Florida police who responded to a noise complaint at a house party were said to 'cower' after finding out their boss was a guest
- Florida police reportedly backed off a noise complaint after hearing their boss was a party guest.
- The sheriff's deputies were said to "cower" when partygoers told them the sheriff was at the house.
- "You guys do whatever you want. Have a nice night," one deputy said, according to body-cam footage.
Florida sheriff's deputies were in for a big surprise after responding to a noise complaint for a house party only to be told their boss was a guest at the event.
The deputies were following up a noise complaint issued by the neighbors of a home in Parkland, Florida, on March 27, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
But when they arrived, several partygoers outside the house told them Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony was attending the bash.
The Sun Sentinel said it reviewed body-camera footage of the encounter in which the officers were told repeatedly that their boss - who was never seen in the footage - was nearby.
One partygoer reportedly told them they could go around the side of the house to see for themselves, with a deputy responding, "I'm like scared to go."
To prove the sheriff was there, one of the partygoers pulled out a phone with pictures, according to the Sun Sentinel. The deputy apparently responded by saying "Oh!" before backing away.
"You guys do whatever you want," the deputy said after a while, walking away, according to the Sun Sentinel. "Have a nice night."
Gordon Weekes, the Broward County public defender, reviewed the footage as well and told the Sun Sentinel it showed the deputies appearing to "cower away."
Weekes added that the average person "doesn't get that level of deference from law enforcement when they have that kind of encounter."
Records show the deputies responded to the party about 30 minutes before the local noise ordinance takes effect, the Sun Sentinel reported, and a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, Veda Coleman-Wright, defended the deputies' handling of the situation.
"The deputies responded and determined there was no noise violation," Coleman-Wright said, according to the Sun Sentinel. "The outcome would have been the same under the same circumstances if someone called in a noise complaint to your home."
Coleman-Wright said she didn't know whether the sheriff was actually at the gathering.
Florida has been reopening from a state lockdown since September. Restaurants and bars are permitted to open at 50% capacity and localities also cannot enforce mask mandates.
National health officials are advising against gatherings of 10 or more people. It is unclear how many people were at the party.