Body camera video shows children rescued during tense hostage standoff

Fatal Orlando standoff weighed heavily on Ocala officers' minds

OCALA, Fla. – When Ocala police responded to an apartment complex on NE 23rd Circle Saturday afternoon, they knew several young children, a woman, and a man they considered to be armed and dangerous were inside.

Police said neighbors had called police to report children screaming and a man beating a woman inside the apartment.

Police identified the man as Earl Thomas Mozell Jr., a 31-year-old man with a nearly decade-long violent criminal past, including arrests for battery, assault on a police officer, domestic battery, theft and burglary.

Officers are overheard on body camera video repeating what a neighbor told them.

"She's saying I know for a fact the guy's in there, there's kids in there, and I heard them screaming and crying," the officer said. "I heard the sound of what sounded like him beating her up, I heard her crying and him yelling inside."

Body camera video shows officers making multiple attempts to get someone inside the apartment to open the door.

"Ocala police department, come to the door. We can't leave until we verify everybody in the house is OK," the officers yelled.

At one point, officers can be heard discussing plans to rescue the children, presumably with the SWAT team.

"How soon can you get here?" the officer said into his radio. "We're talking like 10 to 15 minutes. If not, we're going to have to kick the door in."

Police decided to wait for the SWAT team to arrive and suit up, considering Mozell's violent history. 

VIDEO: Children rescued during tense standoff

They were also keenly aware of what had happened in Orlando just days earlier - a violent felon had taken four children hostage, killed all four children and shot an officer in the face through the apartment door.

Ocala Police spokesperson Meghan Shay said the tragedy was weighing heavily on officers' hearts and minds.

[READ: Funeral plans announced for children killed in Orlando hostage situation

"It's definitely on your mind as you enter a situation with a similar case, the number of children, the domestic violence background, the fact that you have an armed subject barricaded in an apartment," Shay said. "All of those circumstances were eerily similar so we're that much more grateful that everyone got to go home safely that night."

Police kept knocking until the door opened and five children, some in diapers, appeared with their mother.

Police grabbed all of them and pulled them out of the apartment and rushed them to safety to a nearby park

"I think in any situation where there are kids in the home, you're going to operate differently than if the kids are safe," Shay said. "We were able to take measures slower than we normally would to make sure we didn't agitate him or lead him to violence because we knew the kids were safe and secure."

[MORE: Children shot in bed while they slept during hostage situation, police say | Makeshift memorial created for children killed in hostage situation]

Hours later, police broke the window of the apartment to hand Mozell a phone and spotted him running from his hiding place. They ordered him out.

"Hands up! Walk backward, walk backward to me," officers yelled.

Body camera video shows Mozell lay down on the ground and then try to lift his body with his arms while officers ordered him to stay down. Officers tased him and handcuffed him with flex cuffs.

"We're almost done, just getting you cuffed, sir," officers told Mozell.

Officers said they later found a shotgun and a stolen handgun inside the apartment.

[RELATED: Family asks for continued prayers for Officer Kevin Valencia after shooting | Wife of Orlando police officer shot by hostage suspect: 'He is fighting every second']

Mozell is charged with domestic battery with strangulation and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, among other charges.

Mozell is currently in the Marion County Jail.

A judge set bond at $30,000 according to the bond schedule, Marion County Clerk of Courts spokesman Jeff Fuller said, and because the assistant state attorney did not make an argument for a higher bond during Mozell's first appearance.


About the Author:

Erik von Ancken anchors and reports for News 6 and is a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist in the prestigious and coveted "On-Camera Talent" categories for both anchoring and reporting.

Recommended Videos