MIAMI (WSVN) - Cellphone video that went viral on Instagram captured the moment a woman hit City of Miami Police officers outside of a popular Brickell bar while they were taking a man into custody.
According to witnesses, the chaotic chain of events went down outside BARÚ Latin Bar in Mary Brickell Village, along the 900 block of South Brickell Plaza, at around 1 a.m., Sunday.
Javier Ramirez, the witness who recorded the video, spoke about the incident, Monday afternoon.
“Once you lay your hands on a cop, especially during an arrest, there’s no need for that,” he said.
Ramirez said the man and woman involved in the confrontation were part of an unruly crowd inside the bar.
“As we were leaving, we heard some argument going on with a gentleman and a bouncer,” he said.
Police said the revelers in question were members of a family who had words with a security guard before they were escorted out.
The video captured an officer pushing the man down to the ground. Seconds later, the woman, seen wearing a black dress, attacked one of the officers with what Ramirez said was a purse.
“She threw the purse that was detaining, I’m guessing, her boyfriend,” he said.
The footage shows another officer intervening and pushing the woman away.
“The other cop kind of pushed her away to get her away from what was happening,” said Ramirez.
The woman is then seen falling on another woman behind her, and both of them hit the ground.
“She wasn’t having it, so she got up, took her heel off and took a swing at that cop,” said Ramirez.
BARÚ released a statement regarding the incident saying, “We promote having a beautiful night out, with the best Latin music in town. When guests get out of control where they can harm others, we must take matters into our hands and escort them out of the establishment, which happened in this case. The fight took place in the patio of Mary Brickell after they left our establishment, proving that asking them to leave was a good decision in our bouncers. Our priority is to ensure the safety of our guests and staff at all times.”
In the end, police said, everyone involved apologized, and no one was arrested, not even the woman who socked two officers with her accessories.
Police said the family was visiting from out of state. They declined to elaborate as to why the woman was not arrested.
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