Criminal charges against Damon Atkins, the Pennsylvania man who was arrested Saturday for publicly quoting the Bible, were dropped after the county District Attorney reviewed videos of the incident.
“After a review of the incident which took place on June 3, 2023, in the 800 block of Washington Street in the City of Reading, the District Attorney’s Office has withdrawn the charges of disorderly conduct filed against Damon Atkins,” a Facebook post from the Berks County District Attorney said.
In an e-mail provided to The Lancaster Patriot, Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach said that “based on the review of the evidence and the law the Berks County DA withdrew the charges today against Damon Atkins.”
In an earlier e-mail provided to The Lancaster Patriot, Commissioner Leinbach said the arrest could lead to potential legal action against the city and police department.
“From what I have seen thus far I believe this was an unlawful arrest and could open the City of Reading and their police department to legal action,” Leinbach said in the e-mail.
The story of Atkins’ arrest, initially covered by The Lancaster Patriot, spread to numerous media outlets nationwide.
In addition to body-worn cameras on the police officers, the entire incident was filmed by Matthew Wear, of Reading. Wear’s YouTube video had garnered over 64,000 views in five days. The video was also widely distributed via other social media accounts.
The video shows Atkins standing on a public sidewalk, on the other side of the street from a pride festival, holding a sign and quoting a portion of a Bible verse before police sergeant Bradley McClure handcuffs him and leads him away.
In an e-mail provided to The Lancaster Patriot, Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach said that “based on the review of the evidence and the law the Berks County DA withdrew the charges today against Damon Atkins.”
In an earlier e-mail provided to The Lancaster Patriot, Commissioner Leinbach said the arrest could lead to potential legal action against the city and police department.
“From what I have seen thus far I believe this was an unlawful arrest and could open the City of Reading and their police department to legal action,” Leinbach said in the e-mail.
The story of Atkins’ arrest, initially covered by The Lancaster Patriot, spread to numerous media outlets nationwide.
In addition to body-worn cameras on the police officers, the entire incident was filmed by Matthew Wear, of Reading. Wear’s YouTube video had garnered over 64,000 views in five days. The video was also widely distributed via other social media accounts.
The video shows Atkins standing on a public sidewalk, on the other side of the street from a pride festival, holding a sign and quoting a portion of a Bible verse before police sergeant Bradley McClure handcuffs him and leads him away.
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