Miami-Dade County police officers are accused of bragging about beating a Black man during an arrest, Local 10 reports.
Khalid Vaughn and Sharif Cobb, who were visiting Miami Beach from New York for the Rolling Loud Music Festival, discovered police officers arresting a Black man in their hotel.
An officer accused Dalonta Crudup of a scooter parking violation. Crudup then allegedly fled on the scooter, injuring the officer who was trying to arrest him. He ran inside the hotel lobby and got into the elevator, according to the police. Surveillance video shows Lt. Jose Reina held Crudup at gunpoint as he was on the ground and with his hands behind his back.
Over 20 officers arrive at the hotel at the Royal Palm Hotel shortly before 2 a.m and video footage shows several officers assaulting tourists.
Because of surveillance videos from the officers’ body-worn cameras, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle filed misdemeanor battery charges against officers Kevin Perez, Robert Sabater, David Rivas, Steven Serrano and Sgt. Jose Perez.
While Crudup was in handcuffs, Rundle said that Kevin and Jose took turns striking and kicking the Black man.
Vaughn captured the events on his Instagram.
“On July 26 around 1 am I was entering the royal palm hotel on south beach and saw cops beating a man who was already in cuffs,” his post read. “I began to record the incident saying 'he is already in cuffs you don't have to beat him' officers yelled at me to back up as I began doing so I was speared by an officer elbowed in the face.”
Both Vaughn and Cobb were later arrested as they recorded the events.
Video footage shows Sabater attempting to tackle Vaughn, knocking him towards a large Art Deco column. He kept his balance before being cornered by a group of officers.
Body-worn camera video revealed that Rivas punched Vaughn in the ribs and another video shows Serrano striking him repeatedly while being handcuffed until he fell down.
Vaugh said he overheard officers bragging about assaulting him.
“They sat me in front of the hotel bleeding where I was then taunted by officers bragging about how good they beat me,” he wrote.
According to the arrest report, an officer punched Cobb in the chest and he “suffered a swollen left lip and scrapes on his ankles.” Fire Rescue personnel transported Vaughn to Mount Sinai Medical Center where his injuries required stitches.
“I was taken to the hospital for the laceration on my face and to check for brain injuries. Then put back in a police vehicle and left there for approximately 5-6 hrs. Then I was taken to Miami Dade County Jail where I was strip-searched and processed,” Vaughn wrote.
Miami-Dade court records show Vaughn and Cobb were accused of resisting arrest after allegedly violating a new city ordinance.
Prosecutors dropped the charges against Vaughn and Cobb and the officers were not charged in Cobb’s arrest.
Vaughn said that officers like the ones he encountered in Miami are the reason a lot of Black people don’t trust the police.
“They are the reason why black people live in fear and disgust from the very police officers that should be protecting and serving our communities,” he wrote.
