While Miami Beach police bring in reinforcements to respond to rowdy rowdies who clashed with police over the weekend, Fort Lauderdale reported few incidents amid large crowds of college students on the beach or elsewhere, and its mayor is receiving his sponsorship in companies looking to recover a year since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The contrast is striking, as the state and the country seek to recover from the effects of the coronavirus shutdowns and restrictions, while fighting the increase in travel during the spring break and in recent weeks.
“Sometimes, it seems that this city is under siege simply because of the volume of people arriving,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said during a virtual news conference on Wednesday.
“If you have fifty or a hundred thousand people coming there and only half a percent is rowdy or drunk or drugged to the point where it needs to be controlled, it becomes a situation that is truly chaotic and uncontrollable,” he said, according com for WTVJ, explaining that there are many people “coming with the desire to go crazy”, despite the coronavirus, which represents “a multifaceted danger for us”.
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He spoke on the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, which saw few incidents on the second day that reinforcements from the Miami-Dade Police were brought in to increase the presence of officers on the streets. A fatal shooting on Monday was the turning point for Gelber to seek security reinforcements after about 150 people were arrested over the weekend and two police officers were injured in clashes with crowds.
Fort Lauderdale Sgt. DeAnna Greenlaw declined to comment to Fox News on Wednesday about how many more visitors came to the area for spring break this year compared to 2020, explaining that the department responds to 400-450 large-scale special events year-round “out of COVID.”
“We are no strangers to large crowds on the beach and, so far, we have only had two arrests – one was for a warrant and the other for disorderly conduct,” she said. “We are delighted that everything is working for spring break.”
The department expects the spring break season to continue until April 18 and, speaking to FOX Business last week, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean J. Trantalis gave a welcoming message to potential visitors, telling students college students and any others outside the area, “Hey, come down.”
“It is better to be here in Florida than in a stuffy dorm. It is better to be here enjoying the fresh air than to be trapped in a house where you are taking shelter,” said Trantalis. “We have been very good at keeping the crowds, maintaining security. Don’t expect to get to Fort Lauderdale without wearing a mask, keeping the COVID protocols in place, but so far, things are going well.”
Over the weekend, an 18-year-old woman from Alabama was sexually assaulted in Fort Lauderdale by a man who impersonated her Uber driver when she was separated from friends over night. Responding to a question about the incident, Greenlaw said it could have happened to anyone – not just the spring breakers – and the police are reminding visitors and residents to confirm that the license plate on the vehicle you are entering is the same listed in the ride-hailing app.
Spring break crowds gather on Fort Lauderdale beach, despite the continuing pandemic of COVID-19. (Larry Marano / InStar / Cover images)
(Larry Marano / InStar / Cover images)
“We take this opportunity to remind visitors and our residents about safety precautions when using a ride-sharing company or ride-sharing application – all we can do is warn everyone in the community,” said Greenlaw. “We don’t think spring break is necessarily a target. This could have happened to anyone who isn’t paying attention to these clues.”
The application of the code deals with any kind of violation in relation to the CDC, city and county guidelines, Greenlaw said, so Fort Lauderdale law enforcement officials respond and step up code enforcement efforts. If someone is in a private establishment and is unwilling to comply with the rules there, they will receive an invasion warning and be sent away, she explained, and when they refuse to leave, they will be subject to a prison pending the trial establishment owner.
Afternoon partygoers crowd the sidewalk on Thursday, while spring break rises on Fort Lauderdale beach. (Mike Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel / TNS / ABACAPRESS.COM)
After business was hit during the spring break last year, Trantalis said he wanted nothing more than for business owners to have a successful season and keep the team safe despite COVID-19.
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“You can help keep your employees and customers safe by adhering to the CDC’s guidelines for facial coverage and social distance,” the mayor tweeted on Monday. “For our visitors, you are the first line of prevention to minimize the spread of the virus. We can all work together to keep everyone safe.”
Spring break crowds gather on Fort Lauderdale beach, despite the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. (Larry Marano / InStar / Cover images)
But in Miami Beach, the police began what was supposed to be a busy spring break weekend by shooting pepper balls to disperse a crowd that gathered around police officers who were making an arrest. Two policemen were injured and had to be taken to a hospital. They were released early on Saturday, but remained off because of their injuries, the police department said.
James Harrison, 19, from Brooklyn, was arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer, resisting a police officer with violence, inciting a riot and disorderly conduct. Harrison shouted obscenities at the police when they tried to disperse a crowd of more than 200 people who blocked traffic, smoking marijuana and carrying open containers, according to a police report released on Saturday.
Spring break crowds gather on Fort Lauderdale beach, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (Larry Marano / InStar / Cover images)
Harrison then pushed a police officer and the crowd surrounded the police who were outnumbered at the intersection in the heart of Miami Beach’s famous nightclub and restaurant district, the police report said, according to the Associated Press. Two policemen threw pepper balls “due to the large, aggressive and undisciplined crowd and the immediate threats to the security of the policemen”.
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A police officer beat Harrison in the body after he grabbed the collar of the policeman’s collar while the policeman tried to handcuff the suspect, officials said. The move was an attempt to release control of Harrison, the report said. Once on the floor, Harrison reportedly started kicking and supporting his body to avoid being handcuffed, and a police officer hit Harrison in the chest while another police officer kneed him in the shoulder.
“It should be noted that the actions of defendant Harrison made the crowd extremely aggressive towards the police, representing a clear threat to their security, due to the large number of undisciplined subjects present,” said the police report.
Amid the chaos brought on by spring break, and after a man was killed in an unrelated shooting on Monday, Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements announced on Tuesday that he would bring reinforcements from nearby agencies and who are ready to close the bridge and popular streets of the city’s entertainment district to mitigate traffic and crowds, reported WTVJ.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.