Florida Police Attacked With Glass Bottles, Punched While Dispersing Massive Block Party

Deputies at Florida police were sucker-punched, pelted with glass bottles, bar stool, and other objects over the weekend while they tried to disperse a massive crowd of around 3,000 people out partying.

Volusia County Sheriff’s Office was unsure whether there has been more than one party. They said in a statement that the attendees gathered across DeLand Saturday afternoon (May 16) and grew uncontrollable early Sunday (May 17). The statement also referred to firearms being openly wielded in there.

A person from a vehicle’s passenger seat pointed a shotgun at deputies, leading them on a high-speed chase. Police weren’t able to track down the vehicle, according to the statement.

“As crowds grew in multiple locations, impeding traffic flow and causing safety hazards, deputies and DeLand police officers began ordering vehicles out of certain areas,” the statement added. The cops then encountered a crowd of an estimated 1,500 people and vehicles filling the street in the 1200 block of South Delaware Avenue.

“The behavior that occurred here overnight was dangerous, senseless, unacceptable and an embarrassment to our community,” the sheriff’s office said in the statement. “None of it will deter law enforcement from coming back when we’re needed.”

Volusia Sheriff’s Office deputies and officers at DeLand Police Department jointly responded to the scene.

The statement also said that they arrested two persons who seemed to exchange a firearm. Police said deputies arrived at the large gathering shortly past midnight and asked one of the individuals to drop the weapon. The person, identified as Charles Turner, 37, threw the weapon, a loaded Ruger 9mm, and tried to flee. Turner, who police said has a substantial criminal history with 18 prior convictions, was slapped with two counts of possession of a weapon/ammunition by a convicted felon and inciting a riot, and other charges. The other person, identified as Alphonso Parker, 27, was arrested on similar charges, police said.

Following the arrests, the statement added that the deputies were hit with a “cup of alcohol,” while another cop was sucker-punched by a male subject who then fled the area. Another deputy and a DeLand Police Department officer were “hit with a barstool and mason jar,” by some attendees who immediately escaped the scene. “Glass bottles were also being thrown at patrol vehicles in the street while arrests were being made,” the statement added.

As a result, a Volusia County police officer suffered a minor knee injury, whilst a DeLand officer sustained a minor head injury. “Overall, deputies conducted 12 traffic stops, issued five citations, towed five vehicles, made seven arrests, recovered two firearms, some narcotics and $3,840 in cash,” Volusia Sheriff spokesman Andrew Gant told the West Volusia Beacon.

The state health department is currently opposed to allowing more than 250 people in a gathering due to the coronavirus pandemic.