FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, USA (AP) – A newly released video shows Florida police officers laughing and partying after firing rubber bullets at protesters last month in a protest in which a black woman was hit in the face being seriously injured.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department posted the video on its official YouTube channel on Wednesday. The images were taken by detective Zachary Baro’s body camcorder, who led a unit of the department’s tactical squad on May 31. In the video, Baro can be heard saying “get the hell out” and shooting an insult after agents fired the least lethal projectiles.
During a segment of the video, Baro mistakenly tells another police officer that his camera is not recording, and they both start laughing and joking about the people they had fired rubber bullets at.
LaToya Ratlieff was hit by a rubber bullet to the face during what had been a mostly peaceful protest less than a week after the death of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of the police. The 34-year-old woman said she suffered a skull fracture that required 20 stitches, was unable to eat for a week, and has vision problems in one eye that still has subconjunctival hemorrhage.
Ratlieff has asked to meet with the Police Department to discuss reforms and ensure accountability. However, his spokesman, Evan Ross, noted that authorities have not yet accepted his invitation.
“I feel heartbroken. We deserve better, ”said Ratlieff after watching the video.
A Fort Lauderdale police officer was charged with assault during that same protest after another video showed him pushing a kneeling woman to the ground. Witnesses indicated that a peaceful march turned violent after that fact and that protesters responded by throwing bottles. The policeman’s companions immediately shoved him away from where the woman was and onto a street.
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