Allentowns Finest or Worst you Decide

 

An Allentown Officer was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon on an individual who allegedly had his hands up but then was struck in the face by the officers gun.

The story according to the press conference is officers were chasing this suspect in a vehicle, the vehicle crashed and the man was ordered out. The suspect put his hands in the air. The officer approached the unarmed suspect and hit him in the face with his gun.

I’ll error on the side of caution before making a final opinion.  It is important to hold judgment until all the circumstances are brought out along with evidence and body cameras. 

What is alarming is that this is the third Allentown officer to be charged this year.  The borage of allegations of corruption within the department are too numerous to ignore.

So where does the blame fall? 

Chief Roca does not appear to be an effective leader.  It is evident that he cannot run his department. Is his lack of disciplining officers the cause of some of these allegations or is he protecting cronies from his earlier days? 

Rumors have circulated on social media sites that another officer recently was punching a man in handcuffs. Where are his charges?  I am amazed APD is charging one of its own since they appear to cover up any wrongdoing.

I’m curious if an attorney looks into the background of these officers.  What kind of background check is actually performed before awarding a shield and gun?  Is this there first time of an allegation like this?  If so is it truly an accident or some other reason to justify it?  Or was this bad training with a history of excess force complaints that have been swept under the rug? 

Im on the fence of my initial opinion of this incident.  Too many outstanding factors, and questions not answered.  My one question tho would be, are police allowed or supposed to have their weapon that close to someone’s  face, or does it depend on the situation?

I will say if the video shows what reports are saying, this officer is in big trouble.  I will also add from my point of view the Chief and Mayor are unskilled in running an organization.