Newly circulated police bodycam footage is shedding more light on a violent confrontation at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn. The video, recorded by deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, captures a chaotic early-morning incident involving an intoxicated Walt Disney World guest who shoved a woman onto the concrete and later attempted to flee from law enforcement at the Deluxe Resort hotel.
Disney’s BoardWalk Inn has long been associated with nighttime entertainment, drawing adult guests from EPCOT and the surrounding resort area to its popular lounges and bars. That environment became a backdrop for conflict on April 20, 2022, when deputies responded to a report of adults arguing near the Deluxe Disney Resort hotel.
The footage shows officers approaching a group already embroiled in a heated dispute. One member of the party warned deputies that the man causing the disorder—identified as Christian Gedell in the police report—was unpredictable and violent. As the officers tried to redirect the group toward the exit, the situation escalated. Christian repeatedly shouted at his companions, refused commands, and ignored deputies’ efforts to escort everyone away from the BoardWalk area without confrontation.
Deputies radioed concerns that the encounter might turn “into a fight.” Moments later, Christian shoved a woman in his party with enough force that her body struck the pavement, prompting officers to move in and restrain him.
The attempt to detain Christian sent the incident spiraling out of control. As deputies reached for him, the Disney Park guest sprinted away, initiating a brief foot chase across the BoardWalk. Officers quickly tackled him, but Christian resisted and began yelling at law enforcement. At one point, he shouted, “Shoot me!”
After being restrained, Christian was found to be bleeding from injuries sustained when he hit the ground. Deputies placed him in handcuffs and secured him inside a patrol vehicle. According to the police report, his earlier behavior had already caused families to run from the area. One deputy wrote that Christian’s running, screaming, and profanity “were causing hotel [guests] to run away from him.”
When the report was released in 2022, it revealed that the events had actually begun hours earlier inside EPCOT. Walt Disney World Resort cast members at the Rose and Crown Dining Room removed a group of four “disorderly” guests after one of them cursed at employees. Security instructed the group to leave EPCOT through the International Gateway, and they made their way to Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, where the confrontation with deputies unfolded.
The man in the blue shirt seen trying to calm Christian in the bodycam footage was identified as Christian’s brother, Robert Gedell. The report notes that Robert repeatedly apologized for his brother’s actions, but after Christian’s arrest, he became increasingly confrontational. Deputies warned him multiple times to step back and stop interfering, but he continued approaching officers, demanding answers. When he refused to comply, Robert was also arrested.
Christian Gedell, 24, was ultimately charged with resisting an officer without violence, disorderly conduct, and trespassing—each a misdemeanor. His brother, 32-year-old Robert Gedell, faced a misdemeanor charge of trespassing. Both men pleaded not guilty, though records do not clarify whether they were convicted.
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