Miami Beach Mayor To Discuss 'Urban Beach Weekend' Shootings At Emergency Meeting
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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine is scheduled to hold an emergency news conference Tuesday "to address recent weekend incidents and remarks made that portray the City negatively."
The Mayor will be joined by City Manager Jimmy Morales, Police Chief Daniel Oates and Miami Beach resident and owner of Sherbrooke Hotel Mitch Novak.
The Mayor will also announce new measures aimed at taking decisive and proactive steps to bring stability to the Ocean Drive corridor.
The move comes as Miami Beach Police are investigating a fatal shooting involving one of their own.
The shooting took place late Sunday night. The officer was forced to fire while going after suspects in another shooting.
According to Miami-Dade Police, the incident included two separate shootings in which two people were killed.
It all started with an altercation that escalated into a shooting in the 200 block of Ocean Drive around 10:45 p.m.
Family members said the murdered man was Ladarian Phillips of Homestead.
"We now know that it started with a dispute over a parking space. There was a report of two or three shots fired called into 911," said Miami Beach Chief Dan Oates.
Phillips was one of two victims shot. He died on the scene while the other was transported to the hospital.
Then police say the shooter and three accomplices fled in a white BMW with New York tags. Officers went after the vehicle to the 600 block of Alton Road where the police involved shooting took place.
The suspect who was shot by police was transported to Ryder Trauma Center, but was later pronounced dead.
Police said the three other suspects were taken into custody.
"A weapon was recovered in this event and a search for additional weapons was conducted overnight in the dark," said Chief Oates. "Another search is underway now in daylight."
Late Monday, police charged 19-year-old Jeffery Alexander with Phillips' murder.
On Saturday night in the same area, police arrested a Georgia man for opening fire on a taxi cab.
During a Monday morning press conference, local commissioners said they are going to pass legislation to shut down Urban Beach Weekend.
"Urban Beach Weekend is a thing of the past," said Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco. "After 17 years of trying to handle this and trying to measure success by the number of arrests or by the lack of shootings, this is something that we're no longer going to tolerate."
Grieco said in the future, bars and clubs may have to close as early as 10 p.m. during the final weeks of May to curtail the violence.
"It's not a black or white issue, it's a right or wrong issue," he said.
There will be two separate shooting investigations. Miami Beach police say they will handle the shooting death that happened on Ocean Drive but the police involved shooting will be handled by the Miami-Dade Police Department.
