FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Fort Lauderdale police released all of the police-worn body camera footage from a Black Lives Matter protest that erupted into violence in May.
In the video, two officers are heard cursing, laughing and appearing to be joking about shooting protesters and potentially injuring them with rubber bullets.
It's the same black lives matter protest from May 31st where a protester, LaToya Ratlieff, was hit in the eye with a rubber bullet, and where a 19-year-old protester was on her knees and got shoved by Fort Lauderdale Police officer Steven Pohorence, who was charged with battery on Tuesday.
Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione sent out a statement on Wednesday in response to the newly released video, saying:
“The entire video clearly demonstrates our officers were under attack by a group of people who chose to use violence instead of peace to antagonize the situation. Although the language is extreme, and offensive to some, our officers were dealing with the chaos of a developing situation”
Furthermore, he said his department is currently reviewing some 8,000 minutes of body camera footage from that May 31st protest.