Jacksonville Mayor on viral fight video from Florida-Georgia game: 'Disturbing'
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said in a statement Sunday morning that she was aware of "several disturbing videos" from the Florida Gators-Georgia Bulldogs game that appear to show Jacksonville sheriff's officers repeatedly punching two presumed fans in the face and head.
She also said she had spoken with Jacksonville Sheriff T.K Waters and that an investigation had been launched.
"I'm aware of several disturbing videos circulating from yesterday's game. I have spoken to Sheriff Waters and the incidents are under investigation. We are awaiting the outcome of that investigation," she said in a statement, which was also posted to her social media pages.
Sheriff Waters has not yet publicly commented on the videos or the investigation.
A video was posted Saturday evening following the Gators-Bulldogs game, which was held in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs defeated t he Gators.
The 15-second video appears to show one officer punching someone repeatedly as they're covering their face and lying on the aisle steps, as another officer appears to repeatedly punch another person further down the aisle multiple times.
"Why are you punching him?" someone can be heard screaming in the video, which was posted on X by As of 11 p.m., the video had 5.9 million views.
FOX 35 cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video. It's also not clear what happened before that led to the law enforcement action.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has not released any information about what happened, what led to law enforcement interacting with the fans, nor whether anyone was hurt.
"The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's Professional Standards Division is aware of the videos circulating from the Georgia-Florida football game. Administrative reviews of the incidents are being opened," JSO said in a statement Saturday night.
"As such, the agency will not comment until all facts are known and the reviews have been completed."
A spokesperson for JSO sent FOX 35 the same exact statement Sunday morning. A spokesperson for the University of Florida declined to comment and deferred to JSO.
