Tourist Beaten by Police at Royal Palm Hotel Sues Miami Beach

A man who was head-slammed and kicked by Miami Beach cops at the Royal Palm South Beach hotel in July 2021 has filed a lawsuit claiming the officers acted like "an unrestrained violent mob" that brutally beat him and left him with severe injuries.

In the federal civil rights lawsuit, Dalonta Crudup accuses Officer Kevin Perez, Sgt. Jose Perez, and other officers of battery, malicious prosecution, and excessive force, among other counts, in the 2021 incident in which cops took him to the ground, punched, and kicked him repeatedly after a chase through the streets of Miami Beach.

"Despite falsified reports and dissembling accounts given by the defendant offices, the unlawfulness of the attack was captured on video by the officers' own body-worn cameras, bystanders' iPhones, and hotel security cameras, which graphically showed the sheer brutality of the defendants' actions," the lawsuit states.

The complaint, which also lists the City of Miami Beach as a defendant, describes more than 50 incidents in which the city's officers allegedly violated people's civil rights as far back as 2000. The lawsuit argues the City of Miami Beach maintains a policy of "deliberate indifference to a decades-long culture of lawlessness among city police officers."

"The city knew or should have known that there existed a widespread pattern of incidents where officers abused the civil rights of the citizenry, violated laws, and disobeyed departmental orders and policies," the complaint reads. "Any efforts purportedly made by the city were mere window dressing."

Crudup's July 26, 2021 incident, which made international headlines, began when Crudup allegedly struck an officer's foot with his scooter and fled from police, eventually running into the Royal Palm hotel, according to Miami Beach police. Surveillance footage from the hotel lobby captured Crudup cooperating and putting his hands in the air after an officer finds him in an elevator and flashes a weapon at him. In the video, Crudup lies on the floor with his hands behind his back as a group of more than 20 Miami Beach cops arrive to assist during his arrest.

Officer Kevin Perez and Sgt. Jose Perez were caught on video kicking Crudup, who was visiting from Washington D.C. Kevin Perez was also seen punching and slamming Crudup's head into the ground, prosecutors said.

"At no time after he was apprehended did the plaintiff resist, attempt to flee, or otherwise give any cause for the use of force inflicted by the defendant officers," the complaint alleges. "The force was excessive, unjustified, and gratuitous, serving no lawful purpose."

Crudup was arrested and charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding police, resisting arrest with violence, criminal mischief, and reckless driving. The charges were later dropped by prosecutors.

Another tourist, Khalid Vaughn was tackled and punched by police after officers noticed him recording Crudup's incident. Vaughn was arrested on charges of impeding a police investigation and resisting arrest with violence, but prosecutors dropped the case following a review of the camera footage. Vaughn sued and eventually settled with the city for $119,000.

Sharif Cobb was also arrested as he recorded the officers' actions. He later settled his civil claims against the city for $65,000.

Police detained Vaughn and Cobb under a Miami Beach ordinance that made it illegal for people "to approach or remain within 20 feet of a law enforcement officer" with the "intent to directly or indirectly harass." Critics said the ordinance, which the police department stopped enforcing after backlash over the alleged assault on Vaughn, enabled officers to arrest bystanders lawfully filming police officers on duty.

Within a week of the incident, Miami-Dade County prosecutors charged five officers, including Jose Perez and Kevin Perez, with battery. Prosecutors later elevated some of the charges to third-degree felonies.

In July 2022, Jose Perez pleaded guilty after striking a plea deal. In exchange for his guilty plea, his charge was downgraded to a misdemeanor, and he only had to serve six months of probation. He also agreed to retire from the force.

In March 2023, Kevin Perez went to trial and was found guilty of simple battery after Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Alberto Milian downgraded the charge by ruling prosecutors did not meet the burden to bring a felony. At sentencing three months later, the judge granted Kevin Perez a new trial on the grounds that the jury was not aware prosecutors would drop all counts against Crudup following the trial.

The battery charges were dropped against the three other officers, including Robert Sabater, who was accused of assaulting Vaughn as he held up his phone camera to record police. Officer Steven Serrano still faces an official misconduct case for allegedly lying on an arrest document regarding the incident.

A Miami Beach city spokesperson declined to comment on Crudup's lawsuit.

Lieutenant Jose Reina, the officer who reportedly confronted Crudup in the hotel elevator before the incident devolved into a bloody beating, is named as a defendant in the suit, though he was not criminally charged.