Jacksonville deputies were largely quiet amid mounting criticism they were too physical Saturday confrontations with rowdy fans witnessing a SEC football game affectionately known as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

Several cell phone videos of the fights went viral and appeared to show deputies responding with disproportionate force to unruly fans. Jeremy Williamson, who recorded one of the confrontations, told the Florida Times-Union it was a clear case of police brutality.

“What I witnessed was 100% wrong,” Williamson said.

On Monday, Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters defended his deputies, saying an initial review by the department’s Division of Professional Standards found they committed no policy violations during the annual Georgia-Florida University game.

Videos posted online only told half the story, he said. One of the fans threatened with death one officer while another tried to take his gun.

“I don’t need context, ‘N-word,'” the sheriff quoted a fan who called in a threat. “You better hope I don’t find out who you are.” I’m going to hunt down this “N-word” and kill him. Wine. Equalizer. I don’t care who they are. I’m getting ready to start putting bullets in them.”

Another fan, sitting in a seat that wasn’t his, threatened to kill an officer and then tried to take his gun. Body camera footage shows him refusing to move after two Jacksonville deputies, one black, the other white, told him he was trespassing.

The verbal confrontation continued until the black officer, Taser in hand, touched the white fan’s arm, prompting him to yell, “Don’t touch me, (N-word)!”

The black officer then punches the man as the white officer tries to handcuff him. The fan does not relent, calling the officer black three more times (the N-word) before he is finally handcuffed and led away.

“In this case, the cell phone camera footage that has been circulating since Saturday does not comprehensively capture the circumstances surrounding these cases,” Waters said. “Cellphone cameras did not capture the events that led to the arrests.”

There were a total of eight arrests and 35 ejections from EverBank Stadium.

Williamson said despite the fan’s foul words, “there was absolutely no excuse for what (the police) did.” In his video, you can see other fans protesting the officers’ treatment of the man, who was bleeding from the head.

In another video posted on X by Ohio’s Tate at Barstool Tatetwo officers are seen fighting with two fans in the stands. One of the fans is pushed up the stairs by the policeman, who punches him repeatedly, while the other officer is seen repeatedly punching an older man.

What you didn’t see, said Jacob Vorpahl, commander of public accountability and professional standards for the Sheriff’s Office, was one of the men threatening to kill a stadium worker he said tried to kidnap his children.

The worker got the deputies involved, who approached the ventilator and told her it was ejecting. The man can be heard telling another woman: “Remember what I told you, I’m either going to kill a policeman or I’m not going.”

It also urges officers to “Tase me.”

After some more back and forth, one of the officers deploys his Taser. The fan becomes more agitated and threatens the deputies, “Now you want some… Get your gun out.” A fight breaks out before the man is finally subdued and handcuffed.

Another incident involved a father and son who refused to leave after being expelled for unruly behaviour.