- Around 100 people have been arrested in
Miami Beach over the weekend, CNN reported. - Two police officers were injured breaking up a crowd of around 200 people on Friday.
- A Miami Beach spokeswoman told CNN the pandemic has made it more difficult to handle vacationers.
More than 100 people have been arrested over the past week in Miami Beach,
A Miami Beach Police spokesman told Insider in an email that between Monday, March 8 to the morning of Saturday, March 13, 119 people were arrest, 42 of which were for felonies.
On Saturday, an additional 30 people were arrested police said. The night prior, two officers were injured and taken to the hospital after a large unruly crowd surrounded officers making an arrest.
Police said in a tweet that they "forced to utilize pepper balls to disperse members of the crowd."
Miami Beach Police did not reply to Insider's email request for comment at the time of publication but told the Associated Press that as of Saturday, the two officers were released from the hospital but are still off-duty as they recover.
WSVN reported that a video surfaced of an officer body-slamming a man as he tried to arrest him on Friday. Miami Beach Police Officer Ernesto Rodriguez told the outlet that the man was inciting a crowd of around 200 people.
Police said 13 firearms were seized.
Miami Beach spokeswoman Veronica Payssé told CNN that drugs were also seized.
Local outlet WPLG reported that officers are working 12-hour shifts. Payssé told CNN that while this conduct is common during spring break, the pandemic has made it difficult to police.
The city still mandates that people wear face coverings in public, but Payssé told CNN the state doesn't allow those who don't follow mask orders to be fined.
"We are dealing with the behavior," Chief of Police Richard Clements told WPLG. "All we want to do is for people who want to come down here to have a good time, enjoy themselves, but obey the rules."