Jacksonville mayor on viral fight video from Florida-Georgia game: 'Disturbing'

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said in a statement Sunday morning that she was aware of “several disturbing videos” from the Florida Gators-Georgia Bulldogs game that appeared to show Jacksonville sheriff's officers repeating calls to two suspected fans punched in the face and head.

She also said she spoke with Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters and that an investigation has been launched.

“I have seen several disturbing videos circulating from yesterday’s game. I have spoken to Sheriff Waters and the incidents are being investigated. We are awaiting the outcome of this investigation,” she said in a statement that was also posted on her social media pages.

Sheriff Waters has not yet commented publicly on the videos or the investigation.

A video was released Saturday night after the Gators-Bulldogs game that took place in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs defeated the Gators.

The 15-second video appears to show one officer repeatedly punching someone as they cover their face and lie on the hallway steps, while another officer appears to repeatedly punch another person further down the hallway several times.

“Why are you hitting him?” Someone can be heard screaming in the video posted by @BarstoolTate on X. As of 11 p.m., the video had 5.9 million views.

FOX 35 cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video. It is also not clear what happened before law enforcement action was taken.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has not released any information about what happened, what led to law enforcement's interaction with fans or whether anyone was injured.

“The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Professional Standards Division is aware of circulating videos of the Georgia-Florida football game. Administrative reviews of the incidents are underway,” the JSO said in a statement Saturday evening.

“Therefore, the agency will not comment until all facts are known and reviews are completed.”

A spokesperson for JSO sent FOX 35 the exact same statement Sunday morning. A spokesperson for the University of Florida declined to comment, citing JSO.