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Lancaster residents press council over police treatment of teens; mayor pledges data restoration
Summary
At its April 8 meeting, Lancaster City Council heard sustained public comment about a March police encounter with teens riding bikes. Speakers urged transparency, a civilian review mechanism and alternatives to force; Mayor Suraci said use-of-force reporting will be expanded and clarified by the end of the week.
Lancaster City Council on April 8 confronted weeks of public concern about an incident in which officers detained teenagers riding bicycles downtown, with multiple residents and community groups asking for clearer use-of-force data, outside oversight and policy changes.
The meeting’s second public-comment period drew repeated calls for transparency and independent review. "When you withhold data, you withhold the truth," Taylor Enterline, reading a statement for the Black Voter Outreach Network of Pennsylvania, told council as she documented what she described as a removal of race and age breakdowns from the police department’s use-of-force dashboard. "That decision breaks the fragile trust between city hall and the communities who are asking to be seen, heard, and protected." (Taylor Enterline, public commenter)
Why it matters: Commenters said the March encounter — widely circulated locally — raised questions about whether police tactics are appropriate for juveniles and whether residents can rely on official data and review processes to…
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