Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is reviewing videos of officers hitting fans

VaselineNovember 4, 2024

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(This article has been updated with additional information)

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is reviewing viral videos showing Jacksonville police officers beating spectators during apparently unrelated altercations during Saturday night’s Florida-Georgia game at EverBank Stadium.

Mayor Donna Deegan said she has spoken with Sheriff TK Waters about the videos.

“I am aware of several disturbing videos circulating from yesterday’s game. I have spoken with Sheriff Waters and the incidents are under investigation. We are awaiting the outcome of that investigation,” Deegan posted on X (formerly Twitter) Sunday morning.

One video – posted on X – shows two officers wrestling with two spectators in the stands.

Other onlookers could be heard on the video yelling at the officers to stop, including one shouting, “Why are you hitting him?”

The 15-second video posted on X Saturday night by Ohio’s Tate at Barstool Tateon had been viewed 15 million times by mid-Sunday morning.

The video does not show the circumstances surrounding the incident, nor are the officers identified in the video, although both are wearing JSO uniforms.

A separate video shows police using a stun gun on another spectator

An Instagram video posted by Jeremy Williamson of Warner Robins, Georgia, appears to show an argument between a man and two JSO officers escalating into a fight that left the man with his face bloodied and handcuffed after being repeatedly shot with a stun gun shot.

Williamson told the Times-Union in a telephone interview Sunday that he had been sitting nearby and witnessed the altercation, which he described as “police brutality.”

“What we saw was 100% wrong. It was police brutality. Regardless of the words that came out of that man’s mouth, there was absolutely no excuse for what they did,” said Williamson, who used his cell phone to record the incident .

Williamson’s video shows the man, who was seated, arguing with an officer while a second officer, holding his stun gun, approached and touched the man’s arm. The man slaps the officer’s hand away and the officer activates the stun gun.

The man stands up and appears to say, “I’m not going to jail. You suck,” as the second officer handcuffs him and they struggle. The first officer deploys his stun gun and the man swipes at the wires in an attempt to pull them from his body. He then falls forward into the row of seats in front of him, Williamson’s video shows.

During the struggle, one of the officers can be seen holding what appears to be his handcuffs in one hand as he punches the man in the head and face. The man fights back while also trying to pull away from the officer’s grasp. The video shows the struggle continuing, with both officers punching him and eventually wrestling him against the seats to place him in handcuffs.

Blood can be seen on the man’s head and face as officers escort him with his hands handcuffed behind his back.

The video does not show the circumstances that led to the confrontation.