‘We want his name': Protesters call for ID of Allentown cop seen kneeling on man

Many of the incidents cited in recent local protests against police brutality and racial injustice happened in places far away from the Lehigh Valley.

But a protest Monday evening in Allentown primarily referenced something much closer to home and the fiery rhetoric by some in the crowd of more than 200 attacked those in power locally far more than any political figure working out of Harrisburg or Washington, D.C.

The demonstration marked at least the second in the city since video circulated depicting an Allentown police officer apparently placing a knee on the neck of a man on the ground. The incident happened just before 7 p.m.. Saturday outside St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus at 421 W. Chew St.

An investigation is underway into the actions of the still-unidentified officer, police have said.

That’s an insufficient response, protesters said at Monday evening’s demonstration.

“We want the name of that officer,” Allentown resident Rodney Bushe shouted into a megaphone while perched at the base of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at Seventh and Hamilton streets. “We want that officer’s name. We want his name.”

The declaration grew into a chant in the crowd. Protestors who spoke also called for local politicians to take definitive action to address brutality and injustice instead of just offering platitudes. Those who don’t take such action need to be voted out, they said.

In addition to publicly releasing the officer’s name, they want him immediately arrested and suspended. The video, they said, clearly implicates the officer and they questioned the validity of a prolonged investigation.

The video hit social media on Saturday night. A group of protesters later that night organized an impromptu march down Hamilton Street to the Allentown Police Department, where they were eventually greeted by Mayor Ray O’Connell and police Chief Glenn Granitz Jr. O’Connell initially told the crowd that the video was “disturbing,” but he needed more information.

By Sunday, the video had garnered national attention, with George Floyd’s attorney commenting on Twitter that the officer’s actions in Allentown are “exactly” the same actions that led to Floyd’s death.

Floyd’s May 25 death sparked the national movement toward police reform. Floyd was killed in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes while other officers watched during an episode captured in multiple cell phone videos. Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin’s been widely condemned by police for kneeling on Floyd’s neck. He is charged with Floyd’s murder.

By Monday, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office confirmed it is investigating the incident and city police issued their first formal statement about what transpired.

Police said the officers were forced to restrain the unidentified man because he spit at them and hospital staff and was “noncompliant.” Prior to his arrest, he was exhibiting “erratic behavior” and was “vomiting and staggering in the street, eventually stopping in the driveway of the emergency room,” police said.

Bushe and others at Monday evening’s demonstration took issue with police’s version of events and criticized the lack of acknowledgement in the statement that the officer put his knee on the man’s neck.

“That wasn’t a statement,” Bushe said. “That was a cover-your-ass statement.”

At Monday evening’s demonstration, the organizers, Black Lives Matter of the Lehigh Valley, struck an acrimonious tone with police. That hasn’t always been seen in the largely peaceful demonstrations that have cropped up in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and some smaller Lehigh Valley towns since Floyd’s killing. In some of those cases, local police even marched with the demonstrators.

A Black Lives Matter of the Lehigh Valley Facebook post announcing Monday evening’s protest made clear that police were not welcome to participate. “We are asking that all law enforcement DO NOT attend a police brutality and culture protest that you have contributed to,” the post said.

Although several patrol vehicles blocked off roads on the perimeter of the demonstration, there was very little noticeable police presence. And the demonstrators did not hold back their discontent with the police. There were multiple “F*** the police” chants. Signs being held up by demonstrators read “Blue Klux Klan,” “Shut It Down” and “Respect Existence or Expect Resistance.”

The demonstration started at 5 p.m. and was scheduled to run until 8 p.m. Monday. As of about the midway point, it had remained peaceful.

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Nick Falsone can be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com.