Law enforcement across central PA respond to fear of violence, intimidation at polls

As the country counts down the final hours until Election Day, feelings of fear and anxiety about what to expect at the polls remain high.

Although some police departments in the area have fielded concerns from the public, police chiefs across the South Central Pennsylvania region remain positive that violence will not erupt at polls locally.

Chief Ron Camacho and the Chambersburg Police Department released an official statement on CrimeWatch to address potential citizen concerns and fear of civil unrest prior to, during and following the national election.

"(Chambersburg Police Department) will not tolerate any threats to public order, riotous behavior, and property destruction of any kind, or civil unrest that violates the peace and dignity of the Borough of Chambersburg or the Commonwealth in general," the statement read.

Presently, the department has not received any information regarding threats to any local polling places. However, the department does have an emergency response plan in place if such a need were to arise on Election Day.

Camacho doesn't expect any problems at the polls, but felt compelled to release an official statement.

"We have had groups and individuals from both political parties that have reached out to us with questions about what the polls are going to look like and if we had received information about any potential issues at the polls - which we have a really good intel system here and we have not had any of that," he said. "There was a Public Opinion article about this report where it said that there was going to be problems at the polls, and I thought that it'd be good for us to get out in front of that and push out our information - which is that we've had no information, no intelligence whatsoever about problems at the polls."

Camacho stressed the importance of recognizing the situation at a local level.

"I think an issue is that somebody sees something that happens in Philadelphia and they automatically think that can happen here in their community, and that's just not right," he said. "Every community is its own microcosm and its own living organism."

York County law enforcement released their own Public Service announcement on Thursday as well. District Attorney Dave Sunday joined police chiefs across the county to encourage the public to respect the rights of others throughout the election process.

"We stand before you united in our message to be respectful and civil to your fellow friends, neighbors and citizens during this election," the PSA stated. "The right to vote and freedom of speech are basic foundations of our great nation. Equally as important is the guarantee of public safety as you exercise these fundamental rights. We recognize many of you are passionate about the candidates or party that you support, but a civil and peaceful election process must occur in our county."

York County law enforcement warned that all harassment, threats and intimidation throughout the election will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Pennsylvania law does not permit law enforcement to be present within 100 feet of any polling place unless they are personally voting or are summoned to preserve the peace. State constables - elected officials - will be present at polling locations to ensure voter safety. If properly trained and certified, constables can wear clothing and equipment that appears similar to that of a police officer, according to Pennsylvania State Police York Public Information Officer Kelly A. Osborne.

Additionally, the Pennsylvania Department of State will be monitoring elections statewide on Tuesday, according to Osborne's official statement.

"From our perspective, we can share that the Pennsylvania State Police, together with the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, participates in pre-election preparedness planning with the DOS, Pennsylvania Office of Administration, Pennsylvania National Guard, and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency through the Inter-Agency Election Preparedness & Security Workgroup," the release stated. "Planning is ongoing, and is part of every election cycle. Pennsylvania State Police and local law enforcement agencies are primarily responsible for the physical security of polling locations during elections based on jurisdictional lines."

Camacho said that if problems arrive, they will be ready to respond.

"Some people want us there and some people think that our presence there might be intimidating," he said. "If you run into a problem, you call 911 and we will come. There's kind of a weird hypocrisy there - that some people are afraid of the police and afraid of being intimidated, but who's going to save you if you have an issue? It's the police, and we here have always treated everybody the same."

Greencastle Police Chief John Phillippy said the department will be on standby as well.

"We will deal with any issues as they arise," Phillippy said.

Palmyra’s Police Chief Andrew Winters said they are prepared every year but this year the situation is “not exactly the same.”

Winters withheld details about any plans for security reasons but said this year things felt “heightened,” citing news media influence.

At this time, Lebanon law enforcement said they don't have any plans regarding election unrest.

If voters experience any issues at the polls on Election Day, they are encouraged to contact the Pennsylvania Election Day Hotline at 1-877-868-3772 for information on polling locations, voter registration status, voter rights or to report a complaint.

Carley Bonk is a Watchdog Reporter for the USA Today Network - Pennsylvania. Her coverage spans across the southcentral region of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at cbonk@publicopinionnews.com or on Twitter at @carls_marie.