'We do not want Spring Break,' Miami Beach Mayor Gelber on yearly chaos and violence
MIAMI BEACH - Mayor Dan Gelber wants the Spring Break violence and disorder to stop.
"The volume of people in our city, the unruly nature of too many, and the presence of guns have created a peril that cannot go unchecked," Gelber said in a video statement. "It is clear that even an unprecedented police presence could not prevent these incidents from occurring."
"We don't ask for spring break in our city," he said. "We don't want spring break in our city."
Vice Mayor Steven Meiner is also proposing that the Miami Beach City Commission discuss a special item at its Monday meeting.
Meiner told CBS News Miami that he is proposing that the city set up a secure perimeter around Ocean Drive in the Lummus Park area on select weekends.
Frustrations mount
"We are seeing year after year gun violence," he said. "We had two dead this past weekend and the same last year. Every year it is the same. We are going to have secure checkpoints, metal detectors and K9 dogs and going to make sure if you want to come to our city and enjoy yourselves you can but you will not have illegal firearms with you."
For the third year in a row, Miami Beach finds itself struggling with spring break violence, including two deadly shootings and unruly crowds, despite a massive police presence and activities designed to give people alternatives to drinking alcohol and roaming the streets.
Hotel owner Mitch Novick said he is concerned as well.
"We have had four emergency declarations over the last four years due to the chaos and mayhem attributed to spring break," he said. "I am against a curfew but we have to address the entertainment zoning in this neighborhood to quell the circus on the street."
The party-all-the-time vibe in the South Beach section of the popular barrier island city has already led officials to ban alcohol sales at larger clubs after 2 a.m. Police are stationed everywhere, including in mobile towers that give officers a birds-eye view of the streets. Art, music, yoga and volleyball tournaments were added this year to give people something to do, at least during the day.
Yet the violence and street chaos continues at night.
All night.
The city imposed an overnight curfew that ended Monday morning but decided at a City Commission meeting not to enact a second curfew next weekend, when the Ultra Music Festival will draw thousands of people to South Beach.
It's the third weekend of spring break when the worst chaos occurs, said Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez.
"Ultra weekend is not the problem," she said.
Commissioner Ricky Arriola agreed, saying there may need to be metal detectors, security fences or other measures installed next year in certain sections of Miami Beach. He noted that dozens of businesses and their workers depend on the crowds the Ultra event bring in.
"A curfew is not a long-term solution," he said. "We're taking it out on law-abiding businesses."
The panel did decide, as it did last year, to force liquor stores in the South Beach area to close early at 6 p.m. during next weekend. Officials did point out the city manager still has emergency authority to order a 72-hour curfew despite the commission's reluctance.
Miami Beach police reported at least 322 arrests on a variety of charges between Feb. 27 and Sunday. Gelber said more than 70 firearms were confiscated in that time. This has been happening despite police officers working up to 14-hour shifts six days a week, according to a city emergency declaration.
The first shooting happened Friday night in the area of 7th Street and Ocean Drive. Officers in the area heard gunshots and then found two men suffering from gunshot wounds. Both men were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Unit, where one died. The second man was later released from the hospital.
Police took one man in custody and four guns were recovered at the scene. The suspect's name has not been released.
The second shooting took place early Sunday morning in the area of 11th Street and Ocean Drive. One man was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he died. A second person was treated on the scene.
Grainy security footage being shared on social media shows a man pulling a gun from underneath his T-shirt and firing multiple shots, striking another man as crowds quickly scattered.
The accused gunman, 24-year-old Dontavious Leonard Polk of Fort Lauderdale, was taken into custody at the scene and he's been charged with first-degree murder.
David Wallack, owner of Mango's Tropical Cafe, said nightclubs are being unfairly blamed for the shootings, and city officials need to work more closely with business owners to prevent violence in the future.
"What was going on out in the streets was not customers of businesses," Wallack said. "The majority of all those people in the street, they're bringing their own stuff to the party. They don't have the money to pay $20 a drink."
Last year, the city imposed a midnight curfew following two shootings, also on Ocean Drive. The year before that, authorities made about 1,000 arrests and confiscated dozens of guns during a rowdy spring break that led Miami Beach officials to take steps aimed at calming the annual festivities.
For some business owners, the crowds have become impossible to manage. Vice Mayor Steven Meiner said there will be a debate in the coming months about how to prepare better for next spring break.
"I don't view any other option at this point other than to do metal detectors. I'm not going to through next year and have dead people on our streets," he said. "I don't understand how we can't make a secure perimeter around this. We're going through the same thing year after year."
Tourists react
Some tourists say they are worried about their safety.
"I am worried about my safety because of all the shootings we had this year," said Mary Kay Orr, who lives in Fullerton, Calif.
"I think there should be a curfew this weekend because of extra measures for security."
Lisa Durecki and her husband Dan Durecki are visiting from Detroit and said they are concerned but not alarmed.
"You just have to be more careful about areas you frequent," Lisa Durecki said. "I do not feel unsafe at the moment."
"I am a musician and I live in Detroit and I work in Detroit," Dan Durecki said. "You have to have your head on a swivel and know what you are doing. You have to know things to avoid and develop a sense."
Miami Beach Police say police have enhanced their numbers and safety is a top priority.
"I was watching police down from my hotel and they were very coordinated and very calm," said Brooke Babington, a tourist from Highlands Ranch, Colo. "I thought they treated people with respect and everything."
Gina and Lia Lupia of Niagara Falls, New York told us they were concerned but not worried.
"I believe these are shootings where people are targeted and they are not interfering with tourists," Gina Lupia said. "I am a little envious but again I do think this was targeted."
CBS News Miami reporters Teri Hornstein and Peter D'Oench contributed to this report.
