Group Wants More Charges For Man That Pulled Gun During 'Bikes Up, Guns Down' Protest
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Police have arrested a South Florida man who pulled a gun on a group of bicyclists during a verbal confrontation in Brickell.
Police said it started Monday afternoon following a verbal altercation between a woman and a group of young men, who had been blocking traffic on the Brickell Avenue Bridge.
The woman is seen on cellphone video claiming someone ran over her foot.
It is not known what happened before what's seen in the video, which is embedded below.
Video captures expletives from both sides.
Then a man is seen with a gun in hand, yelling a racial slur multiple times. He was identified by police as Mark Allen Bartlett, 51.
Bartlett was charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a license.
According to the arrest report, Bartlett admitted to pulling out a weapon, but he says he never pointed it at anyone.
Now we're seeing new video from before the confrontation.
It shows the teens in a Brickell intersection, then stopping traffic on the bridge.
Later it appears one of them is urinating off the bridge. The video is embedded below.
The teens are with the group "Bikes Up, Guns Down."
Dwight Wells, founder of the group, said the kids were on a ride, protesting redevelopment of the Liberty Square Housing project.
"These kids were protesting and a gun was pulled out on a kid," Wells said.
New units are going up while old ones are being torn down as part of a county plan to improve the area.
Miami-Dade is investing millions of dollars for redevelopment, but Wells and others fear that new and improved housing means an increase in rent for families making an average income of $24,000.
"These families can't afford that. So, we were protesting something historical," Wells said.
As for one of the protesters possibly urinating from the bridge, CBS4 asked the organizer about it.
"I didn't see that in the video. Like, we are talking about kids and racial profile and you guys talking about urinating," Wells said.
On Tuesday, the group had moving billboards rolling around Brickell showing Bartlett's smiling mug shot and playing the video of the confrontation.
Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami-Dade State Attorney released the following statement:
"I am outraged at the reported acts depicted in the videos taken during this incident. I have assigned my Chief of our Hate Crimes Unit to immediately investigate and handle this case. I spoke with City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Chief of Police Jorge Colina this morning and my office is working closely with City of Miami Police on this matter. I am committed to filing the appropriate charges and to vigorously prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law."
No injuries were reported from the incident.
