5 Miami Beach Officers Arrested After Surveillance Showed Them Using Excessive Force During Arrest

Five Miami Beach police officers have been charged with using excessive force during arrests inside a hotel lobby.

Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle told reporters that the five officers were charged with a misdemeanor battery for the incident, captured on hotel surveillance footage and body-worn cameras.

According to officials, Sgt. Jose Perez, Kevin Perez, Officer Robert Sabater, David Rivas, and Steven Serrano,  turned themselves on Monday.

Rundle told reporters that the arrests were “alarming” and “disturbing” after showing footage of them.

Daltona Crudup, 24, was riding his scooter when he allegedly struck a bicycle officer, sending him to the hospital and forcing him to use crutches, according to authorities.

Footage shows that Crudup appeared to comply with police commands after fleeing and briefly entering an elevator at the Royal Palm Hotel.

A police officer could be seen kicking Crudup’s head after being handcuffed, and another appeared to lift and drop the prone suspect.

Authorities said Khalid Vaughn, 28, was arrested while filming Crudup’s arrest on his cellphone. Vaughn appears to have backed away from police on their command before being tackled and punched in a video that surfaced.

“This is by no means at all a reflection of the dedicated men and women of the Miami Beach Police Department,” MBPD Chief Richard Clements said. “As an agency, we’ll learn from this, and we’ll grow from this and do better. This is not what you see from our officers.”

Dan Gelber, the mayor of Miami Beach, also thanked prosecutors and police for moving so quickly on the case.

Gelber said in a statement late Monday afternoon, “The video is not who we are, which is why our department took decisive action within hours of the incident.”