some assistance when she called the non-emergency police number on Sunday.
“He had an episode. He was just incoherent and acting out,” Munoz told Lancaster Online. “I called to find out what the procedure was to get him some help.”
According to police and body camera footage released by the bureau, an officer shot the man multiple times as he was running away from the man who was chasing with "a knife in his right hand." The Lancaster District Attorney Office confirmed that they are conducting an investigation into this incident.
The officer who shot Munoz has been placed on administrative leave, Lancaster Online reported.
Munoz was facing charges and was on trial for an incident where he stabbed several people during an altercation in 2019, the outlet reported.
—Lancaster DA (@Lancaster_DA) September 14, 2020
Protests erupt in Lancaster
Demonstrators gathered at Lancaster police station on Sunday night after the shooting, The Associated Press reported. Local journalists who were on the scene tweeted live footage of tensions between local police and protesters. According to Lancaster Online, authorities used tear-gas several times as protests in response to Munoz's death continued overnight.
—Carter Walker (@CarterLNP) September 14, 2020
Lancaster police issued a statement regarding their decision to use "chemical agents" on protesters.
"The group failed to follow the instructions and chemical agents were used to disperse the crowd," police said in the statement. "Members of the crowd damaged a county vehicle parked in the front of the police station. Bricks were thrown through the front of the police station and into the post office window."
Officials respond to unrest
"Yesterday was a heartbreaking day in our city. My heart breaks for Ricardo Munoz's family and the devastation it brought our community," Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace said in a Monday press conference. " A life was lost and lives were forever changed including the officer involved."
—City of Lancaster (@cityoflancpa) September 14, 2020
The Lancaster DA issued a statement on Monday regarding the aftermath of the protests. Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams said, "This office fully supports the right to gather and peacefully protest, however, the riotous behavior exhibited last night is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
—Lancaster DA (@Lancaster_DA) September 14, 2020
Adams continued: "Such lawless conduct only takes away from those working with the community to address issues worthy of discussion. Make no mistake, those who cannot peacefully protest and instead resort to violence will be prosecuted and held fully accountable."