Gainesville police have made five arrests in connection with the torching of a police vehicle overnight Tuesday at an officer's house.
According to information released Wednesday at noon, the five suspects - all male - faces charges of second degree felony arson for burning the patrol vehicle.
The suspects have been identified as Delveccho Waller, 21, Jesse Smallwood, 21, Dashon Martin, 23 and Judah Bailey, 20, all of Gainesville; also arrested was Bruce Thompson, 22, of Oakwood.
Police Chief Jay Parrish said the incident unfolded Monday night, several hours after a peaceful protest attended by about 600 people ended in downtown Gainesville.
"There's still a contingent of people who want to use this opportunity to seek war on government, to seek war on police, to basically fall into anarchy," Parrish said during an interview with AccessWDUN. "They aren't looking at the social injustices that have occurred throughout history that have led to the movements you are seeing. They are just taking the opportunity to be criminals and catch police with their guard down."
As Monday's protest was breaking up, police were notified of a small fire that had been set in Roosevelt Square in downtown. It was quickly extinguished.
About two hours later, officials were notified about a vehicle fire in a Gainesville neighborhood. The vehicle turned out to be a Gainesville police SUV.
Parrish said an investigation, helped by some eyewitness information, identified a suspect vehicle. The vehicle was spotted and stopped. The people inside were arrested.
Parrish said police believe the suspects are responsible for both fires.
"When they start stalking us and find the police officers at their homes and at their residence, that become a very scary time," the chief said. "And it's doing the opposite of what everybody at that rally is trying to do."
In another incident Monday, a Gainesville officer received minor injuries when a suspect being arrested attacked the officer. Parrish said the suspect had an object hiding in his hand and when the officer tried to begin the arrest, the suspect hit the officer in the head. The officer suffered cuts and abrasions, Parrish said. That suspect has not been named.
"It shows that heightened level that people are willing to hide their intent in what looked like would be a compliant arrest turned violent very quickly," he said. While he said the incident was not directly related to the protests, he added, "I do think it was somewhat motivated by the undertones of what's going on around the country."
Parrish acknowledged that the past few days in Gainesville for everyone, including his officers, who he said are committed to keeping the peace and allowing protesters to have their say in a lawful way.
"I think we're still in the storm," Parrish said. "There's going to be a time very soon to check these officers' mental health. … Their hypervigilance is still a very top level. There's a ton of overtime going in. There's a lot of manpower on the street just to make sure everyone is safe. It's not just protecting the buildings but protecting these protesters that are doing it lawfully. It does take a lot of manpower, a lot of time away from their families."
