Jacksonville Sheriff's Office faces criticism from fans after viral video shows officers punching fans during college football game – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

College football fans are speaking out after violence broke out in the stands during a game. Several officers were seen throwing punches.
Many say there was no reason for violence.

Jeremy Williamson, a UGA fan from Savannah, Georgia, said he saw Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officers beat and berate a man over questions about digital tickets in front of his two children.

Williamson said it started when event staff confronted the man's children.

“He grabs the kids and goes back to his seats. Well, a few minutes later, we see the two officers come up with the event staff and immediately tell the guy, 'Hey, come, come with us, you're going to be kicked out.' You all have to leave,” Williamson said.

Williamson said the man calmly said, “We’re not leaving.”

And then things escalated.

Much of the incident was captured on video, which eventually went viral.

But what was said and done leading up to the physical contact is still not known.

“The officer decided, OK, I’m just going to tase you. He insults him several times and then he pulls out his handcuffs, puts the handcuffs around his ankles like brass knuckles and starts hitting the guy in the head,” Williamson said.

The video appears to show the officer hitting the handcuffed man.

Williamson added that there were at least 20 vacant spots in that section, which he said makes the use of force more concerning.

“In the section that they were in, they were actually at the very edge of the stadium with makeshift seating and decided to tase him and then push him over the seats and hit him,” Williamson said.

After witnessing the JSO officer's misconduct, he believes that Jacksonville should no longer host the Georgia/Florida games.

Another incident was captured on video.

Florida fan Lance Harlan said he didn't know why this JSO officer was throwing punches.

He said three fans were attacked with a Taser and dragged out.

“It wasn’t necessary anyway, shape or form. I mean, you're hitting a man who's clearly older, he didn't try to fight back,” Harlan said.

Harlan said these people weren't fighting, just being loud and rowdy, like many of the fans in attendance.

“Yeah, it just seemed strange to me how the police showed up because there were three above us and then some under the ends of the side, and I thought, well, that's a bit much, you know, for a loud fan . I could see if they were out there fighting or, you know, doing something like that,” Harlan said.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said it was aware of the videos and is now investigating.

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