Prosecutors have dropped a battery charge against an 18-year-old activist who'd been accused of pushing Surfside's vice mayor back in February.
The charge against Joshua Epstein was dropped during a hearing Monday morning.
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The exchange involving Epstein and Vice Mayor Jeffrey Rose happened back on Feb. 28 and was caught on cellphone video.
"Keep pushing me Josh, keep pushing me," Rose tells Epstein, who's filming. "You already pushed me once and do it again and see what happens."
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"I haven't touched you," Epstein replies.
The video didn't show the alleged push.
Epstein was arrested the next day and booked into jail on a felony charge of battery on an elected official.
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According to a police report, there was a verbal dispute between an unrelated bystander and the vice mayor. During the verbal dispute, Epstein allegedly pushed the vice mayor in the chest area with open hands.
But Epstein’s mother Eliana Salzhauer — a former Surfside commissioner and outspoken critic — said her son never touched the vice mayor. She claimed there were several witnesses that police didn't interview.
The arrest led to a small rally for Epstein outside Surfside Town Hall days later.
Rose said in a statement Monday that he was disappointed in the outcome. Read his full statement below.
I, along with my family, am very disappointed that the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office chose not to prosecute Joshua Epstein for battery as a felony or misdemeanor.
He pushed me. There were eye witnesses to the incident, one of which the State Attorney's Office did not even contact. The second eye witness has been intimated and threatened with losing his job by supporters of Joshua. The State Attorney’s decision not to pursue felony charges for battery against an elected official as other Florida jurisdictions have done is also disappointing, especially given the plain meaning of the statute.
I fully support citizens’ rights to protest and speak out against elected officials. However, Joshua has made a habit of harassing and intimidating public officials outside of this particular incident and has now escalated to physical violence under the guise of activism. Joshua and his family’s efforts to muddy the water with contrived, conflicting witness statements along with their suspected connections to the media for bias coverage have all paid off. The decision not to prosecute has not only made all of that behavior okay, but has rewarded it. This incident has sadly shown that even if you are the perpetrator of a crime, if you have the loudest voices in your corner, you will prevail…even if those voices are not telling the truth.
Throughout this process, I have stayed silent because it was not about political gain or media attention. I chose to press charges knowing that it would likely cost me re-election because my safety and the safety of my family was more important. This decision has put our safety and the safety of other elected officials in jeopardy.
