CITY OF MIAMI BEACH DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY DURING SPRING BREAK CHAOS
The city of Miami Beach declared a state of emergency and imposes curfew to (control) large spring break crowds and minimize chaos.
At a press conference on Saturday to announce the new measures, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber expressed how thousands of tourists brought chaos to the magic city. “It feels like a rock concert, wall-to-wall people over blocks and blocks,” Gelber told CNN. “If you’re coming here to go crazy, go somewhere else.”
Additionally, all sidewalk cafes were suspended for up to 72 hours. Business owners were also instructed to temporarily remove all tables and chairs from the dining areas. However, restaurants could still operate for delivery only.
https://twitter.com/MiamiBeachNews/status/1373387865992925191
Miami Beach Police said more than 1,000 people have been arrested this spring break season, and about 80 guns have been seized. City Shieriff’s stated the mayhem kicked off last Monday when a large crowd blocked Ocean Drive which then escalated into a street party.
https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1373111027869614093
For a better visual of how much things have gotten out of control, last Wednesday, a handcuffed spring breaker managed to escape a police car as a cheering crowd sprinted after him. In the video below, you can see just how this played out.
https://twitter.com/lilplutho/status/1372986785840689153
The suspect was later caught and charged with escape, disorderly conduct, and resisting an officer without violence. He was initially arrested for engaging in a physical altercation. As for the individual who let him out of the police car, well, he bragged on social media, commenting, “I opened that door lol” under the viral video. He’s now facing charges of aiding prisoner escape and resisting arrest without violence.
“Everybody thinks it’s funny, everybody thinks it’s a joke. This is not a joke,” Clearwater’s Police Department Spokesman Rob Shaw said to WFLA-TV. “I mean, these are unruly people out there behaving in inappropriate ways on the beach. It’s not about page clicks and pageviews and social media. This is about people violating the law and then flouting it.”
