Jacksonville Sheriff Releases Georgia-Florida Body Cam Footage, Clears Deputies
The force used by officers at the Georgia-Florida football was not only necessary, but it was completely by the book, according to Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters who put on a press conference clinic Monday night.
Waters shared deep concerns he had over how his officers have been painted since videos started to surface showing the ugly incidents at EverBank Stadium on Saturday during the annual game between the Dawgs and Gators.
"In this case, cellphone camera footage that has been circulating since Saturday does not comprehensibly capture the circumstances surrounding these incidents. And that is to be expected," Waters said during his press conference.
So, Waters told his department to pull the body cam footage and then he called up Commander Jacob Vorpahl to go over what the media and social media didn't see from the cellphone footage.
In the first confrontation, Commander Vorpahl explains how deputies approached Walter Brown who had been involved in an incident with stadium security who then asked JSO to remove him from the stadium.
In the incident with the security agent, Brown allegedly claimed the worker kidnapped his children and threatened to kill the woman.
The sheriff's department was called in.
The deputies show up. Brown tells them he's not going anywhere and that leads to a confrontation.
(via Jacksonville Sheriff's Office / Facebook)
(In this screenshot, the quote is Brown talking to a woman in the row behind him. / via Jacksonville Sheriff's Office / Facebook)
(via Jacksonville Sheriff's Office / Facebook)
(via Jacksonville Sheriff's Office / Facebook)
(Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Commander Jacob Vorpahl says this is where Brown grabs for an officer's gun during the incident. JSO/Facebook)
JSO contends that Brown was told multiple times he needed to go. When he refused to go, and he threatened to kill an officer, that's when it was time to get control of Brown and handcuff him.
But…but…but…the cop battered Brown with handcuffs that he was using as brass knuckles, the Internet lawyers have been screaming for the last two days.
Sheriff Waters later explained that his deputy performed his job by the book, as he's trained, when he kept the handcuffs in his hand as he began to engage Brown. He did not use the handcuffs as brass knuckles, Waters notes.
Why weren't the handcuffs dropped by the deputy? Because someone could pick up the handcuffs and use them against the cop.
Here is how Waters says his staff is trained to hold onto the handcuffs.
(JSO/Facebook)
Let's go to the second incident where it was more of the same from the first incident. Fans were told to leave after giving stadium security a hard time. The cops are told to handle the incident and that's when three Florida fans decide they're going to dictate to the police how this is going to go.
Like he did in the first incident, Commander Vorpahl went step-by-step on how deputies handled the situation and how the three fans were given opportunities to go quietly.
But…but…but…that black officer pounded on the old dude, the Internet lawyers railed for two days.
Vorpahl and Waters explained why that was necessary: The cop was in a vulnerable situation with leverage — he was down a step — and noted how Michael Long was running his hand across the deputy's face, plus grabbing around his waist.
(JSO/Facebook)
(JSO/Facebook)
(JSO/Facebook)
"What you see on social media isn't a real depiction of what's going on. Once again, we're seeing intentionally misleading a video clip, one lacking proper context pushed out on social media to drive a false narrative," Waters noted in his closing remarks.
"As a leader of this agency, I will not remain silent while important facts and information are buried to advance an anti-police agenda. Won't do it. It's just not gonna happen. The truth is Walter Brown, Michael Long, Alexander Long, and Brandon Boley were aggressive and non-compliant.
"Based on the currently available information, the agency believes that the involved officers acted appropriately with respect to the law and JSO policy."
Is Waters wrong? Let me know.
Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com