JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – News4Jax has obtained the police reports of the violent altercation with officers and two men in Jacksonville Beach over the weekend.
The reports said officers tried to stop two men from revving engines and playing loud music in a parking lot off 1st Street around 2 a.m. on Sunday, when things turned violent.
According to the report, Officer Kyle Keenan approached a Dodge Charger with black racing stripes, playing music that could be heard for “several blocks.” The report said Joseph Chiarle, 26, was sitting in the driver’s seat.
The report said Chiarle refused to identify himself despite the officer asking him numerous times and becoming verbally aggressive. After five requests, Chiarle gave the officer his ID.
Officer Hughes and Corporal O’Connell joined Keenan while he was processing Chiarle’s information in his patrol vehicle.
The report said O’Connell noticed an open can of “Minute Maid Spike Vodka Punch” in the driver’s door next to Chiarle’s leg, resulting in a DUI investigation.
Michael Whitaker, 21, the report said, “inserted him into the investigation” and stood in between O’Connell and Hughes. The report said the officers told Whitaker to “move back” as he “had no business related to the investigation that was developing with Chiarle.”
Whitaker did not follow their instructions, the report said, continuing to hold a cell phone in O’Connell’s face. That’s when the encounter turned violent.
According to police, Whitaker “forcefully” bit O’Connell’s left hand, causing him to frantically yell, “He’s trying to bite my fingers off!”
Hughes and Keenan started punching Whitaker to get him to release O’Connell’s hand, the report said.
Whitaker violently resisted the officers as he was forced to the ground, the report detailed. O’Connell tased Whitaker to subdue him.
While Whitaker was being apprehended, the report said, Chiarle ran off, found an unlocked car to hide in until the police activity was over, but was soon recognized and detained.
O’Connell was taken to the hospital. He reported numbness in his fingertips and shooting pain from his elbow to his wrist.
Much of this altercation was caught on cell phone video and has been circulating on social media. News4JAX confirmed that police are reviewing those videos in the investigation.
Whitaker and Chiarle have been charged with multiple crimes, including resisting officers with violence and aggravated battery.
Another individual, who police said was uninvolved in the incident, was also arrested for violating the HALO Law.
The report said the man was screaming at the officers while recording the incident, despite commands not to come within 25 feet of the officers.
He was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.
Residents who spoke with News4JAX did offer opinions on the altercation over the weekend.
“Jax Beach is kind of wild. It’s a young community. It’s a bar community. There’s no reason to do it. It does disrupt the peace. We do have the ocean there. A lot of people use lights on the beach. A lot come to beach and they’re inconsiderate,” said resident Nikoli Klumpp.