Ricardo Munoz, 27, was shot and murdered on a Sunday afternoon in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when officers were responding to a domestic dispute. Protesters packed the streets of Lancaster almost soon after the deadly officer-involved shooting, asking for “justice” and forcing the release of the officer’s body camera video of the event.
According to cops, they got a 911 call from Munoz’s sister, who said that her brother was becoming angry with his mother and was attempting to break into her home. Police were called to the 300 block of Laurel Street in downtown Lancaster. The first officer to arrive made contact with a lady in the house, but it wasn’t long before he was confronted by Munoz.
Ricardo Munoz broke through the front door in a couple of seconds, coming at the officer with a knife in his right hand, according to authorities. As the officer escaped the knife-wielding guy, he opened fire, hitting and killing Munoz. Protesters gathered in the streets that night, demanding “justice” for the man killed by cops.
Protesters marched approximately a mile from the site of the tragic shooting on Laurel and Union streets to the Lancaster Police Department, flinging bricks, shattering windows, and vandalizing police vehicles. The District Attorney’s Office and the Lancaster City Police Department did not delay in releasing the bodycam video as the demonstrations swiftly became disruptive and violent.
Ricardo Munoz is obviously seen holding a huge knife, attacking the officer, and waving the blade over the officer’s head in the officer’s bodycam clip. As the officer tries to run, he shoots, killing Munoz on the spot. Although the situation seems clear-cut, the district attorney’s office said that the incident was being investigated to see if the force used was lawful.
Lancaster mayor Danene Sorace said in a statement that for the city, it has been a devastating day. She mourns the loss of life and understandss that there will be more questions as the investigation progresses, urging the public to be calm and stating that the cop involved in the shooting had been put on leave. The DA also attempted to defuse tensions, but to no effect.
Unfortunately, this did nothing to quell the discontent in Lancaster. Rather, bricks were thrown through the front doors of the police station and post office, protesters vandalized a Lancaster County vehicle parked in front of the station, and a crowd gathered on an access ramp near the station, prompting officers to ask them to move and issue numerous warnings that “chemical munitions” would be used.
Protesters gathering outside the station hurled traffic cones, huge plants, and garbage cans over the ramp, prompting cops to recommend that “people avoid the area around the police station.” Officials eventually followed through on their warning, using pepper spray on the crowd when they failed to disperse, ‘physically confronting officers who were attempting to evacuate individuals off the ramp,’ according to police.
What is really terrible is the knifeman’s past and the reality that it was overlooked by those who wanted to create a martyr out of him.
Ricardo Munoz stabbed and critically wounded four people, including a youngster, a year before he was shot and murdered by police. Munoz was pending a criminal trial on four counts of severe assault at the time of his death, and he had prior accusations of stalking, harassment, and illegal trespassing.
When the cops arrived at the location after the stabbing, they saw Munoz standing outside a house with a knife to his neck. Authorities ordered Munoz to drop the knife, yet he refused and attempted to leap over a guardrail. The cops used a taser to subdue him and took him into prison.
Following the stabbing, Ricardo Munoz was freed, allowing him the opportunity to attack again. This time, though, he was apprehended before claiming another victim. Unfortunately, this makes no difference to those who want to present a certain narrative whenever cops are compelled to use fatal force to protect themselves. I’d simply want to question them about what they would have done if they had been on the receiving end of Munoz’s sword.
