Miami Beach officials on Sunday pointed to more than 1,000 arrests in one of the nation’s leading party parties, and warned that the riotous spring breaks at the thousands of people fighting in the streets are destroying restaurant property and refusing to wear masks. carry has become a serious threat to the public. safety.
Commissioners met virtually Sunday and extended the week another week emergency declaration Released Saturday in response to the riotous South Beach crowds, CBS Miami reported.
City officials have opened up the possibility of extending it to April if necessary, stressing that it is not the typical spring holiday. They said it was not university students but adults who wanted to leave in one of the few states that is completely open during the year pandemic.
They also voted Sunday to extend the overnight closure of three roads in the city to keep out incoming traffic, CBS Miami said. Residents were released from the breakdown points.
Law enforcement officers from at least four other agencies, along with SWAT teams, were added to help limit the crowd, but that was not enough. After days of partying, including several confrontations with police, Miami Beach officials set an extremely unorthodox evening clock from 8pm to 6pm on Saturday, forcing restaurants to stop outside seating during the three-day state of emergency, and encouraged local businesses to close voluntarily. .
Raul Aguila, city manager, says more than half of the more than 1,000 arrests were from outside the state, adding that many come “to enter lawlessness and a party attitude.” He also noted that the crowd did not eat at restaurants or generate businesses that earn tourist dollars, but only gathered at thousands in the street.
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Officers in bulletproof vests dispersed pepper spray balls Saturday night in a challenging but mostly non-violent crowd and refused to submit to the curfew that was only set four hours earlier. Some people responded by jumping on top of cars, working and throwing money in the air.
A military-style vehicle was seen rolling down the palm trees along Ocean Drive, while police officers in Miami Beach struggled too much to disperse the huge crowd Saturday. Tourists are requested to stay inside their hotels and pedestrians or vehicles are not allowed to enter the restricted area after 20:00
Miami Beach police officer Richard Clements initially became concerned Monday when the crowd on a quieter day usually seemed larger than normal. A group of vehicles blocked the street “and basically held an impromptu street party,” he said. By Thursday, the crowd had increased, fighting had broken out and caused dangerous rushing of people fleeing for safety.
“We could not go on any longer,” Clements said during Sunday’s meeting, defending the city’s curfew. “I think it was the right decision,”
Police said by Friday night that the party was out of control. One restaurant was turned ‘upside down’, ‘chairs were used as weapons’, and broken glass covered the floor.
Next door, the iconic Clevelander South Beach bar has announced it will temporarily suspend all food and beverage operations until at least March 24 after crowds on Ocean Drive stopped and erupted into street fights.
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After shots were fired, a young woman cut her leg so badly in a rush that she was transported to the hospital where they initially thought she had been shot, police said.
“How many things are we going to make happen before we step in,” Clements said.
Dan Gelber, mayor of Miami Beach, said he has trouble sleeping at night, and is worried about the parties being out of control.
“When hundreds of people run through the streets in panic, you realize this is not something a police force can control,” he told a commission meeting on Sunday.
Local officials struggled to enforce COVID regulations. Florida has no statewide mask rules, capacity restrictions or other such restrictions, taking into account Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ pro-business statement.
“I think there are very few places that have been open since our state was open,” Gelber said.
One commissioner asked if a toll could be levied on non-residents to discourage visitors. Several people said it was time for a new marketing campaign to recreate South Beach’s as a party town, citing the small handful of arrests in nearby Fort Lauderdale during the spring break.
Local officials and businesses have struggled to balance tourists to boost the economy while doing so safely amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Locals complained that they spent three to four hours in traffic after bridges were closed during the evening clock and some restaurants asked permission to continue delivering food after the time clock.
Miami tourism officials say billions of dollars were lost when the pandemic first erupted last year, canceling the spring break and forcing beach closures across the Sunshine state. The city’s tourism arm has just spent $ 5 million on its largest national advertising campaign in 20 years.