FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police arrested a man after he confronted officers who used pepper spray during a fight that broke out near Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale.
Police body camera video captured the tense moments after officers responded to the scene of the off-campus altercation along the 2500 block of Northwest 11th Street, Wednesday afternoon.
According to Fort Lauderdale police, they have seen an increase in school fights and parents are concerned.
“To be honest with you the past several months seems like thing are escalating, to be honest with you,” said resident Alvin Lewis.
Daniella Wilson, the girlfriend of the man who was arrested, spoke with 7News on Thursday about the takedown.
“We heard a commotion, we came outside,” she said.
It began with dozens of people on the street near the campus.
Wilson said she came out to make sure her nephew wasn’t involved.
“For him not to be a part of the altercation. I went out there and told him to go in the opposite direction and go back to the house,” she said.
The bodycam video does show a scene that had spiraled out of control.
Fort Lauderdale Police officers pushed through the crowd, ultimately using pepper spray to break up the children who were fighting.
“It happens often so I’m kind of worried about it but I’m kind of glad the school year is almost over,” said Pedro Ramos whose daughter attends Dillard.
The fight ended, but it’s clear from the video that some of the children were hit with pepper spray, which seemed to anger Wilson’s boyfriend, Charles Wiggins.
Wiggins, seen wearing a blue T-shirt, and others began yelling at the officers.
Wiggins, who was released from jail on Thursday night, described the chaotic situation to 7News.
“They end up macing the whole crowd, they end up macing an 8-year-old,” he said.
The bodycam video also shows Wilson.
“That’s where I got involved, and I’m like, ‘OK, why would you do that? There are kids in the crowd,'” she said.
The situation deteriorated from there.
“You go home! It’s our neighborhood. You go home!” Wiggins is heard telling an officer.
At one point, an officer told the others to cuff Wiggins, and that’s when things escalated further.
Wiggins is seen grabbing Wilson from behind.
“I was punched in the face three times, for no reason,” Wilson said.
The bodycam video shows Wiggins holding her.
“I went to try and get way from them, went into the crowd and grabbed my old lady,” Wiggins said. “They swinging on her. They swinging on her to get to me.”
In a statement, officers said Wiggins held his girlfriend in front of him and continued to grab onto her.
Police also said the beginning of the footage doesn’t tell the whole story, that officers had encountered Wiggins before the confrontation.
The officer’s statement reads in part, “Initially, we had to break up the defendant, later identified as Charles Wiggins, from fighting another adult. That unknown adult left in his vehicle, and Wiggins stayed in the area encouraging the youth to fight and not wanting to leave.”
Wiggins was taken to jail facing charges of resisting an officer and disorderly conduct. He was released on Thursday.
“I just want some justice, boss,” Wiggins said.
Wilson said she’s been left with a concussion and an injured shoulder.
“This is ridiculous, because y’all are here to protect and serve,” she said. “OK, you might not be happy ’cause people are calling out your name, but I’m entitled to freedom of speech, so if my boyfriend is sitting here calling out your name, OK, it’s your job. Are you supposed to de-escalate the situation or make it worse?”
In response to the officers’ use of pepper spray, Fort Lauderdale Police spokesperson Casey Liening issued a statement that reads in part, “The disorderly group did not comply and continued to gather. At this point, the safety of everyone involved, the public and the officers became a concern and department issued OC Spray was utilized. OC Spray is often used as a less lethal method to gain control of a potentially dangerous situation.”
A parent told 7News the solution is more patrol in the area.
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