On Tuesday night, in Tallahassee, iceballs and pepper balls faced off against one other in the snow and sleet.
In College Town, which is mostly made up of Florida State University students, people flooded the streets to celebrate the historic winter storm and to toss snowballs.
The police ended up using pepper balls.
According to a statement made by Lieutenant Damon Miller of the Tallahassee Police agency, the incident began when the agency got reports from people reporting that snowballs were being thrown at cars in the 700 Block of Madison Street, which is located near the Florida State University campus and is filled with bars, restaurants, and residences.
One person in the vehicle said that they were struck in the head.
Miller stated in an email that the face of the responding police officer and the patrol car were also hit by a “ice projectile.” An unknown individual hurled a “snow/iceball” into the car and at the officer’s face after the police had delivered vocal warnings over the car’s speaker. The suspect then fled the scene.
The storm that hit Tallahassee brought snow and sleet, and most of the wintry combination was more icy than powdery.
The officer instructed the throng to break up and cease throwing snow. According to Miller, it did not, and other cops were also hit.
“In response, the officers retrieved their pepper ball systems from their vehicles and issued additional warnings,” Miller stated. “When the crowd continued to be non-compliant, the officer fired pepper balls in a strategic manner to encourage the dispersal of the disorderly crowd.”
Miller stated that the pepper balls did not hit any bystanders, but they did have the desired effect of dispersing the gathering. A single individual was taken into custody for “Battery on Law Enforcement Officer.”
“The Tallahassee Police Department reminds the public that while winter storms can be exciting, throwing hard ‘ice balls’ can be dangerous due to the hard impact when thrown and can be illegal,” according to Miller.
Videos of the incident have rapidly circulated on social media.
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Barstool FSU shared a video with the tagline, “You can’t stop Noles on Snow Day.” It showed the College Town throng chanting the War Chant at the police.
The user has shared another video that shows the crowd running away from the pepper balls. Some entries incorrectly refer to the dispersal chemical that was utilized as tear gas.
Some people are worried about the use of pepper balls
There are also those people who are worried about the response. For example, Barstool FSU wrote, “Tally PD hates fun.”
Lisa Lewin, a parent of two students at Florida State University, expressed her discontent with the use of pepper balls in a phone interview with the Tallahassee Democrat. She described herself as “very upset” and stated that she believed the use of pepper balls was an unnecessary and perhaps hazardous escalation.
Lewin remarked, “You fear for their safety.”
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