Off-duty police chief in PA suspended after pulling gun on motorcyclist

[y_p_w]

The story is that the DA originally charged the motorcyclist with various charges. At least until security video from the motorcyclist's employer came out. The video clearly shows that police lights weren't turned on until this guy fled. There's no audio, but I don't know what I would do if someone just pulled out a gun on me like that. As far as I can tell, there's evidence that shows that the chief was lying in his affidavit. I don't think he was aware of the security camera. If he were, would he have said something different in his affidavit?

I don't have a particular dislike of law enforcement, but if anyone abuses their power or lies to try and get a conviction or to hide unreasonable use of force, I would think they should face the consequences. As much as police like having police body/dash cams as evidence, I'm sure this guy is happy that his employer had security cameras to back him up when most people would just believe a police officer.

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/...gun-on-motorcyclist-while-off-duty-video.html​

A police chief in Lancaster County was placed on administrative leave Thursday while his township investigates an incident caught on video where he pulled a gun on a motorcyclist behind a shopping center last month.​

​

The incident took place behind the Wingstop restaurant on the 1900 block of Fruitville Pike, at the Fruitville Pike shopping center, around 5:30 p.m. April 30.​

​

Manheim Township Police Chief Duane M. Fisher, who was off duty, was in plainclothes in an unmarked SUV when he parked behind motorcyclist Benny Peña-Rivera, 24, of Lancaster, and immediately pulled a gun on him.​

​

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/...ice-chief-who-pulled-gun-on-motorcyclist.html​

The actions caught on video did not always match what an officer wrote in his report to justify charges, including aggravated assault, that were filed against Peña-Rivera. Those charges have since been dropped.​

​

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed against Peña-Rivera, Fisher said he told Peña-Rivera twice: ‘Manheim Township Police, it’s just a ticket don’t [expletive]-ing run.’"​

​

However, Peña-Rivera said he was unaware he was being followed, and Fisher did not identify himself as a police officer or have his emergency lights activated.​

​

“That’s when he was saying, ‘On the ground, on the ground, or I will shoot you,’” Peña-Rivera said.​

​

One of Peña-Rivera’s coworkers confirmed that Fisher only identified himself as a police officer after he returned from the foot chase.​

​

The affidavit also said Peña-Rivera “pushed and shoved Chief Fisher,” which is not seen in the video. Instead, the video shows Fisher attempting to grab Peña-Rivera as he backs away.​

 

[scoot]

So should I post news stories and videos of law enforcement being abused and ambushed also ?

 

[y_p_w]

So should I post news stories and videos of law enforcement being abused and ambushed also ?

I thought of this more as a man bites dog story. But if that's what you want to do, I can't stop you.

I don't see why you seem to be so defensive about it. I would hope that people would see this and see how wrong what he did was.

 

[mk378]

So should I post news stories and videos of law enforcement being abused and ambushed also ?

People who do that are not punished?

Cops are trained to lie to you. On the other hand, it is illegal to lie to a cop, so best to keep your mouth shut. This should be taught to everyone starting in elementary school.

 

[SC Maintenance]

So should I post news stories and videos of law enforcement being abused and ambushed also ?

I agree this is likely the wrong forum for this, but until this is locked - I would look at it this way.

When we give someone a high level of authority - something a civilian would not have - we must require a very high level of integrity of that person. If they abuse that authority, it undermines peoples faith in the entire system - and will lead to anarchy if unchecked. So therefore such transgressions need to be dealt with in the most swift and most serious manner, for the benefit of a lawful society and everyone in it.

In your example however, its just idiots being idiots. And while this is still wrong and should be dealt with, its not going to topple the system. There have always been idiots.

Thats the way I would look at it at least.

 

[AZjeff]

Well put. The good guys aren’t supposed to act like the bad guys.

 

[GON]

Three comments.

Law enforcement, especially law enforcement leadership should not do anything that might even imply a integrity issue.

Two sides to every story. Does the article holistically capture both sides.

A Chief of police while in their jurisdiction is never off duty.

 

[ctechbob]

Cops are trained to lie to you.

I guess I miss that training every year.......weird.

 

[oldhp]

What if??? The other guys at the door shot the "bad guy" for attacking their co-worker? Because I could clearly see that happening.

 

[dnewton3]

Cops are trained to lie to you.

That's a gross exaggeration. There are certain investigative interrogation tools which do involve strategy which may mislead suspects. Those concepts have been cleared as Constitutional all the way up to SCOTUS. So like it or not, it's a technique which passes muster. However, in general, this is not something LEOs do in the field. And they most certainly are not "trained to lie" in the manner in which you imply, as if it's a common practice.

