JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Three men were arrested following a violent confrontation with police at a Jacksonville Beach parking lot early Sunday morning.
Officers with the Jacksonville Beach Police Department noticed a “disturbance” in the Pier Parking Lot at 502 1st Street North around 2 a.m.
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Officers saw individuals drinking alcohol inside a vehicle while “revving the engine” in the public parking lot," JBPD said.
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For the public’s safety, police cleared the area and addressed the situation.
The officers approached Joseph Chiarle, 26, Michael Whitaker, 21, and another individual, when, according to police, Chiarle and Whitaker became “aggressively violent” toward them, according to the JBPD.
While Chiarle and Whitaker were put inside a police vehicle, police said the other individual, who we are not naming since he is facing a misdemeanor charge, attempted to interfere with the arrest, disregarding multiple commands to “step away from the officers.”
One officer was taken to the hospital with injuries. Two others were injured but medically treated at the scene, according to JBPD PIO.
Their conditions were not immediately known.
“The violent attack against my officers this weekend is unacceptable. We will effectively deliver the level of force necessary to immediately stop any attack,” Chief of Police Gene Paul Smith said. “I will endorse the vigorous prosecution of the offender(s). We will unapologetically and aggressively continue to seek out criminal behavior to keep our citizens safe. If you come to Jacksonville Beach to harm my officers or my citizens and are not prepared to face swift justice, go elsewhere.”
Chiarle was arrested for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence and without violence and DUI.
Whitaker was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting with violence and aggrvated battery causing bodily harm.
The third person, who was arrested under the HALO Law, was charged with interference with a first responder on duty, which is a misdemeanor.