A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officer struck a 16-year-old in the face during an arrest at an Arlington McDonald’s following a teen takeover at Blue Cypress Park that involved over 200 teenagers. The incident occurred at the McDonald’s on Fort Caroline Road after officers shut down the takeover at the nearby park. Video footage captured the confrontation between the officer and the teenager, who was identified as the son of Ashley Butler.
According to the police report, officers monitoring the teens saw the juvenile directing part of the crowd to cross University Club Boulevard and Fort Caroline Road without using the marked crosswalk before entering the McDonald’s. When officers asked the juvenile for identification, they said he refused to comply. “You punched him,” Butler says in the recording. “Yes, I did,” the officer responds. “Right in the face.”
The JSO incident report states that an officer grabbed the juvenile’s wrist, the juvenile resisted, and the officer delivered one closed-fist strike to the juvenile’s face as a counter move. The officer then performed a modified takedown, and the juvenile was detained with his hands placed behind his back. Officers informed Butler they suspected her son was a “ringleader” who guided the large group across the street, a claim Butler disputes.
During the recorded encounter, officers justified the physical response by citing the volatile environment following the park takeover. “In our experience and training, he can be starting an attack,” an officer is heard saying on the video. “With shots fired, we don’t know if he’s armed. We don’t know your son.” Butler maintained that her son does not own a weapon.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office maintains the officer acted within department guidelines following their review of the incident. “Cell phone video and body-worn camera footage of this incident have been reviewed, and it was determined that there are no policy violations regarding use of force,” a JSO spokeswoman stated. The 16-year-old was detained for resisting an officer without violence and received a pedestrian citation.
Local defense attorney Chris Carson, who reviewed the footage but has no connection to the case, noted that while law enforcement is granted leeway in using force to detain individuals, the age of the suspect should be a factor. “I’d like to see the police exercise more restraint when dealing with children than they would when dealing with full-grown adults,” Carson said. The police report indicates the teen “tensed up and pulled back” while being detained, which officers say led to the use of force.
The McDonald’s arrest followed the shutdown of a teen takeover at Blue Cypress Park where over 200 young people had gathered. Three teenage girls, ages 12 and 13, were also arrested following the park incident. Authorities reported three arrests for fighting and investigated reports of shots fired at a neighboring apartment complex during the takeover event.
The incident has drawn attention to police use of force policies involving juveniles in Jacksonville. Butler learned of her son’s arrest from his friends after the confrontation at the McDonald’s location. The viral video circulating on social media captures the moment the officer strikes the teenager and the subsequent exchange between Butler and law enforcement officers at the scene.