Police shot pepper balls at a crowd of young adults who were gathered at a public beach in Miami for Spring Break, despite the beach being closed on the mayor's orders due to the Covid pandemic. An 8:00 pm curfew was put into effect in the Entertainment District, but despite the announcement, many just ignored it and stayed. Hours after the curfew time passed, large crowds were still moving around Ocean Drive with seemingly no intention of going anywhere. Pepper balls were fired into the crowds of hundreds of Spring Break partygoers on South Beach after several attempts were made by police to disburse them. "Officers began dispersing crowds at 8 pm and ultimately achieved a satisfactory level of compliance," police spokesperson Ernesto Rodriguez told CNN. City leaders said the restrictions put into place in an effort to prevent crowds, stop crime and violence that some Spring Breakers have brought to Miami Beach. Many of the Spring Break partygoers in the crowd were shirtless, and many were not wearing facemask coverings. Officers fire pepper balls at spring break partygoers breaking curfew in Miami Beach (clickorlando.com) Miami Beach officers shoot pepper balls into spring break crowds to enforce emergency curfew - (kten.com) Some are saying this seems a little fascist and authoritarian. Apparently, amid the pandemic, people do not have the right to peaceably assemble. Then there is the generational issue of these young adults being treated like out of control children who need to have restrictions for their own good. For those of you who may not know, these pepper balls are paintballs filled with an irritating pepper substance. The balls can cause welts and bruising on skin, even sometimes slight bleeding. The hot pepper substance inside splashes and sprays out on impact, some of which gets into the person's face and causes a painful burning sensation.
