Chattahoochee residents held an emergency meeting after a viral video showed police using pepper spray. Neighbors filed more than 10 formal complaints filed with authorities.
The video showed an officer using a chemical agent near Bleachers Pub and Grub. Neighbors voiced concerns and described personal encounters with police force Monday night. Watch the video below to hear what police and community members say about the incident. Viral video sparks emergency meeting over police use of force in Chattahoochee
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Neighbors gathered Monday in Chattahoochee for an emergency community meeting after a viral video raised new questions about police use of force and accountability.
Were not afraid anymore. We came down here to stand on what we believe. And if we go, we got to stand together,” said community meeting organizer AJ Fisher.
The video posted to Facebook showed an officer deploying a chemical agent during a late-night disturbance near Bleachers Pub and Grub. The post quickly spread online.
Meeting organizers said they wanted to create a space where neighbors could share their concerns in an official way.
We want them to know that you dont have to live in fear. You know, youve got somebody to speak up for you even when you feel like you cant speak for yourself,” Fisher said.
That is our biggest stance: taking action and making sure that we are getting done what needs to be done. Tonight it shows us that the people are ready to take action, said community meeting organizer Jasz Da Great.
Several attendees filled out formal complaints against the police department. Others shared some of their personal experiences.
According to a Chattahoochee police incident report, officers responded to Highway 90 around 1:23 Sunday morning after about 20 people were seen fighting in the roadway and blocking traffic.
The report states the officer on scene activated his emergency lights and siren and issued verbal commands for the crowd to stop fighting and clear the road. Police say the crowd did not comply and the officer deployed pepper spray multiple times to disperse the group.
The police department reports that after the third deployment, the crowd began to move into nearby parking lots.
I spoke with Police Chief Michael Miller earlier Monday. He says the officer used the least lethal method available to disperse the crowd and also confirms the body-worn camera footage was corrupted during the download process.
Weve had several instances where weve had to go up to the businesses, bars in that general area for fights in the past, and theres been a couple of occasions where chemical agents were used to disperse the fighting crowd that were blocking the streets at that time as well, Miller said.
Neighbor Valentina Boykin says she was an innocent bystander who was hit by the spray.
I was walking out of Bleachers, and I felt something really really hot on my arm. The police was just spraying everybody. I ended up in the hospital. I had an allergic reaction,” Boykin said.
Organizers say they collected more than 10 complaint forms to submit to the attorney general, the police department, and the ethics commission.
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