“They think Gainesville is their personal toilet... coming from behind shows what kind of garbage they are.” These are the words that Gainesville Police spokesman Keith Kameg used to describe five individuals arrested for attacking police at a Fest after party on Nov. 1. He went on to describe these individuals as a “fringe element” who only visited Gainesville looking for a place to stay.
For the five men arrested, though, it may not be as cut-and-dry as Kameg makes it out to be.
Kameg’s bitter remarks were made while many of the details surrounding the incident remained murky. The Gainesville Police Department initially described the individuals as men from out of town; as it turns out, two of the men arrested live in Gainesville.
Those accused of attacking the police claim that they did not participate in the attack at all. Rather, they were picked out of a massive crowd as additional police dispersed the estimated 500 people who filled the streets.
The only sure fact about this incident is that an attack took place. Video available on the alligator.org Web site shows that a handful of people hit and kicked police as they Tasered and held down one man accused of interfering with an arrest and of resisting arrest himself.
Unfortunately, the faces of those involved in the attack are not clear. If the identities of these individuals are discovered, we believe they should be prosecuted, and we encourage any Alligator readers who can positively identify them to do the right thing and rat them out — because that’s what they deserve.
But the video does seemingly support the defendants’ claim that it would be difficult to pick the attackers out of a crowd of 500, especially after the fact. Police reports describe the attackers as returning to the crowds before being arrested. We hope that the police have positively identified the three who were arrested for the attacks, rather than pulling innocent (well, mostly innocent) partygoers out of a massive crowd and charging them with serious crimes.
To the question of excessive force raised by multiple Alligator readers in letters and Internet comments, the videos miss a few crucial moments that would be necessary to make that determination. Witnesses claim that by Tasering this person multiple times, the police crossed the line. But when faced with what is fairly described as a “mob” of angry partygoers, the pressure placed on the police must have been intense, and they will undoubtedly argue that such a response was necessary.
We feel that a better question, and one we can reasonably address with the known facts, is why the two officers chose to engage a crowd of 500 without waiting for sufficient backup. Simply driving through the crowd with horns and speakers in attempts to disperse them is one thing.
But when some partygoers decided not to move, and the crowd became more confrontational, the choice to make arrests and deploy a Taser without waiting for more officers undoubtedly emboldened violent elements among the crowd.
The decisions that face police in stressful situations like this are difficult to question, especially after the fact and without all the evidence. But as a matter of policy, when faced with crowds of this size, the police should refrain from acting until enough officers are present to ensure the safety of not only the police, but the crowds as well.
Because sometimes people need to be protected from their own destructive tendencies.
As another matter of policy, Gainesville Police Department should refrain from throwing around phrases like “garbage” until all the the facts are known (well, even then it’s probably not the best PR move).
In murky situations like this, it’s best not to rush to action — or to judgment.
