A family says police escorted them and their 3-year-old son off an i9 Sports youth soccer field in Winter Park after the league issued a trespass, following complaints from opposing parents that the boy held the ball too much and was “trying to put on a show.” The incident, captured in video the family posted
Upon arrival, police met with someone from the soccer league who made the call to police requesting that the family be asked to leave the area in which the soccer games were being played.
[H]e said the 3-year-old was allegedly pushing other players, so he told the child and the parents that no pushing was allowed.
The man said the child’s parents became irritated and caused a “big scene, arguing with the other parents,” according to the body-camera video.
“I just want them out, immediately,” he said.
Police said that because the games were being played in a public park, they could not be forced to leave, but that they would meet with the family to figure out what was going on.
The league official said that the mother was live-streaming their interactions, and that’s why he walked away from the family. The officers made their way to the other side of the field where the family was.
When officers made contact with the family, the mother said they were just confused and didn’t understand why her child was being removed from the soccer games and why they were being asked to leave the park.
Edit: Body cam footage was released:
https://www.wesh.com/article/winter-park-police-soccer-game-dispute-players-parents/74248881