WESTON, Fla. – Video of a Broward County deputy taking a suspect to the ground has led to scrutiny on social media.
The incident happened at around 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 22 at the Bonaventura Town Center club in Weston.
“Did you see what he did?” someone could be heard saying in the video, which was seen on TikTok.
The video shows 22-year-old Khalil Pace, who was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, deputies were responding to a report of “some individuals smoking marijuana at the facility.”
“When deputies arrived, they met with the center’s executive director who said employees saw two people smoking marijuana in the restroom,” BSO spokesperson Veda Coleman-Wright said. “At the request of management, the deputies went to the gym and asked the four men, who are in their early 20′s, to leave.”
The group then “became loud, argumentative and caused a disturbance,” she said.
Coleman-Wright said one of them called the executive director a “racist” and yelled: “Shut yo b---- a-- up.”
Local 10 News later spoke to Pace, who offered his account of what happened.
“Me and my friend, we went to the restroom for probably about 30 seconds to a minute and we came right back to the lobby. The manager walked up to us and asked like, with four employees, he was like, ‘Do you guys have a weed pen on you guys? My employee said he smells weed in the restroom,” Pace said. “We were like, ‘No, we don’t.’”
That’s when Pace said the manager walked in with two deputies and told the group to leave. He admitted to using salty language towards the manager as he left.
“I made a mistake,” Pace said. “I’ll admit, like, I shouldn’t have told him to shut up. But that’s no reason.”
Pace said his friends began recording after the deputy “snatched” him by his hoodie and “yanked” him back. He then said he tried to use his phone and was told he couldn’t make any calls.
“I was just like, ‘Alright, I need to hand my phone to my friend,’” Pace said. “As I’m handing him my phone, (the deputy) just chokes (me) and I felt wronged. I felt humiliated. I felt like powerless. It just was like, why?”
Permanent trespass warnings were issued for all four men that were present, according to BSO. No injuries were reported.
“Per BSO policy, district command and the Training Division are already reviewing the arrest to determine if the force used was consistent with agency training and policy,” Coleman-Wright said.