Crime & Police

Video: Miami Cops Violently Shove Crowd at Air Jordan Shoe Release

Miami Police officers said they had to shut down an Air Jordan shoe-release event at the Miami nightclub E11even this past Saturday after cops said patrons got too "rowdy" while waiting for sneakers. Video shows crowds surging against metal barriers in an unsafe manner.

sole_lifted via Instagram

Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

Miami Police officers said they had to shut down an Air Jordan shoe-release event at the Miami nightclub E11even this past Saturday after cops said patrons got too “rowdy” while waiting for sneakers. Video shows crowds surging against metal barriers in an unsafe manner.

But the video also reveals cops also became pretty unruly. An Instagram post uploaded after the event shows a short MPD officer violently shoving a taller, black attendee who had his hands in the air. The man seemed to simply be trying to exit the crowd when enraged-looking cops put their hands on him.

“SMH TREATING PEOPLE LIKE DOGS,” the person who filmed the video, user @sole_lifted, wrote online.

Will you step up to support New Times this year?

At New Times, we’re small and scrappy — and we make the most of every dollar from our supporters. Right now, we’re $18,000 away from reaching our December 31 goal of $30,000. If you’ve ever learned something new, stayed informed, or felt more connected because of New Times, now’s the time to give back.

$30,000

Editor's Picks

WSVN first reported today that the Miami Police Department said it had to break up the sneaker-release event because of huge, uncontrollable crowds. But it now appears MPD’s crowd-control method included using riot-control shields to whack people and shoving them out of something that resembled a mosh pit. The Miami company that organized the event, Sole Fly, tweeted the situation had become unsafe and was, therefore, canceled.

Chief Jorge Colina said this afternoon that the department has seen the video. An internal affairs investigation has been opened.

Related

GET MORE COVERAGE LIKE THIS

Sign up for the This Week’s Top Stories newsletter to get the latest stories delivered to your inbox

Loading latest posts...