MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — The coronavirus pandemic last year limited the number of visitors to South Beach. This year, the crowds are back and officials are worried about what comes next because COVID-19 never went away.
Police made more than 100 arrests this past spring break weekend in Miami Beach, with officers at one point Friday night deploying "pepper balls" toward a crowd, according to the department.
CBS Miami reported someone began throwing money up into the air, which caused a large crowd to gather. When officers went to arrest the person throwing out the cash, the station said that's when things got out of hand.
Two officers were reportedly hurt when people threw objects at them. Police say they used the "pepper balls" in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
"The crowd ended up turning on those officers," said Ernesto Rodriguez of Miami Beach Police to WPLG-TV.
Police made about 30 arrests Saturday and even fewer on Sunday, though the number of citations climbed past 900 in total, CBS Miami reported.
The city's mayor said he's concerned about the days and weeks ahead with more people coming to town and the pandemic ongoing.
"We’ve got too many people coming, we’ve got too many people acting out and we have COVID at the same time, so it’s a triple threat," Mayor Dan Gelber told CBS Miami.
Data from the Department of Health shows that of about Florida's 1.9 million COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, nearly 20 percent originated from Miami-Dade County. Including nearby Broward County, the percentage increases to about 31 percent.
The mayor warned people not to come to the city to cause problems.
"If you’re coming here to disrupt then it’s not worth the money to us. It’s not worth the revenue. You cannot pay our community to endure the kind of inappropriate and improper conduct that we’ve been seeing," Gelber told CBS Miami.
- Vaccine eligibility age changes Monday to 60 and older in Florida
- $1,400 stimulus checks: Who qualifies, how to track, when money may arrive
- 63rd annual Grammy Awards: Full list of winners, nominees
- Gender wage gap shrank because of COVID-19, but that's not a good thing
- After a notable first week, jury selection resumes in the trial of Derek Chauvin
- As we move towards 'normal,' here's why we hug, shake hands
►Breaking news and weather alerts: Get the free 10 Tampa Bay app
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for the Brightside Blend Newsletter