Referring to more than 1,000 arrests at one of the country’s top party locations, Miami Beach officials warned Sunday that the unruly Spring Break crowd that gathered by the thousands fighting in the streets destroys restaurant properties and refuses to wear masks, one has become a serious threat to the public. safety.
The commissioners met almost Sunday and extended the emergency statement Released Saturday in response to the unruly crowd in South Beach, CBS Miami reported.
City officials kept open to the option of extending it well into April if necessary, stressing that this isn’t the typical spring break crowd. They said they are not students, but adults who want to let go in one of the few states that are completely open during the pandemic
They also voted on Sunday to extend the nighttime closure of three causeways entering the city to keep out incoming traffic, CBS Miami says. Residents are exempt from closing the causeway.
Law enforcement officers from at least four other agencies, along with SWAT teams, were added to keep the raucous crowds at bay, but that was not enough. After days of partying, including several clashes with police, Miami Beach officials enacted a highly unorthodox curfew on Saturdays from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., forcing restaurants to sit outside during the three-day emergency period and encouraging local businesses to volunteer. to close. .
More than half of the more than 1,000 arrests were from out of state, city manager Raul Aguila said, adding that many come “to engage in lawlessness and a go-to-go attitude.” He also noted that the throngs were not eating in restaurants or patronizing businesses bringing in much-needed tourism dollars, but were only gathering in the streets by the thousands.
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Cops in body armor distributed pepper spray balls in a defiant, but mostly non-violent crowd Saturday night and refused to submit to curfews instituted only four hours earlier. Some people responded by jumping on cars, twerking, and throwing money in the air.
A military-style vehicle rolled down the palm-lined Ocean Drive as Miami Beach’s outnumbered police officers struggled to disperse the raucous crowd on Saturday. Tourists were urged to stay in their hotels and pedestrians or vehicles were not allowed to enter the restricted area after 8 PM
Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements initially became concerned on Monday, when the crowds seemed bigger than usual on a generally quieter day. A group of vehicles blocked the street “and basically had an impromptu street party,” he said. On Thursday, the crowd grew, fighting broke out and caused dangerous rammers from people fleeing safety.
“We couldn’t go on any longer,” Clements said at Sunday’s meeting, defending the city’s curfew. “I think this was the right decision,”
On Friday night, the police said the partying was getting out of hand. A restaurant was turned ‘upside down’ in the fight, ‘chairs were used as weapons’ and broken glass covered the floor.
Next door, iconic bar Clevelander South Beach announced it was temporarily halting all food and beverage outlets until at least March 24th after the Ocean Drive crowd became overcrowded and erupted into street fighting.
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After gunshots were fired, a young woman cut her leg so hard in a stampede that she was transported to hospital where they initially believed she had been shot, police said.
“How many more things are we going to let happen before we act,” said Clements.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said he has trouble sleeping at night as he is worried about the parties getting out of hand.
“When hundreds of people run through the streets in panic, you realize that’s not something a police force can control,” he said at a committee meeting on Sunday.
Local officials are struggling to enforce the COVID regulations. Florida has no statewide mask rules, capacity restrictions, or other such restrictions, courtesy of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’s pro-corporate stance.
“I think very few places have been open since our state was open,” said Gelber.
A commissioner asked whether a toll could be levied on non-residents to discourage visitors. Many said it was time for a new marketing campaign to transform South Beach’s into a party town, noting the small handful of arrests in nearby Fort Lauderdale over Spring Break.
Local officials and businesses are struggling to balance tourists to boost the economy while doing so safely amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Local residents complained that they spent three to four hours in traffic after bridges were closed during curfew and some restaurants asked for permission to continue delivering food after curfew.
Miami tourism officials say billions of dollars were lost when the pandemic first erupted last year, canceling spring break and forcing beach closures in the Sunshine State. The city’s tourism arm just spent $ 5 million on the largest national ad campaign in twenty years.