A chaotic multi-bike ride through South Beach ended with a hard takedown on Ocean Drive, and now the bodycam footage is stirring up fresh debate over how Miami Beach polices its most famous party strip.
The video, obtained by 7News and published Feb. 9, shows a Miami Beach police officer tackling a dirt-bike rider in the middle of the city’s entertainment district. The clip, recorded on Monday and stitched together from surveillance cameras and officer bodycams, has quickly become the latest flashpoint in a long-running argument about safety and enforcement along Ocean Drive.
In the footage, roughly 20 dirt bikes can be seen riding on the sidewalk and in the bike path, weaving in and out of traffic in what police describe as dangerous behavior that put both pedestrians and drivers at risk. One sequence shows an officer jumping out of his cruiser and sprinting toward a rider who appears to be trying to restart his dirt bike on the sidewalk. The officer tackles him to the ground as bystanders, including parents with small children, look on…