George Floyd protests: Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office reviewing video of protester being punched by officers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is reviewing a video of a protester being punched by officers during a protest Sunday night.

Chad Hollett was protesting Sunday night, until he said police went after him.

“After I asked them to join us. It was like a split second. Next thing you know they were running after us,” he said.

Another protester caught some of it on camera. In the video, you can see one of the officers grab him around the neck. And then two more officers rush to him.

“And while he held me in a chokehold, another one ran up on me and hit me on the face, and at that point I was taken to the ground and where another one ran up and hit me in the face again,” he said.

Hollett said around 5:30 that night, police said they wanted protesters to go home, or they would start arresting people. Hollett said they started running after protesters after this question:

“I asked them if they could put down their gear and stuff like that and walk with us,” he said.

Action News Jax showed the video to Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson. He said that’s not how officers are trained to make an arrest.

“There needs to be more training. If you are going to arrest someone, there’s an appropriate way to do that without putting yourself or the person under arrest in harms way,” Carson said.

Action News Jax did reach out to JSO and was told the video is under review. Hollet said he just wanted to speak his mind, and that’s all.

“I didn’t come out here to fight anybody. I didn’t come out here to be violent,” he said.

We looked to see if Hollett had a criminal history and found at least three arrests in Duval County, in the last several years, including charges like resisting an officer without violence, and fleeing, attempting to elude law enforcement.

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