With streets flooded with Spring Breakers and other visitors who were violating the curfews set by the city leaders earlier in the weekend, Miami Beach police officers fired pepper balls into the crowds to break them up, CNN reports.
On Sunday, local officials said they arrested a couple dozen people Sunday who were violating the curfews and service rules. Road closures in the city’s entertainment district were being shut down until Tuesday.
The goal here is to really contain the overwhelming crowd of visitors, and the potential for violence disruption and damage to and damage to property, whether intentional or not,” city manager Raul Aguila said. “Unfortunately, this is the last thing that I had wanted to do. But this is a spring break like no other. Not all people that visit Miami Beach are bad, come to Miami Beach with the intent of breaking the law, and disrupting our quality of life. But this is a different situation, and it calls for drastic measures.”