Fort Lauderdale Beach: "A Police State," "Riot," and "Gang War" on Memorial Day, According to Twitter Reports

Yesterday the Memorial Day festivities got a little too hot and heavy in Fort Lauderdale. According to news reports flowing from multiple outlets right now, a large-scale police presence was needed to clamp down on unruly revelers. Both Fort Lauderdale PD and the Broward Sheriff's Office were reportedly dispatched in...

By Kyle Swenson

May 27, 2014

[
        {
          "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
          "component": "16971022",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "15769925",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Rectangle 2x - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782206",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782207",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Yesterday the Memorial Day festivities got a little too hot and heavy in Fort Lauderdale. According to news reports flowing from multiple outlets right now, a large-scale police presence was needed to clamp down on unruly revelers. Both Fort Lauderdale PD and the Broward Sheriff's Office were reportedly dispatched in force. Right now, the details are pretty sketchy about what actually transpired, but a dip into social media shows something definitely went down.

According to CBSMiami, right now police have reported that "dozens" of individuals were arrested in two separate incidents (check back; we'll try to confirm a more specific number today). One incident took place near NW 31st Avenue and West Broward Boulevard, the other near the beach on A1A.

The way police describe the latter incident, it was some Clockwork Orange-style mayhem-for-mayhem's-sake bad behavior.

"We had several reports of individuals who were reaching into vehicles, striking drivers. We have reports of individuals who were jumping on top of taxicabs," Fort Lauderdale PD spokesperson DeAnna Greenlaw told CBSMiami. "This was something that was planned through these individuals, and they were coming to Fort Lauderdale Beach Park for this purpose, to cause a problem."

Police reportedly confronted a group of people who had come to the park to fight. Law enforcement also shut down three bridges and marched the streets in riot gear -- both BSO and Fort Lauderdale PD. Again, right now police say about "dozens" of people were carted off in cuffs.

But on Twitter, beachgoers had been talking about a heavy police presence all day.

Fort Lauderdale police wasn't having it this year. They was 50 cars deep on the beach
— Miss.Jackson (@Shantavia__) May 27, 2014

Police all over Fort Lauderdale beach
— ALL OVA ME (@FromPompano) May 26, 2014

And the front-line dispatch continued as the clashes heated up. The commentary show a running tick-tock of what went down. The question to keep in mind is whether these are coming from folks who witnesses the mayhem firsthand or just heard about it. Regardless, there were definitely bad vibes floating in the ether yesterday in Fort Lauderdale.

My Memorial Day!
Riots on Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. and Northbound has been shutdown. #ThankYouGangViolence pic.twitter.com/HlSq2FSZEy
— Andrew C. Sparks (@noirLotus) May 26, 2014

Fort Lauderdale is a police state right now. Fear of riots = police out with gas masks, riot shields, batons, machine guns, tear gas.
— Greg Palmer (@gregpalmer) May 26, 2014

Riots #fort Lauderdale beach
— Matt Temkin (@mvladyval) May 27, 2014

Dozens arrested after reports of unruly crowds on Ft. Lauderdale Beach. More at: http://t.co/0hFQ15SBAQ pic.twitter.com/3INWkQwJdk
— WSVN-TV (@wsvn) May 27, 2014

@browardsheriff @FLPD411 have been busy today. A Memorial Day riot shutdown the bridges. See video @ 11 @WPLGLocal10 pic.twitter.com/MmgrvIzPz5
— Andrew Perez (@PerezLocal10) May 27, 2014

Follow @NewTimesBroward

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.