Use Of Force Arrest Draws Ire From Residents At Lower Merion Meeting

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — Residents of Lower Merion spoke out against the use of force incident that occurred Sunday, Jan. 8 in Bala Cynwyd at Wednesday night's board of commissioners meeting.

Wednesday's meeting was packed with members of the community, many who spoke about the incident in which Officer Charles Murphy stopped Chaine Jordan for tailgating then ended up pulling Jordan from the vehicle after trying to subdue her with a taser, among other actions.

Lower Merion Police said Murphy's actions were legal, but did not follow the department's best practices.

Murphy is on desk duty pending further investigation and Jordan is facing several charges, including fleeing and eluding police and resisting arrest.

Wednesday was the first chance the community had to share their thoughts on the incident with township officials.

Brian Reese-Turner, President of the NAACP Main Line Branch, spoke first at the meeting.

"I feel that [Jordan's] civil rights were violated," he said.

He called for an independent investigation into the incident and for unedited footage of the entire incident to be released.

Reese-Turner said the use of the taser was where the line was crossed.

"At no point in the video do I ever feel or think that it should have been justified that this woman was tased," he said.

Rev. Carolyn Cavaness of Bethel AME Church in Ardmore said the Lower Merion Police Department needs "outside investigative forces, from top to bottom."

She said the other officers involved had a duty to intervene in the incident and called for a citizen-led committee to examine the department.

"The buck is with you," she said, pointing at the commissioners.

Former Pastor at St. Luke United Methodist Church David Tatgenhorst recalled a time he was stopped by police on Lancaster Avenue — after he continued down the road and safely pulled into a Chipotle parking lot.

The officer who stopped him gave him a warning and offered advice on preventing catalytic converter thefts.

"I wish everybody was treated with that kind of respect, that kind of patience, that kind of time," he said to the board.

Former Narberth Borough Council Vice President Gigi Moffat pointed out the township's police committee comprises three white men, some of whom are lawyers, but alleged some don't even know that the police department is supposed to be doing.

She called changes among police leadership and rank and file officers, as well as the dissolution of the public safety committee and the inclusion of women and people of color on a reformed committee.

"If the community does not see themselves reflected in a body that has so much control over their lives, they tend to disconnect," she said.

Watch the full public comment section of Wednesday's meeting below: