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A Pennsylvania police chief was temporarily relieved of his duties for pulling a gun on a motorcyclist while off-duty and in street clothes in a caught-on-camera incident.
Manheim Township Chief of Police Duane Fisher was placed on administrative leave by the department after video surfaced of his April 30 confrontation with Benny Pena-Rivera.
The 24-year-old motorcyclist was riding around town when he pulled over in an alley behind a building and heard someone threatening to shoot him, he claimed.
“All I heard was, ‘On the ground. On the ground, or I will shoot you,'” Pena-Rivera told WGAL.
The video, obtained by the outlet, captured an armed Fisher stepping out of his car with his gun drawn at the unsuspecting rider.
Fisher, with the gun still drawn, walked up to the rider and grabbed him with his left arm, pinning him between his bike and an exterior wall, according to the video.
“While he is slamming me on the electric panel, he still has his gun in his right hand, having it over here,” Pena-Rivera told the local station, pointing to his collarbone. “I’m telling him, ‘Don’t shoot me. What’s the reason you’re going to shoot me for?'”
The two men began to wrestle before Pena-Rivera escaped the police boss’ hold and ran away.
Pena-Rivera claims Fisher didn’t turn his light’s on until after he ran away and the cop boss never identified himself as a member of law enforcement.
An arrest affidavit argues Fisher twice announced he was from the Manheim Police Department, according to the document viewed by the outlet.
The affidavit also claims Pena-Rivera pushed and shoved Fisher during the altercation.
Security cameras captured Fisher turning his car’s blue and red lights on 2 minutes after the initial confrontation.
“I never remembered any of that because if he is saying that he’s following me by the time he got to this point, he should have had his lights on instead of just withdrawing his gun the way he was doing it,” Pena-Rivera said.
The following day, Pena-Rivera says he was back out riding the roads when he stopped at a convenience store for a pack of cigarettes and took a phone call where he described his alleged brawl with Fisher.
“I was talking on the phone, apparently someone overheard my situation, and they called the police. Five minutes later, eight, nine, maybe 10 cops pulled up to where I was at the moment, and that’s when I got arrested,” he said.
Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams said her office would not investigate Fisher’s actions saying he followed protocol.
“Chief Fisher called out on the radio that he was following a motorcycle with no registration plate and provided his location,” Adams’ office told WGAL detailing the police chief following Pena-Rivera’s “erratic driving.
“After Chief Fisher relocated the motorcycle, he then again radioed his location noting that he had the ‘vehicle stopped to the rear of 1917 Fruitville Pike.’ Chief Fisher then exited his vehicle with his weapon drawn and physically grabbed the driver as he ‘began to start the motorcycle,'” the DA’s office added.
Police arrested Pena-Rivera on a laundry list of charges, according to court records viewed by The Post.
The motorcyclist was initially charged with Felony Aggravated Assault, Evading Arrest, Resisting Arrest, Reckless Driving, Driving with a Suspended or Revoked License, Use of an Improper License Class, Driving without proof of Financial Responsibility, Driving an Unregistered Vehicle, Failure to Stop at a Red Signal, Careless Driving and Driving while Suspended or Revoked.
Pena-Rivera pleaded guilty to six traffic violations after the charges were amended and the aggravated assault and evading and resisting arrest charges were withdrawn.
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