Miami Seaside drops fees in opposition to a lady who has been sprayed with pepper by police

Miami Beach has closed the case against a South Beach tourist who was sprayed with pepper spray while filming police officers and then arrested under a controversial new city ordinance.

City prosecutors announced Thursday that they would not pursue the trial of 27-year-old New York-born Mariyah Maple, who was arrested on July 25 after taping a traffic stop on the 600 block on Collins Avenue.

Maple was one of over a dozen people arrested over the weekend of the Rolling Loud hip-hop concert in July under a new ordinance touted to protect police officers from armed crowds but criticized as a way for police officers to Take action against people who legitimately videotaped you. The Herald, who first covered Maple’s case, received a video showing that her arrest report showed a significantly different version of the video that happened that night.

The Herald story also described that of the 13 people arrested under the new ordinance, all were black and most of the people the police were filming were involved. According to the Herald article, Miami Beach Police announced that they had suspended the application of the ordinance in the face of two additional arrests on allegations of excessive violence and the arrests of five police officers.

“I’m glad the prosecution dismissed the case, but that’s not enough. I have asked the prosecutors to quickly seal this arrest and delete it from Mariyah’s files so that she can keep her job, ”said defense attorney Chad Piotrowski. “And I urged them to see that the officer was held responsible for using excessive force against a woman who was legitimately on a street videotape.”

The Miami Beach City Commission passed the ordinance in late June making it illegal to approach or be within 6 meters of a city police officer in order to interfere, provoke, or harass an officer performing lawful duties. after receiving a warning. City officials and the city police union said it was necessary to protect officers from the noisy crowds that came to South Beach’s famous tourist district during the spring break.

Internal emails received by the Herald indicated that police were rushing to ensure the ordinance specific to the city crowds was in effect during Rolling Loud.

The best-known cases of ordinance were brought against two New York men, Khalid Vaughn and Sharif Cobb, who were both knocked to the ground while videotaping police officers at the Royal Palm Hotel in South Beach.

Some of the officers were involved in the gross arrest of a third man accused of injuring a police officer with his scooter. Five were later charged with offense battery.

The Miami-Dade prosecutor dropped the Vaughn and Cobb cases; his office handled their cases, as each man was also charged with various state violations.

In Maple’s case, she was only charged with city ordinance, which means the case was being prosecuted by a Miami Beach city attorney. Miami Beach Attorney Yoe Lopez only handles city ordinance cases under a system that aims to target annoying “quality of life” crimes but has largely ensnared the homeless.

Of the 13 arrests made this weekend under the regulation, only four cases have been dropped, records show. Miami Beach didn’t explain why it dropped Maple’s case. Lopez made the announcement during a virtual hearing Thursday before Miami Beach District Court Judge Stephanie Silver.

The arrest report alleged that Maple was part of a group that “defied orders” to withdraw from police officers making an arrest on July 25 in South Beach. the crowd “held their ground and refused to move” – ​​forcing him to use pepper spray.

But a video captured by a viewer shows Maple standing peacefully on a sidewalk on the 600 block of Collins Avenue. “Return. Back, ”says a sergeant. But before he gives her a moment, he whips his bike around like a shield, hits her hand and immediately uses pepper spray. Maple, his eyes burning, then runs off with several friends.

Maple was not arrested immediately. Miami Beach Sergeant Vincent Stella left. Maple was not handcuffed until another officer spotted her on the street when her family was rinsing their eyes with water and she complained about her burning eyes.

David Ovalle covers crime and courts in Miami. Born in San Diego, he graduated from the University of Southern California and joined the Herald in 2002 as a sports reporter.