ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando police are responding to social media claims that officers failed to act after someone reported a person waving a knife before Friday night’s stabbing in downtown Orlando.
The department’s new timeline follows Channel 9’s previous coverage of video from the confrontation and witness accounts that the man who was stabbed had threatened another man and possessed a knife before the fight.
Police arrested Deaveon Jaquan Brown after the stabbing near Orange Avenue and Central Boulevard.
According to the Orlando Police Department, someone called at 10:10 p.m. to report a person waving a knife near 22 S. Magnolia Avenue.
Two OPD bike units were dispatched at 10:13 p.m. and arrived three minutes later, police said. Officers searched the area but could not find the person.
At about 10:31 p.m., officers saw two people fighting near Orange Avenue and Central Boulevard.
OPD said video evidence shows the victim had a knife and a belt before placing the knife on the ground. Police said Brown then picked up the knife and stabbed the victim multiple times.
The department said several people witnessed or recorded the fight, but no one called 911 to report the altercation. OPD said it received no additional calls concerning either person before, during or after the stabbing.
The victim was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition and underwent surgery. Police now say the victim is expected to survive.
Brown was arrested on charges of attempted first-degree murder with a weapon, aggravated battery, possession of a deadly weapon by a convicted felon and use of a weapon in the commission of a felony.
According to OPD, Brown had been released from prison 10 days before the stabbing after serving time for possession of MDMA. Police said records also show multiple previous convictions, including a prison sentence connected to an armed robbery.
OPD said it released the timeline to address concerns about its response and correct what it described as inaccurate accounts circulating online.
The department did not say whether investigators are considering self-defense or whether the video and witness accounts could affect the charges Brown faces.
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