A community meeting organized to talk about the officer-involved shooting of a teenager on Sunday was cut short on Tuesday night.
Friends of the teen started shouting over politicians, community leaders, Alachua County's sheriff, and his stepmother when she was speaking on stage.
Robert Dentmond called 911 around 10 p.m. on Sunday and told operators he had an M16 rifle and wanted to shoot himself. When Gainesville Police Department officers and Alachua County Sheriff deputies arrived at Majestic Oaks Apartment Complex, they said they saw Dentmond holding an AR-15 assault rifle.
Bryant Hodges, a friend of Dentmond, said he spoke up at the meeting because he was frustrated only Majestic Oak residents were allowed to speak and not other members of the community.
“They didn’t want to hear us. They wanted to calm down the community because they didn’t want us to riot,” Hodges said.
The gun turned out to be a replica of an assault rifle made to look almost identical to an AR-15, according to sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Brandon Kutner.
“It did not have the orange plastic tip that is required by federal law to discern it from a real weapon,” said Kutner.
Kutner said the deputies and officers did not drive into the complex. “They parked at the entrance of the complex and they approached on foot looking for the individual.”
The officers and deputies spoke to Dentmond and asked him to put the gun down. He put it down, but picked it back up again. When Dentmond turned to walk back to the apartment complex with the gun, officers and deputies opened fire.
Dentmond was shot and killed by nine officers. Four of them are Crisis Intervention Trained. CIT is a 40-hour training course to teach law enforcement how to identify a person who is in a crisis and how to deescalate the situation.
Organizers of the event wanted to put the focus of the meeting on mental healthcare.
“We have failed him and we are grief stricken,” said Robert Hutchinson, Alachua County Commissioner. Hutchinson said he was representing the Alachua County Mental Health Coalition.
“I’m also here as a parent who has lost a child to senseless violence that was avoidable.”
Hutchinson announced the Alachua County Commissioners will provide $5,000 in funding to the Alachua County NAACP for the family to properly care for Dentmond’s funeral expenses.
“They rushed the meeting off,” said Jecomiah Walker. Walker is another friend of Dentmond who spoke out at the meeting.
GPD and ACSO reached out to the Alachua County Chapter of the NAACP to organize the meeting. The meeting was held at the Power House Worship Center because of its promiximty to the Majestic Oaks apartment complex.
“We need more time. They need to hear more from the community because we can see more of what’s going on than when they’re behind their desk,” Walker said.