Douglas says fleeing from law enforcement is not punishable by death and calls for an independent investigation
Justin DouglasChairman of the Dauphin County Board of Commissioners
In a July 2 release, Douglas said the video "appears inconsistent" with the Justice Department's deadly-force policy and that "fleeing from law enforcement is not punishable by death", and he called for "a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation".
Responding to
Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas said the publicly available video appears inconsistent with the Department of Justice deadly-force policy, which permits deadly force only in narrowly defined circumstances involving an imminent threat.
“Whatever crimes someone may have committed, and whatever charges they may face, fleeing from law enforcement is not punishable by death. The use of deadly force must always be justified. ... What we see in the video appears inconsistent with the U.S. Department of Justice's Policy 1-16.200, Use of Deadly Force and Prohibited Restraining Techniques, which permit such force only in narrowly defined circumstances involving an imminent threat. To truly serve justice, I believe this situation warrants a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation.”
Official statement
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Was the ICE officer justified in firing at a driver during a Harrisburg vehicle stop?
On July 1, 2026, ICE officers stopped a white SUV in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and one officer fired at it as it drove away, in what PennLive counted as one shot. ICE said the stop was a targeted operation to arrest Clemente Lara-Hernandez, that he "weaponized his car and rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle", and that an officer discharged his weapon. PennLive reported that surveillance footage it obtained shows agents breaking the driver's window and the driver then trying to drive around the ICE vehicle, clipping its front end, before an agent fired one shot. FOX43 and WGAL describe the SUV striking an ICE sedan as it pulled away. Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas said the video appears inconsistent with Justice Department deadly-force policy and asked for an independent investigation, while the FBI, which PennLive and Harrisburg police say is handling the investigation, declined to discuss it. The dispute is whether the officer's decision to fire was justified.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Press release from Commissioner Justin Douglas, chairman of the Dauphin County Board of Commissioners, issued the day after the July 1 shooting. The copy cited here is hosted on the website of WHP (CBS 21).
Reporting
About this source
PennLive reports Commissioner Justin Douglas's statement after the surveillance video was published, including his call for an independent investigation and his reading of the Department of Justice deadly-force policy.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Douglas issued the release the day after the shooting, after surveillance video of the stop was published.
After the quotation
He said the suspect's actions and the officer's actions are separate issues that both deserve examination, and that residents deserve a full accounting of the decisions that led to the use of deadly force.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the officer's decision to fire. Douglas says the footage appears inconsistent with the Justice Department's standard for deadly force and that fleeing does not warrant death, which rejects the firing rather than only questioning how ICE described the encounter.
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The Dispute Index. "Douglas says fleeing from law enforcement is not punishable by death and calls for an independent investigation". First published: 2026-09-25. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/2569-in-a-july-2-release-douglas-said-the