Orlando Police Department shared with Orlando Weekly body-worn camera footage from a pro-Palestinian protest at Lake Eola Park over the weekend.
An estimated 1,200 people, including children and families, gathered to rally Saturday, May 11, to uplift the call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
While the rally began peacefully shortly after 3:30 p.m., the gathering later devolved into a chaotic scene as Orlando Police Department officers stormed the crowd, deployed pepper spray, pushed and shoved protesters, and arrested two.
The escalation began after one protest attendee began to address the crowd with a bullhorn. Protesters hadn’t been granted a permit to use sound amplification devices at the event, and were thus warned against the use of such devices prior to the start of the rally.
In the released body camera footage, an officer is heard saying, “Stay here. It’s just going to be two of us,” to a group of surrounding officers.
“Stand by. We’re going to go tell her,” he continues. “We’re going to try and keep this as subtle as possible. If it bucks, you guys bring it in. Bring it in with force.”
As more than two officers made the initial walk into the crowd, they were met with booing and shouting as they approached the core. Some crowd members instructed others to lock arms, seemingly in an effort to remain upright and block the officers.
As officers forced their way in, the tightly packed group began pushing and shoving, then much of the crowd dispersed as officers sprayed the chemical agent. Several officers wrangled, held down and handcuffed one protester.
From another video angle, a protester can be seen hitting an officer’s helmet with a poster before an officer sprays the crowd with the chemical agent.
The Orlando Police Department released a statement to the media Saturday night, saying that police had “deployed a handheld chemical agent at a group that became disruptive.”
According to the statement, OPD arrested two people who will be charged with battery on a law enforcement officer — a third-degree felony charge that can result in up to five years in prison, if convicted. The police statement reported “no injuries” from the clash.
“The Orlando Police Department is committed to keeping everyone safe who chooses to peacefully assemble in the City of Orlando, while also maintaining the safety of residents and businesses,” the statement reads. There is no mention in the statement of why OPD charged the crowd.
The rally was intended to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Nakba on May 15. Meaning “catastrophe” in Arabic, the Nakba refers to the violent mass displacement of Palestinians during the early formation of Israel in 1948. The term has been used to describe the ongoing displacement of Palestinian people by Israel.
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Chloe Greenberg
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