ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Police Department released excerpts of body-worn camera video showing officers walking through a crowd at a pro-Palestine protest in Lake Eola Park on Saturday, as well as the moment an officer pepper sprayed the group during a scuffle.
Police estimate about 1,200 people were at Lake Eola Park for the Saturday afternoon protest.
Organizers told News 6 that people came from around the state to protest the continued military conflict in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis.
The current conflict in Gaza, which began Oct. 7, 2023, has killed 35,091 Palestinians, including more than 14,000 children. This is according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza and reported by the United Nations as of May 12.
The UN also reports 272 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza or along the Israeli border since the beginning of the conflict, as well as over 1,200 Israeli citizens and foreign nationals, including 33 children. Most of the civilians were killed on Oct. 7. The UN also estimates about 132 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza.
[RELATED: Palestinians recount Nakba history with war in Gaza as a reminder]
Orlando police said again Wednesday that most of the protesters at Lake Eola Saturday demonstrated peacefully. However, Kelvin Santos Mulero, 22, and Frankie Pagan, 19, were arrested and face charges of battery on a law enforcement officer.
The first piece of bodycam video released shows a police officer going into the crowd. The officer tells other officers that he is going in to tell a speaker that they can’t use a device to amplify their voice, claiming it’s a violation of the city’s ordinance.
In the video we see two men step in front of the officer, blocking his way, and screaming for the protesters to lock arms. As the officer tries to push his way through, there is a scuffle of some kind, and we see at least one of the men put on the ground and put in handcuffs. A second bodyworn camera video shows more officers trying to wade in and protesters trying to push the officers out of the way.
In the first video, the sound of a spray being deployed can be heard. Police used a chemical agent at one point to disperse the crowd.
[RELATED: Israelis mark a subdued Independence Day under the shadow of war in Gaza]
News 6 has requested unedited body camera videos from OPD, information on where permits were approved for the protest and what they said, and more about the charges against Santos Mulero and Pagan.
The protest organizers timed the protest to commemorate the Nakba, a period in 1948 when some 700,000 Palestinians either fled or were forced from their homes in what is now Israel. More than 15,000 Palestinians were killed in the Nakba, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, which is part of the Palestinian Authority.
On May 14, 1948, Israel declared independence, and Egypt, Syria and Jordan invaded in what became the Arab-Israeli War, which Israel won. Many Palestinians who fled were not permitted to return.
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