Five officers charged after 'excessive force' incident at Miami Beach hotel
Jake Dima
Tue, August 3, 2021
Five officers were slapped with
criminal charges on Monday after an "excessive force" incident occurred at a
Miami Beach hotel late last month.
Sgt. Jose Perez and officers Kevin Perez, Robert Sabater, Steven Serrano, and David Rivas all face misdemeanor battery charges after they arrested and pummeled two suspects at the Royal Palm Hotel on July 16, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle
said during a press conference.
Video released by authorities showed Daltona Crudup, 24, running into an elevator after law enforcement said he slammed his motor scooter into an officer with the Miami Beach Police Department.
A lieutenant is seen catching up to Crudup with his gun drawn and forcing him to the ground before 20 other officers arrive at the scene while he is prone and handcuffed. Rundle said Perez kicked Crudup in the head several times as another officer drove his head into the floor.
Moments later, the majority of the officers descended on Khalid Vaughn, 28, who was videotaping the incident nearby. Sabater then can be seen tackling Vaughn to the ground before Rivas begins punching the man repeatedly, Rundle told reporters. The 28-year-old had initially been hit with impeding a police department investigation and resisting arrest with violence offenses, though his charges were dropped shortly after his arrest.
The department is moving forward with Crudup's case. The 24-year-old was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding police, aggravated assault, and resisting arrest with violence.
"Excessive force can never, ever, ever be an acceptable foundation for the policing of any community," Rundle said, adding that officers who neglect this "do a grave disservice to the people they have sworn to serve."
"When we saw that kick to the head. And then we, and then we replayed it, and we see all the other kicks that preceded it — it was just unfathomable, it was unspeakable, it is just inexcusable." she added. "I'm not alone in that feeling. I watched the chief watch that video, and his head just went right down on the desk. So, we're all really horrified by it."
Miami Beach
Police Chief Richard Clements, who was also present at the news conference, said he was "disappointed" by the conduct of his officers as he remarked that the behavior was "not indicative" of the law enforcement body as a whole.
"I'm disappointed that this is out there and depicts our department in the manner that it does when they know that we are much better than that," the chief said.
"I tell you, I've seen some, some just tremendous accomplishments by this police department over the last 18 months, dealing with a variety of things that we've been given," he added. "This is not indicative of who we are. It's not indicative of the work that we've done."