LANCASTER – Lancaster Police Chief Richard Mendez released findings on the use of force in a March 2 incident. Officers observed a group of 10-15 juveniles riding bikes across all lanes of traffic, impeding traffic flow. They recognized these individuals from an earlier incident. Officers approached two juveniles who were asked to provide their names and were not fully cooperative, stating that they did nothing wrong. They were arrested for disorderly conduct as result of them not being cooperative and yelling. One officer attempted to place one juvenile into a handcuffing position, placing them on their stomach using soft open-hand techniques then placed their knee on the juvenile’s lower back to prevent the juvenile from turning back on the officer. The soft open hand technique requires the least amount of force to effectively and safely arrest someone. The second officer directed the other juvenile to put their hands behind their back in order to place them in handcuffs. The juvenile resisted, which resulted in the officer rolling them onto their stomach. After reviewing reports from the officers on scene, body camera and dash cam footage, Lancaster Police determined the use-of-force in the incident was justified and within policy guidelines.
