LAKELAND, Fla. (WSVN) — A Florida police department is facing criticism over a video that showed officers using what some would call excessive force.
Officers with the Lakeland Police Department could be seen on video repeatedly hitting a man on the ground who was sleeping under an I-4 overpass in Central Florida. However, the department said there’s another side to the story.
Overnight, Lakeland Police released a statement addressing the video that shows officers punching and kicking a man, identified as Justin Abbot, who they were trying to restrain.
The officers said they were checking the well-being of a man who was sleeping under an I-4 overpass.
They said when they told the 38-year-old that he needed to move, he refused, even though he was warned he could be arrested for trespassing.
That’s when the two officers tried to restrain Abbot, who decided to fight back
According to police, Abbot pushed one officer, causing both to fall to the ground.
The other officer then tried to use his Taser on Abbot, but it didn’t work.
That’s where the video picks up — you can see both officers punching and kicking Abbot.
The video then shows one of the officers backing up and kicking him.
A police spokesperson later confirmed that Lakeland Police officers are trained to back away from a subject when another officer uses a Taser.
“He backed up, he saw this guy grab … and this is all within a second, the officer went to shoot again,” said Lakeland Police Sgt. Gary Gross. “The reason for the officer backing up was so he didn’t get tased, and then he kicked the guys arm so he would let go of the Taser, and that worked. That probably saved the officers’ lives. If that guy would have had the Taser and pointed it at an officer, it would’ve incapacitated him and he could’ve got their gun.”
Abbot now faces charges for trespassing and resisting with violence.
Lakeland Police released a picture of Abbot after the arrest with red marks on his chest and stomach. He was taken to the hospital to be checked out and is expected to be OK.
This incident remains under investigation.
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