Miami Beach Police Made 130 Arrests Over Memorial Day Weekend

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Despite a heightened police presence and a series of community meetings prior to the holiday, the long Memorial Day weekend netted about the same number of arrests on Miami Beach as last year, according to statistics released by Miami Beach police. Officers arrested 130 adults from Thursday through Monday compared to 128 last year. Both years had fewer arrests than the 194 in 2016, 140 in 2015 and 204 in 2014.

Of this year's total arrests, only 16 involved Miami Beach residents. Fifty-three people arrested were from other parts of Miami-Dade County while 19 came from elsewhere in Florida. Three were from other countries and 39 were from other U.S. states.

The number of arrests involving felony offenses was also consistent with other years though the number was slightly down from last year, according to the statistics compiled by Miami Beach police.

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A total of 37 felonies were reported, including one aggravated assault, a robbery, two batteries on a police officer and 14 drug offenses. Last year there were 42 felony arrests, down from 61 the previous year, 49 in 2015 and 51 in 2014.

One of last weekend's incidents involved a homeless person who allegedly stole a police car and crashed it several blocks away while another involved the hit-and-run death of a Miami Beach tourist.

The city of Miami Beach and the Miami-Dade County chapter of the NAACP held a "candid conversation" with business owners and residents ahead of the holiday weekend around unofficial Urban Beach Weekend events, which are also held over the holiday.

NAACP approached city officials after last year's event insisting that only a small percentage of the estimated 250,000 people who attend the event cause problems. They argued that it would be wrong to treat Urban Beach Weekend differently from any other large gathering in Miami Beach. Most of the participants are African American.

In addition to Urban Beach weekend events, the city held its second annual air and sea show along the beach on Saturday and Sunday though attendance was dampened by heavy rains over the weekend.

Photo courtesy Miami Beach Police Department