Black Leaders Call Out Miami Swat Tactics While Handling Black Tourists

Source: Joe Raedle / Getty

Yes, we are still in the middle of a pandemic, but if you looked at what is going on in Miami, Florida, you would think everything was back to normal. Over the weekend, Miami Beach declared a state of emergency due to the high number of young adults who have flocked to the vacation destination, South Beach, despite being warned not to becuase of you know… COVID-19. An 8 pm- 6 am curfew was instituted, but nobody seemed to care. Videos of large crowds of people, most of them maskless, partying, drinking, dancing, and in some cases fighting while breaking curfew on both nights since it was imposed hit Twitter timelines causing medical officials to clutch their pearls, fearing we could endure another spike of COVID-19 cases.

Miami law enforcement was not playing with them either, and Swat was called to disperse the crowds using any means available.

The Miami Police’s use of Swat tactics like pepper spray balls and sound cannons to disperse the mainly Black and Brown crowds have come under scrutiny from Black leaders calling the enforcement of the curfew “unacceptable.” “I was very disappointed,” Stephen Hunter Johnson, chairman of Miami-Dade’s Black Affairs Advisory Committee, said on Sunday morning (Mar.21). “I think when they’re young Black people [on South Beach], the response is, ‘Oh my God, we have to do something.’”

Glendon Hall, chairman of the Black Affairs Advisory Committee of Miami Beach, speaking with the Tyler Morning Telegraph, believes Swat trucks’ presence only exacerbated the situation. The use of pepper balls caused people to panic.

Florida native, and Hip-Hop superstar, Plies, who has been one of the few voices of reason lately, warned Black spring breakers to be careful while on South Beach becuase they were not going to get the same laissez-faire treatment as the white domestic terrorists did during The US Capitol insurrection.

I Just Seen On The News Law Enforcement Tackling & Body Slamming Spring Breakers In Miami. But Ain’t Seen One Body Slam In DC When They Stormed The Capitol!!!
— Plies (@plies) March 21, 2021

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js No lies detected there. Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements claims the use of pepper balls on tourists by Swat Team members will be investigated internally and using the old “I think officers felt threatened at the time” excuse. The 8 pm curfew was instituted by interim City Manager Raul Aguila who declared the state of emergency hopes to keep in place until April 12. Florida, led by Trump-loving Governor Ron DeSantis, has stupidly handled the pandemic opting to open the state despite COVID-19 still being an issue. The state surpassed 2 million Covid cases with 5,105 new infections reported on Sunday and has the most cases of the new infectious strain of the virus currently circulating throughout the state, the Florida Phoenix reports. But, if you asked Governor Ron DeSantis, everything is fine. https://twitter.com/kazweida/status/1373655614933454852?s=20 You can peep more reactions, some that reek of racism due to Black spring breakers to animals, as well as the shenanigans going on in Miami in the gallery below. — Photo: Joe Raedle / Getty

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1.

Welp.

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https://twitter.com/realDiaperDonJr/status/1373597661761310720?s=20

We agree.

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https://twitter.com/RN_Destiny/status/1373679207360909314?s=20

Hoodlums? Really?

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https://twitter.com/toddstarnes/status/1373740031844704258?s=20

Saying the quiet part very loudly here.

5.

https://twitter.com/AaronParnas/status/1373659542408544268?s=20

Facts

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https://twitter.com/Dereks_Lane/status/1373322286523158530?s=20

A local sharing the facts.

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Another Miami native reporting in.

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https://twitter.com/NikeHeadKJ/status/1373374447873355785?s=20

COVIDIOTS!

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Fair comparison.

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It’s definitely not.

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FLORIDA IS A CRAZY PLACE.

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https://twitter.com/Marcotge/status/1373648036556107776?s=20

Accurate.

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https://twitter.com/Jonaniswin/status/1373806335393927170?s=20

All of us right now.

14.

Yikes.

15.

LOL

Black Leaders Call Out Miami Swat Tactics While Handling Black Tourists

SWAT Called In To Handle Miami Spring Breakers Who Broke Curfew

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Love 97.9 The Box? Get more! Join the 97.9 The Box Newsletter

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