ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office is not planning to investigate a police use-of-force incident in Allentown. A video showing police restraining a manusing a knee outside of a local hospital sparked protests in the community and captured national attention. WLVR’s Tyler Pratt has more.
Lehigh Valley activists have called for an additional review after the Lehigh County district attorney and police department found no wrongdoing by the officers involved. A representative from the attorney general’s office says the AG cannot legally open an investigation without a referral from the local district attorney.
Justan Parker with Lehigh Valley Black Lives Matter says the group is reaching out to elected officials demanding further review of the incident. And they’re also calling on the police department to release the body camera footage from the officers involved.
“We do plan to be louder, we plan to be more vocal - we’ve been chanting no justice no peace and really we’ve gotten no justice so it’s time for the city of Allentown to have no peace,” said Parker.
Parker and other protesters banged on the windows outside Allentown’s city councilmeeting last week, as councilmembers read letters from the public for hours that criticized the way police handled the interaction. Activists are setting their sites on the next council meeting at the end of July, when a discussion of a resolution proposing changing police policies is on the agenda.
