It was a beautiful Spring weekend in Lancaster City and the officers of the Lancaster City Police were out and about doing what they do best–keeping the City safe!
Officer J Hatfield kicked off the weekend just before 1 AM on March 19th. Responding to an active disturbance, Officer Hatfield watched as an adult male took a handgun from the inside of a car, put it in his waistband, and went to leave the area. Officer Hatfield immediately followed after him and bravely kept pursuing as the male removed the handgun and threw it over a fence. The man, a felon unable to possess a firearm, was quickly caught and his handgun was retrieved.
About half an hour later, Officers Ryan Yoder and Matthew Deibler took action when they saw a group of juveniles meandering about the 100 block of Locust Street. When officers went to speak with them, the group scattered in separate directions. As he was being pursued by Officer Yoder, one of the juvenile males removed a handgun from his waistband and threw it to the ground. He was arrested shortly after and found with a significant quantity of marijuana, crack cocaine, and heroin as well as just over $1,400.
At about 2:30 AM on March 20th officers responded to the 200 block of E Liberty Street after receiving a report of a group of people breaking into parked vehicles. As Officer Jonathan Reppert was in the area he saw a group of juvenile males running from the area. Officer Reppert chased one of the males and quickly saw that he was armed with a handgun. Officer Reppert courageously chased the male through several dark alleys. Knowing that the male was trying to hide, Officer Reppert coordinated responding officers around the area to prevent the male from escaping. The plan worked as the male was unable to escape the watch of Officer Reppert and ran himself into being captured by Officer Tyler Chubb. After the arrest, Officer Eric Erb looked into a nearby yard and found the male’s discarded handgun. Officer Benjamin Strausser located a second handgun which had been thrown by another individual during a separate foot chase.
A little over an hour later, a convicted felon thought it was his lucky day as he found a handgun laying in the street. Unfortunately for him, a citizen watched the adult male conceal the gun and immediately called the police. Officer Eric Erb was able to locate the male and directed Officers Benjamin Rothermel and Grant Gale to him. The handgun was found, discarded by the male, several feet away. Upon his arrest, the male was also found to have a quantity of heroin.
These are just four examples of the great work our officers put in every day. Thank you to all of our officers for your hard work and courage. Lancastrians will have an easier time taking in the fresh spring air knowing that these guns, drugs, and criminals are off of the streets.