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Winter Haven PD stands by officers after incident involving child who had hands behind back

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Updated  March 6, 2025 11:17am EST
Winter Haven
FOX 13 News

The Brief

    • The Winter Haven Police Department is standing behind its officers, but also signaling potential changes, after an incident involving a child as officers worked to detain two adults.
    • Videos show officers ordering a woman to get on the ground, at which point the child mimicked her actions.
    • WHPD said the officer's gun was never pointed at the child and police immediately worked to calm the child down.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Winter Haven Police Department is standing behind its officers, but also signaling potential changes, after an incident on Tuesday afternoon involving a small child that sparked strong reactions on social media.

Winter Haven Police Chief Vance Monroe, joined by several other city and community leaders, spoke at a news conference on Thursday, during which videos of the encounter were shown from multiple angles.

Courtesy: Winter Haven Police Department.

Courtesy: Winter Haven Police Department.

What do the videos show?

The backstory:

WHPD said officers were dispatched to an armed robbery call, which was soon re-classified as a disturbance involving a gun, at Santiago's Market off Havendale Blvd.

Investigators said the 29-year-old seen with the gun got into an argument with a store employee in the parking lot, then left in a Nissan Altima with a woman and child inside.

A "be on the lookout" (BOLO) was issued after the disturbance. Officers said they found the vehicle at the American Legion off Avenue M NW.

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Dig deeper:

Police said the 29-year-old man, along with the woman and child, had gotten out of the vehicle, and the man was found inside the building where he was quickly detained by officers.

The 27-year-old woman was also told to get on the ground, with video showing she immediately complied with their orders.

Her young child mimicked her actions, police said, which sparked outrage from community members on social media.

Bodycam video: Incident involving Winter Haven PD

The Winter Haven Police Department is addressing an incident that happened Tuesday afternoon involving a small child while officers worked to detain two people. Courtesy: The Winter Haven Police Department.

WHPD said officers detained the woman and immediately worked to calm the child.

Police also said they found a diamondback 9mm semiautomatic pistol in the car.

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Police respond to social media reaction

What they're saying:

On Thursday, Chief Monroe stood behind his officers' actions while expressing sympathy for the child and the child's family.

"The optics are bad. We're not going to skip around it. The optics of this incident are bad. They're terrible," Monroe said. "I truly wish that this child was not exposed to this."

Monroe also said he spoke with members of the child's family and apologized to them.

"I know moving forward, we're definitely going to be looking at ways and other avenues that we can safely and effectively engage with our citizens in situations like this," Monroe said.

Pictured: Winter Haven Police Chief Vance Monroe speaks at a news conference on Thursday.

Pictured: Winter Haven Police Chief Vance Monroe speaks at a news conference on Thursday.

"I was appalled when I saw the video clip," Mayor Nathaniel Birdsong said when discussing his initial reaction, but praised the officers after a review of additional footage "changed my opinion."

Chief Monroe echoed statements the department made in a news release on Wednesday, which said the officers "responded with an appropriate level of caution with the understanding there was a weapon involved seeking to resolve the situation."

Monroe said the officer approaching the woman immediately pointed his gun toward the ground when he saw the child, adding that the officer's gun was never pointed at the child.

On Wednesday, WHPD said the department notified the Department of Children and Families of the incident because "it was a violent crime committed in the presence of a child." However, both the man and woman were released by police, along with the child, because the store employee didn't press charges.

What's next:

WHPD said complaint affidavits were filed with the State Attorney's Office for affray, which means fighting in a public setting, and improper display of a weapon.

The Source: This story was written using information from the Winter Haven Police Department.

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