After the police shooting of knife-wielding Ricardo Munoz in Lancaster, PA on Sunday, there were protests outside the police station which quickly got out of hand. In response to vandalism and arson, police eventually made 13 arrests:
The disorder outside the Police station escalated as suspects continued to throw items at Police Officers as well as cause damage to the Police station, a parked vehicle and the front of the US Post Office building. We have also been receiving calls all morning from downtown business owners as they discovered damage from vandalism to their businesses.
Officers continued the use of chemical munitions in efforts to disperse the rioters as the suspects piled street signs, trash cans, a metal dumpster, a metal bike rack, pieces of plywood and a wooden pallet at the intersection of N. Prince St. and W. Chestnut St. The suspects filled the dumpster with additional trash bags, as well as the wood, and set the contents on fire.
Officers made a total of (8) arrests ( The updated total is 12 adults and 1 juvenile ) related to the arson/riot outside of the Police station.
Some photos of the damage:
Damage to police station and post office pic.twitter.com/2fvdzU3xnm
— Carter Walker (@CarterLNP) September 14, 2020
The judge in the case apparently decided not to give these individuals any chance of getting out of jail before their trials. He set bail for nine of them at $1 million:
Magisterial District Judge Bruce A. Roth set bail for nine of the defendants – Newman, Jones, Montague, Modderman, Gessner, Patterson, Enterline, Fry and Davis – at $1 million apiece, with court records showing all were unable to post.
They’re being held at the Lancaster County Prison.
Bail information was not available for Lopez and bail was set at $100,000 for Wise, who was also unable to post.
Police said Gaston was on probation and a detainer would be lodged against him.
One of the local activist groups for whom Taylor Enterline (bottom right) has been an organizer argued that this bail amount was unjust:
Taylor Enterline has been standing up for racial justice since 2018, when the Lancaster Police Department brutally tased Sean Williams while he was sitting on the sidewalk.
— Lancaster Stands Up (@lancstandsup) September 15, 2020
On Sunday night, eyewitnesses reported she and her friend Kathryn Patterson were serving as medics when police charged at them with guns drawn.
— Lancaster Stands Up (@lancstandsup) September 15, 2020
Lancaster Online reports that one of their fellow activists is claiming that’s what happened:
Alaak Deu, who has led protests throughout the county since the police killing of George Floyd, was with Patterson and Enterline when they got arrested.
Deu said Patterson and Enterline, who are both members of civil rights organization Green Dreamz, were helping protesters as medics throughout the night. They did not set any fires and remained entirely peaceful throughout the evening, Deu added.
I don’t know if that’s true but it’s a long way between acting as medics and what the County DA has charged her with doing. Here are the charges:
Arson (F1), Institutional Vandalism (F3), Riot (F3), Failure to Disperse (M2), Obstructing Highways and Other Public Passages (M3), Disorderly Conduct (M3) and Defiant Trespass (M3). (additional counts of Criminal Conspiracy for all charges is included on the complaint)
I guess we’ll see if any of these charges get dropped. The group went on to accuse police of “a politically motivated attack” on activists.
The absurdly high bail amounts indicate that what we're seeing is not a measured pursuit of justice, but a politically motivated attack on the movement for police reform and accountability.
— Lancaster Stands Up (@lancstandsup) September 15, 2020
The group’s plea for help resulted in the Lieutenant Gov. of Pennsylvania saying the bail amount violated the 8th Amendment.
The 8th Amendment of U.S. Constitution:
“Excessive bail shall not be required”
Ms. Enterline’s bail amount is blatantly unconstitutional. https://t.co/jtWeDBLhJj
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) September 15, 2020
I’ve seen some people suggesting the bail amounts could drop substantially at the next hearing. We’ll have to wait and see. But for now, authorities in Lancaster, PA are not playing around with rioters the way cities like Seattle and Portland have.
