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Lancaster police chief: Officer was justified in using deadly force when confronted by man with knife
WGAL ^ | 15 September A.D. 2020 | Meredith Jorgensen

Posted on 09/15/2020 5:45:56 PM PDT by lightman

LANCASTER, Pa. —

Lancaster police Chief Jarrad Berkihiser said an officer who shot and killed a man armed with a knife was in imminent danger of losing his life and acted appropriately.

The police shooting death of 27-year-old Ricardo Munoz on Sunday was captured on an officer's body cam.

Looking at that body cam video, Berkihiser said his officer's actions were justified.

"There's been some question about, you know, where was the officer's backup? And should the officer have waited for backup? And that's a good question, and we can't always wait for backup," he said.

Berkihiser said the officer responding to the 911 call also had no way of knowing Munoz's mental health history when approaching the house on the 300 block of Laurel Street. Munoz's family said he was a paranoid schizophrenic.

"In this instance, the officer took his time walking up so he could try and assess what was going on, and he responded to the imminent threat that he perceived. There is no magic word, phrase that we can say to automatically stop somebody in their tracks from doing whatever they're doing. We have no control over somebody's free will," he said.

The department practices deescalation as part of its use of force policy, but Berkihiser said the officer didn't have a chance.

"A lot of people talk about deescalation. There was no time to verbally deescalate. He was being chased by an individual with a knife," he said.

The chief thinks it would have been a mistake to send a social worker alone to the house, saying that person would be dead.

Mental health agencies and police departments have to work together, Berkihiser said, but he also wants to work together with the community.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: lancaster; lancasterpa; lancsaterpa; leoshooting; mentalhealth; munoz; paping
Well stated, SIR!
A cop's cop and a Chief's chief.

1 posted on 09/15/2020 5:45:56 PM PDT by lightman
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To: fatima; Fresh Wind; st.eqed; xsmommy; House Atreides; Nowhere Man; PaulZe; brityank; Physicist; ...

Pennsylvania Ping!

Please ping me with articles of interest.

FReepmail me to be added to the list.

2 posted on 09/15/2020 5:46:50 PM PDT by lightman (I am a binary Trinitarian. Deal with it!)
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To: lightman

21 foot rule. Bye asshole.


3 posted on 09/15/2020 5:48:50 PM PDT by Equine1952
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To: lightman

Knives are lethal weapons, as well

I dont know why people do not understand it

Or think gun always beats knife


4 posted on 09/15/2020 5:54:41 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: lightman

“When an unarmed man comes at you with a knife....” - Joe Biden


5 posted on 09/15/2020 5:55:54 PM PDT by CrappieLuck
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To: lightman

A hammer is a lethal weapon

A baseball bat is a lethal weapon

A screwdriver is a lethal weapon

A rope is a lethal weapon

A car is a lethal weapon

A sucker punch is a lethal weapon


6 posted on 09/15/2020 5:57:11 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: lightman

Sad that speaking the plain truth is considered a revolutionary act. I defy anyone to watch the bodycam video and point out where the officer made a bad decision or had time to try a different tactic. I’m amazed the woman made it out of the house safely.


7 posted on 09/15/2020 5:57:28 PM PDT by jz638
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To: lightman

Doesn’t matter; any excuse for a riot.


8 posted on 09/15/2020 6:02:23 PM PDT by SkyDancer (~ Pilots: Looking Down On People Since 1903 ~)
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To: Secret Agent Man

As a police officer said fifty years ago....”A knife is always loaded!”


9 posted on 09/15/2020 6:02:24 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar

And it has a built-in silencer


10 posted on 09/15/2020 6:03:12 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: lightman

Which NFL helmet is he on?


11 posted on 09/15/2020 6:07:49 PM PDT by bray (Pray for President Trump)
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar

As a young teen, the gun rack for the family guns was in my bedroom. I also had my collection of knives hanging nearby.

I was okay with a friend wanting to look at a gun. Double check that they were unloaded and hand it to them. I didn’t let them handle the knives - they were sharp!


12 posted on 09/15/2020 6:10:17 PM PDT by 21twelve (Ever Vigilant. Never Fearful!)
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To: lightman
"A lot of people talk about deescalation. There was no time to verbally deescalate. He was being chased by an individual with a knife," he said.

I've called for bodycams on police at all times, an end to no-knock warrants, and an end to qualified immunity to curb police abuses. But if I or anyone else wants to come running at a cop with a knife, we deserve to get shot.
13 posted on 09/15/2020 6:21:57 PM PDT by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: AnotherUnixGeek

Pull a knife on me at 21 feet or closer and bitch me out. I will shoot you. No now wait, let’s talk, it’s on. Period. I ain’t a cop.


14 posted on 09/15/2020 6:43:19 PM PDT by Equine1952
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To: Equine1952

The guy was mostly unarmed as he only had one hand on the knife. I guess he was mostly not shot, too, as the bullet hole(s) only comprise a tiny fraction of his body. So, everybody’s good and not committing violence.


15 posted on 09/15/2020 7:46:21 PM PDT by arthurus ( covfefe-!F|oo*n)
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To: arthurus

Okay, you get a knife and threaten someone and advance. Then you can say goodbye asshole. You have to be the dumbest ass out there.


16 posted on 09/15/2020 8:42:49 PM PDT by Equine1952
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To: Equine1952
Pull a knife on me at 21 feet or closer and bitch me out. I will shoot you. No now wait, let’s talk, it’s on. Period. I ain’t a cop.

I'll go further - pull a knife on me at any distance visible to me and come toward me, and I'll use a hammer, a bat, a garbage can, anything within range that can inflict serious harm on you and get you down if I don't have a gun handy. Nobody should sit around waiting to see if a knife-wielding lunatic is just bluffing when he comes running at you. The cop absolutely did the right thing, and the bodycam footage proves it.
17 posted on 09/15/2020 9:18:44 PM PDT by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: lightman

18 posted on 09/15/2020 10:32:15 PM PDT by rfp1234 (Caveat Emperor)
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>> had no way of knowing Munoz’s mental health history

So who made the 911 call? An unknowing neighbor?


19 posted on 09/15/2020 10:40:04 PM PDT by Gene Eric (On Don't be a statist!)
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