But, of course, there are times when Miamians' unabashed love for bodies butts up against society's limits. For instance, yesterday, for a glorious few seconds, a spring breaker on South Beach twerked atop a Miami Beach Police ATV, only to get shoved into the sand by an ornery cop:
(One thing before we continue: Though twerking on top of a police vehicle isn't exactly a good call, screw the dude who slaps this woman's butt three seconds into the clip.)not today pic.twitter.com/7USDzgeoBv
— rachh. (@rachhdionn) March 12, 2017
As of now, the woman's identity is unclear; Miami Beach Police spokesperson Ernesto Rodriguez tells New Times she wasn't arrested. Rodriguez says that he is aware of the clip and that the woman should have thought twice before climbing on top of a police ATV.
"The beachgoer made a poor choice when she mounted one of our vehicles as the officer was retreating from a large crowd," he says via email.
Rodriguez says MBPD's spring break cops have arrested 30 people as of March 3. (There were 35 arrests between 18th and Fifth Streets and Washington Avenue and Ocean Drive the first week of March alone. But that figure includes more cops than just MBPD's special spring break unit.)
Spring break parties near Ocean Drive have escalated into seismic bacchanals in the past few years. After revelers unleashed a spree of both litter and bullets last year, the city has cracked down hard this month, banning speakers, coolers, alcohol, and other similar items from the beach until mid-April. Beach PD also installed license-plate readers on every causeway into the city in that same timeframe.
Residents wondered if the crackdown would cramp Miami Beach's famed spring break festivities — but this is still South Beach, which means people are gonna twerk on planes, trains, and automobiles until the sand becomes irradiated.
Rodriguez says Beach PD encourages people to enjoy themselves, but if they're going to shake their butts, the cops ask that people do so with caution.
"We strongly urge people visiting our beaches to have
Update: Here's a clip from the day before, in which yet another group of twerking partiers got cleared off the beach:
