MIAMI _ The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has opened an internal investigation into an officer who shot a woman in the head with a foam rubber bullet at a protest on Sunday, fracturing her eye socket and leaving her bloody and stunned.
Shooting someone in the head with such a projectile can be deadly, according to manufacturer documents.
"This particular case, we felt from what we saw, could potentially be a violation of policy," Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione said in an interview late Wednesday. "A 'less lethal round' striking someone around the head, neck or groin, you could hurt somebody."
The officer has not been publicly identified or relieved of duty. The department had previously suggested it would not open an investigation without a formal complaint from the woman, LaToya Ratlieff _ whose eyes are so swollen she can barely read. That changed after days of outcry on social media and public political pressure from state Democrats.
"I am responsible for every single thing that my police department does," said Maglione, who added that he is asking those present at the anti-police brutality protest in downtown Fort Lauderdale to submit videos of the incident to an online portal.
The chief said he had authorized officers to use "less lethal munitions" and tear gas in situations where officers or the general public were in immediate danger.
Ratlieff told the Miami Herald that she has not yet called back the internal affairs investigators who contacted her late Wednesday night.
"The past few days have been overwhelming," Ratlieff said. "I'm currently in pain, both emotionally and physically, and right now I need to focus first on my health and recovery."
The 34-year-old, a grant writer for a nonprofit organization, joined an estimated 2,000 marchers protesting the death of George Floyd, where violence erupted after an officer shoved a kneeling young woman. Water bottles were flung at the officer as he retreated. Police used tear gas and foam rubber bullets against protesters. Maglione said that before the officer waded into the crowd, protesters "attacked" a female officer in a vehicle, leading her to send out a distress call. Roughly 500 officers were on duty for the protest, according to the chief.
Ratlieff never threw anything nor did she participate in any forms of violence, according to videos from the scene and Herald reporters who witnessed the incident. She was stumbling away from the crowd choking on tear gas around 7 p.m. when another officer fired at her from about 10 yards away. Reporters later found cartridges of "foam batons" at the scene, a type of "less lethal" munition shot from a rifle-barreled launcher at 280 feet per second and commonly referred to in the United States as "rubber bullets."
A projectile of that type can be deadly when fired at the head and such a shot should only be taken in situations were deadly force would be warranted, according to department policy.
Ratlieff had been on her knees, peacefully protesting and encouraging others to stay calm and join her when police launched tear gas. She was leaving the scene when she was shot. In videos of the incident, no officer came to her aid, although fellow protesters did.
"If things were done improperly, if things were done illegally, we need to get to the bottom of it," Mayor Dean Trantalis said in an interview.
Maglione and Trantalis both blamed outside "agitators" for the violence. They said a group of individuals not associated with the main protest came prepared to fight and had stashed bricks to throw at officers. A few individuals launched fireworks at police that the chief described as "a quarter stick of dynamite."
Trantalis said he had not yet watched videos of the Ratlieff incident, which were published by the Herald and have been circulating on social media this week.
"I honestly don't know how it happened," the mayor said. "I don't know the circumstances. I don't think you do either. All I know is this woman was hurt. No one should be hurt during a demonstration."
He said the city now wants to help make sure Ratlieff gets "proper medical treatment."
In a statement issued after this story was published, Trantalis called the shooting "reprehensible."
Broward Democratic leaders called for the city to take action at a virtual news press conference Wednesday.
State Sen. Gary Farmer, the incoming Florida Senate Democratic leader, said the officer who shot Ratlieff should "immediately be terminated and charged criminally."
Maglione said that no criminal investigation could take place without Ratlieff giving a statement to police.
"Right now, there's nothing criminal to be looked at," the chief said. "We need to talk to her. We need a victim. That's the way to get this rolling. Once she tells us her side of the story, if it needs to be looked at criminally, absolutely (the Florida Department of Law Enforcement) will do that."
The department did relieve another officer, Steven Pohorence, from duty after video emerged of him shoving a kneeling woman in the face at the protest. Pohorence was removed from the scene by a black female officer, Krystle Smith, but his actions sparked an angry reaction from protesters. The ensuing violence lasted for two hours as officers fired tear gas and foam rubber bullets at attendees of a march that had been peaceful all afternoon.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating Pohorence's conduct at the protest. City records show he has been reviewed by internal affairs 79 times for using force since he was hired in October 2016. He has never been found to have violated department policy, according to the records.
For most of the day, officers had kept their distance from protesters. That was intentional on the part of both organizers and police. Both sides said they wanted to maintain peace.
"My direction was nobody in field in force gear that are visible. No special force vehicles," Maglione said. "Sometimes that makes things worse."
The chief said that he and most of his officers "support the message" that led marchers into the streets in peaceful protest.