On the other hand, it is illegal to lie to a cop,

That would depend on the situation. If the officer is doing an investigation which the person's lies would mislead the investigation, then yes, giving false info would be criminal. But in other situations, it is not a crime. So you've painted with too broad a brush.

so best to keep your mouth shut.

That's not bad advice in general. But it may hinder you in other ways. For example, if you are in a situation where you are compelled to ID yourself and fail to do so when legally required, you may be subject to arrest. Whereas if you answer some general questions, you may not have any problems.

This should be taught to everyone starting in elementary school.

As it also should be taught to not jeopardize oneself by running away, pointing a gun at cops, the necessity of following commands, etc. Most of the bad endings to events can be traced to the civilian doing something stupid and/or illegal, then compounding the problems by doubling down and making a dangerous situation even worse.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Peña-Rivera can retire now.

 

[spasm3]

We don't know what happened prior to this recorded encounter.

 

[Pew]

What if??? The other guys at the door shot the "bad guy" for attacking their co-worker? Because I could clearly see that happening.

Yea I've got a few coworkers that carry. If a random dude pulls up and looks like he's robbing me, they're definitely going to interject.

 

[y_p_w]

Three comments.

Law enforcement, especially law enforcement leadership should not do anything that might even imply a integrity issue.

Two sides to every story. Does the article holistically capture both sides.

A Chief of police while in their jurisdiction is never off duty.

Wasn't sure if he was in his city, but looked it up. The Wingstop website says it's in Lancaster, PA, but i had a look on Google Maps and it's one of those address things where it looks like it's legally in Manheim Township.

That being said, there's video. His police lights clearly weren't on when the chief arrived in the parking lot and pulled out his gun. The motorcyclist claims that he didn't identify himself as police but just yelled at him to drop and he had no idea what was going on. And he seemed really quick to draw his gun, as if he had just come out of a high risk pursuit. The guy's coworkers said that he never identified himself as police until he got back from the foot chase. So on the basis of all that, I'm thinking this chief messed up pretty badly.

I like it when the truth comes out. There have been accusations against police that have been disproven via dash and body cams. I don't see why this video disproving the chief should be seen as anything more than seeking the truth. I suspect that he's going to be fired, but I'm not sure if there will be any criminal charges against him.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Peña-Rivera can retire now.

Very likely true - at the expense of the taxpayer.

 

[Hall]

The story is that the DA originally charged the motorcyclist with various charges. At least until security video from the motorcyclist's employer came out.

It's funny how that happens after video comes out, isn't it ?

 

[scoot]

More of story would be nice to know about the biker , obviously he was riding reckless. Did he cause a accident while doing so ? He ran a red light , who knows. Cop didn't identify himself , doesn't look like it , who knows? Too many unknowns. For some unknown reason I've never had a bad incident with a police officer , I'm not sure why that is ?

 

[AZjeff]

Very likely true - at the expense of the taxpayer thanks to the chief.

FIFY

 

[Owen Lucas]

Peña-Rivera can retire now.

I don't think he has a case, or one that any attorney would waste time working on. The DA won't investigate due to lack of criminal conduct. Was the cop heavy handed? Maybe a little, but not enough IMHO. I think there would be no issue here if he identified as PO and had lights flashing.

 

[y_p_w]

I don't think he has a case, or one that any attorney would waste time working on. The DA won't investigate due to lack of criminal conduct. Was the cop heavy handed? Maybe a little, but not enough IMHO. I think there would be no issue here if he identified as PO and had lights flashing.

That's the thing. The guy is clearly just casually riding into the parking lot. Doesn't seem like he's in a hurry or running from the police. Then the chief comes driving in with his unmarked SUV, no flashing lights, and the first thing he does is pull out his gun and point it at the guy on the motorcycle who has his head down and takes a while to notice. The the chief pushes the guy on the motorcycle against the wall with his gun in his other hand.

He turned on his police lights after he got back to the scene. The suspicion is that he was looking to stage it for when other officers arrived as if he'd had them on during the "pursuit". I think he knows he screwed up and is trying cover up that he never reasonably identified himself as police or his vehicle as a police vehicle. A lot of people are thinking that he clearly lied on a police report about the circumstances, including that he was assaulted by the motorcyclist.

But he probably would have been believed had it not been for the security camera footage.

Now I suppose that he might have some dashcam footage that could back up his claims of evading. But at the very least it looks like the chief lied about being pushed back. To me it looks he's trying to get away from a psycho in street clothes who just pulled a gun on him. But with the most serious charges dropped, I don't think that happens if the dashcam showed he was running away and there are lights flashing.