Citing Safety Concerns, Miami Beach Puts Curfew on Spring Break

Miami Beach, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) – Much like Alan Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, who called off Christmas, the Mayor of Miami is calling off Spring Break. 

Citing injuries to police officers, Dan Gelber, Mayor of Miami Beach, declared a state of emergency Monday during a news conference with the Miami Beach Police Department and other city officials. Gelber said the city was “way past its endpoint,” as tourists had created an “unacceptable” atmosphere in the city. 

According to Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements, since Spring Break began in mid-February, nine officers have been injured in various incidents. Additionally, police have seized more than 35 firearms over just the last three days.

"It's simply unacceptable at every level," Gelber said. "We simply cannot endure this anymore." 

On March 20, a police officer was taken to the hospital after the golf cart she was patrolling in was struck by a car near Ocean Drive and 9th Street. The officer was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 

On March 15, an officer was injured when a drunk driver heading the wrong way on the Skyway 10K route struck an officer’s car head on. 

On March 11, two officers were injured attempting to disperse a large Spring Break crowd. According to the MBPD, officers were attempting to break up a group of more than 200 people who were blocking a roadway, drinking with open containers and smoking what appeared to be marijuana. One of the revelers, James Harrison, 19, was arrested for inciting a riot after shoving an officer as they tried to disperse the crowd. Harrison allegedly yelled “f--- the police”. As a crowd gathered, Harrison allegedly shoved an officer and later resisted police as they tried to arrest him. Police said he grabbed at the officer’s when they attempted to turn him around and place handcuffs on him. 

Two other officers were injured as police tried to get the crowd to break up. Those officers were treated and released at a local hospital. 

And, on Feb. 28, three officers were injured when a subject who was driving recklessly abandoned his car and fled on foot. Officers pursued the suspect who fought officers trying to arrest him. Two officers were taken to a nearby hospital, treated and released, while the other was treated at the scene. 

The state of emergency allows Miami Beach’s City Manager, Alina Hudak, to institute the curfew that will go from Thursday, March 25 at midnight until 6 a.m. the following day. The curfew will be in effect until March 28, Hudak said. 

The move comes after two recent shootings left five people wounded. In the early hours of Monday morning, two women were shot on Ocean Drive. A day earlier, around midnight, three people suffered non-life-threatening injuries after being shot on the same street. The shootings remain under investigation, Clements said. 

More than 370 officers had been deployed over the weekend, Gelber said, to deal with the tens of thousands of young partiers descend on the city. 

“We can’t endure this anymore, we just simply can’t,” Mr. Gelber said in a news conference. “This isn’t your father’s, your mother’s spring break. This is something totally different. We don’t ask for spring break, we don’t promote it, we don’t encourage it, we just endure it, and frankly it’s something we don’t want to endure.” 

On Sunday, the Miami Beach Police’s union had begged city officials to do something. 

Posting a 10-second cellphone video on Twitter around noon on Sunday. The clip showed several officers in golf carts trapped by hundreds of people dancing, yelling and holding up their phones’ cameras. 

“The video is a snippet of the crowds and dangers we face. Officer are EXHAUSTED,” Paul Ozaeta, president of the Miami Beach’s Fraternal Order of Police tweeted. “The party needs to end. City officials must take immediate and firm action to ensure the safety of officers and residents.” 

Now that the city has taken action though, some wonder if it won’t mean more work for the police. 

Some Miami-Dade leaders feared it would make things worse, citing problems with the 2021 Spring Break when curfews were also imposed. With little to do as clubs closed, partiers headed into the streets. Social media lit up then with scenes of cops in SWAT gear holding high-powered weapons and confronting unruly crowds. Street fights erupted on corners, leaders said, and partying spread into nearby residential neighborhoods. 

Clements told the Miami Herald that he hopes the curfew will “lessen the burden” on already exhausted police officers who have been working extended shifts since mid-February. 

Spring Break crowds are expected to wane within the next few weekends.

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