MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Four police officers have been relieved of duty following the arrest of a man who said he was filming the arrest of another man inside the lobby of a Miami Beach hotel.
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Khalid Vaughn, 28, told WPLG he was in the lobby of Royal Palm Hotel on 15th Street and Collins Avenue. with his friend early Monday when officers were arresting the other man. They turned their attention to him when he started recording the arrest with his cellphone, he said.
“I started recording it. They already got him in handcuffs. They beat him, turned around, charged me down, beat me,” Vaughn told the TV station after he was released from jail later Monday. “Punched me, elbowed me in the face.”
In a statement released Monday night, Miami Beach police Chief Richard Clements said he had “serious concerns about the force utilized” during the arrest of Vaughn, who told WPLG that officers left him with cuts on his face and a busted lip.
The officers went into the hotel lobby to arrest Dalonta Crudup, 24, who they said struck a bicycle patrol officer while driving a scooter recklessly. That officer was taken to a hospital for treatment of leg injuries.
Officers saw the scooter illegally parked outside the hotel and went in, arresting Crudup on charges including aggravated battery on a law officer. Crudup remained in jail early Tuesday, and an attorney who could speak on his behalf wasn’t listed on jail records.
Vaughn was charged with resisting arrest with violence and impeding a police investigation.
The police chief said he asked the state attorney’s office to label the charges against Vaughn as “no action.”
Clements said he’s “firmly committed to ensuring that this investigation follows the appropriate process.”
The police chief said he’s launched an internal affairs investigation and the officers will remain on leave with pay until it is completed.
“This is not indicative of the hard-working men and women of the Miami Beach Police Department and will not be tolerated,” Clements said.
It is not illegal to film law enforcement, as long as the one doing the filming does not interfere with an arrest. Unfortunately, many cops don’t like being filmed, and even in NYC, have turned their wrath on people taking videos with their phones, and have roughed up and arrested such people. The cops to cover their tracks, will always charge such individuals with resisting arrested, disorderly conduct, and obstructing governmental administration.
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