NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. – Neptune Beach Police Chief David Sembach is responding to the backlash from a guitarist's arrest on the Fourth of July.
"This case was never about someone playing the 'Star Spangled Banner' -- what freedom loving American would object to that? This case was about the police having the responsibility to keep roadways and sidewalks traversable and as safe as possible," Sembach wrote on Facebook.
READ: Chief Sembach's full Facebook post
The Fourth of July arrest has garnered national attention, because cameras were rolling when Pittman was asked to move out of the street with his amplified guitar and again when his electric guitar rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was cheered by the crowd.
The cameras also caught the moment police put a stop to Pittman's performance.
"Out of respect for the national anthem, they let them finish the national anthem," Sembach told News4Jax. "He was told he was going to have to stop playing. He went to the sidewalk and continued playing, and it was only after that that the crowd was getting hostile, so the only way to stop it, since he wasn't going to stop playing, was to take him out of the location."
But it appears the chief left those details of the arrest out when he addressed Mayor Harriet Pruette and the council Monday.
"The council has not been formally briefed on this incident at all," Pruette told News4Jax. "We were told Monday night that one arrest was made, and we were not told the details, and considering the fact that this is nationwide news, for me, frankly, I find it unacceptable. We should be briefed as to what went on regarding this matter."
The State Attorney's Office is still reviewing the charges in Pittman's case.