Video: Florida police laugh after shooting rubber bullets at protest
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Newly released body camera footage shows Florida police officers laughing and celebrating after shooting rubber bullets at a protest last month in which a Black woman was shot in the face and seriously injured.
Fort Lauderdale police posted a video on its official YouTube channel Wednesday taken from the body camera of Detective Zachary Baro, leader of the department’s SWAT team unit on May 31. At one point, Baro can be heard saying, “Beat it” and using a profanity after officers shot the less lethal projectiles.
LaToya Ratlieff was hit in the face with a rubber bullet during the largely peaceful demonstration less than a week after the death of George Floyd. The 34-year-old said she suffered a fractured skull and required 20 stitches. She couldn’t eat for a week and still has trouble seeing out of one blood-filled eye.
She has asked to sit down with the police department to discuss reform and make sure there’s accountability going forward. However, her spokesman said the city has not yet accepted her invitation.
“I’m heartbroken. We deserve better,” she said in response to the latest video.
During another section of the new video released Wednesday, Baro incorrectly tells another officer that his camera is not recording and the two officers begin laughing and joking about the people they had shot with rubber bullets.
Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione said the department was conducting an exhaustive review of nearly 8,000 minutes of body camera footage and a report is to be completed within the next month.