DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Daytona Beach police officer who was relieved of duty after a video of him punching a handcuffed man went viral last week has been investigated in the past, Chief Jakari Young confirmed Monday.
The officer, Joel Llinas, has been on the force since approximately 2022. Young did not describe the nature of the investigation, excusing himself by saying it had been a busy weekend and he wasn’t 100% confident about the details he remembered reviewing.
His confirmation about a prior investigation came after he attended a meeting of Black church leaders, NAACP members and other community groups, surprising them by speaking to them about the incident that raised alarms over what they viewed was an abuse of power.
“I needed to acknowledge what happened,” Young said, adding that he almost decided to not speak. “I needed to acknowledge the seriousness of what happened.”
Young said he found out about the video around lunchtime the day after it was filmed and immediately removed Llinas from duty.
He told cheering community members that he had spoken with prosecutors about the possibility of bringing criminal charges against Llinas, which he framed as a routine procedure in excessive use of force cases. If prosecutors review the case and decide against bringing those charges, Young promised a thorough internal investigation.
“What I watched on that video is not what I have been trying to do for the last six years,” Young said.
The detained man, 27-year-old David Anderson, was arrested for an open container violation and battery on an officer for throwing a tequila bottle cork at Llinas.
Llinas also wrote in his report that Anderson bit him while resisting arrest.
Anderson has hired Ben Crump to represent him. Crump’s team has not responded to multiple requests for comment and inquiries as to when Anderson would be able to speak publicly about the video and the arrest.
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