More details are being released about two police-involved shootings on South Beach over Memorial Day weekend that have some residents calling for the end of the area's marquee events.
An arrest report released Friday revealed that one of the suspects shot at, but not injured, by a Miami Beach cop is a veteran firefighter from South Carolina.
Carlos Lakeith King, 45, was arrested early Monday morning for DUI but was shot at first by a Miami Beach police officer because he appeared to be driving drunk and barreling toward a barricaded area, the report read.
King is a 17-year veteran and fire captain with the North Charleston Fire Department.
The incident was the second of the police-involved shootings in an hour span during Urban Beach Weekend, which brought hundreds of thousands of visitors to South Beach.
Raymond Herisse, 22, was shot and killed by police after he allegedly used his car as a battering ram aimed at other cops. Police found a handgun in his bullet-riddled car Wednesday.
An arrest report claims King did the same thing, nearly hitting a cop with his silver 2007 Mercedes. That prompted the cop to fire her weapon, the report stated.
The bullet missed King, but he crashed his Mercedes into a patrol car.
Police claim the firefighter was drunk and had "blood shot eyes, unsteady balance and slurred speech."
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King allegedly told police that he had "only one beer. No, maybe two or three," the police report stated.
Alcohol and partying until the early morning is the mix that causes much of the crime that occurs during Urban Beach Weekend, critics claim. More than 430 people were arrested during the four-day collection of hip hop parties and events.
"This isn't about race. This isn't about hip hop. This is about having a safe community," said resident Monique Forrest, who attended a rally at City Hall on Friday urging officials to get rid of Urban Beach Weekend. "Every year I have to leave just because I feel trapped."
City officials are considering instituting a curfew on next year's event and possibly an earlier last call for South Beach bars.
Around 200 people attended the rally holding signs like "Keep the thugs out" and several people took turns voicing their concerns on a megaphone.
"I couldn't even go jogging with my son," resident Gil Christo said. "it was too wild, too crazy. I didn't want him to see any of that."
But some think it's the police, not Urban Beach Weekend visitors, who are out of control.
"The way these police act is crazy,” King told the Miami Herald.
Cedric Perkins claims he was one of four bystanders hit by gunfire when Miami Beach and Hialeah cops opened fire on Herisse's car. A dozen cops surrounded the vehicle and fired more than 100 rounds.
Perkins, a 30-year-old father who was visiting from Tallahassee, said he was sitting outside the Delores Hotel when the shooting happened. He was shot in the chest by one of the bullets, he said.
It's unclear who shot Perkins.
Perkins said he felt a burning sensation in his chest and fell to the floor inside the hotel lobby. The bullet is still in his chest and Perkins plans to file a lawsuit, he said.
"I'm thinking about my daughter, my family and praying to God I live," he said. "I want justice to be served."
Police would not confirm Perkins was one of the bystanders hit by gunfire and would not comment on the case because it is an open investigation.
"We’re not there to run out and shoot anyone," said Deborah Doty, a Miami Beach Police spokeswoman. "It's an unfortunate situation."
