Equality and fair treatment…
That’s the message that brought hundreds of people to the Lancaster County Courthouse steps Friday night.
“Maybe it’s a fantasy, but I would like to see all people treated equally, despite your background, your upbringing, or where you’re from,” said Michael Rowley, a rally participant.
This conversation is one that speakers say has happened many times before in Lancaster.
This time it was sparked by a young man getting tased by a Lancaster City officer while sitting on a city street curb on Thursday morning.
Police say they were called to South Prince Street Thursday for reports of a man going after someone with a baseball bat.
They said that man was 27 year-old Sean Williams, and he wasn’t compliant with officers.
But Fox 43 caught up with Williams at the rally, and he says the video doesn’t lie.
“at the end of the day, it’s on Facebook, everyone knows what happened. I was tased and I shouldn’t have been tased,” said Williams.
Speakers say they want this incident to be looked at by a civilian review board.
“These are the concerns coming from the community. And we’ve told you want we want, and it’s really not that much to ask for. A little civilian oversight of the only people authorized to walk around with deadly force on our streets,” said one speaker.
Williams says he is still recovering from the incident, but it does not change the way he feels about the city.
“I appreciate everybody coming out. I love Lancaster and I’m happy for everyone being here,” said Williams.
The overarching message of the rally?
It is up to the people to make the change they want to see.
“There is a Lancaster that knows that real peace only comes from real justice, from building up instead of tearing down, and that Lancaster is standing on the steps in front of me,” said another speaker.
The Lancaster District Attorney's Office did tweet about the investigation today, writing in part, "We have been in contact with Lancaster city police, and are closely monitoring the situation. We understand the police are in the process of conducting a thorough investigation.We will take appropriate actions when the investigation is complete, based on all the facts."
The Lancaster City Police declined to comment on camera tonight.
They say they are conducting their own internal investigation into what happened.