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Video: LEOs attacked with bar stools, glass bottles after arrest at block party

Police were arresting a felon in possession of a loaded weapon when a crowd gathered and began hurling projectiles at the officers

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Staff Report
Orlando Sentinel

DELAND, Fla. — A weekend block party that had an estimated 3,000 people in DeLand was broken up by police and sheriff’s deputies resulting in some arrests that drew the ire of some of the attendees.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office released video of the chase and take down of a suspect during authorities’ efforts to disperse the crowd late Saturday and early Sunday morning.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a press release that negative press coverage from one media outlet was one of the reasons to release the video, to show the sheriff’s office perspective of the events.

“Where else in Volusia County does a mob of thousands of people pack the streets? Where else are people throwing glass bottles at law enforcement and sucker punching deputies?” Chitwood said in a press release. “How are we supposed to turn a blind eye to someone pointing a gun at a crowd, or two convicted felons exchanging a loaded gun right in front of our face? Our response to last night’s events in DeLand was not about race. It’s about public safety.”

https://www.facebook.com/VolusiaSheriff/videos/724899021615754/

The sheriff’s office said the gathering drew thousands and was uneventful during the daytime as both sheriff’s deputies and DeLand Police were on scene. At night, though, several incidents took place, the sheriff’s office said.

One incident the sheriff’s office said can be seen in the video was the arrest of a suspect after deputies witnessed a loaded gun being handed off from one convicted felon to another.

Response to the arrest showed surrounding crowds, and the sheriff’s office said that in the aftermath, officers and deputies endured attacks using bottles, jars and bar stools as weapons or projectiles.

The sheriff’s office said the incident happened shortly before midnight when Alphonso Parker exchanged a firearm with Charles Turner, and as deputies ordered them to stop, Turner, a convicted felon out on bond, fled, and threw the gun away. Deputies recovered the firearm, a loaded Roger 9mm, and Turner was charged with two counts of possession of a weapon/ammunition by a convicted felon, tampering with evidence, inciting a riot and resisting an officer without violence.

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