Police in Lake Wales, Florida are investigating a weekend traffic stop that nearly ended in a riot.
Dozens of neighborhood residents swarmed police as they worked to take three suspects into custody during the stop.
Multiple cameras, including the dashboard units mounted in patrol cars and others on one police officer’s TASER captured the melee.
Two of the three suspects were able to escape because of the crowd’s actions.
A number of citizen complaints were filed with the department after the incident, Assistant Chief Chris Velasquez said Monday. Coupled with a use of force by officers, that automatically starts an administrative review.
“The biggest goal right now is to get any and all evidence that is out there,” Velasquez said. “That means any and all video or photographs circulating around.
“There were a lot of emotions out there and it led to a very dangerous situation for the public and for the police officers,” he added.
Velasquez said rumors circulated through the community that police had shot someone and that drew a larger, more belligerent crowd.