Miami Police Chief Manny Morales told Grove residents this week that a reduction in violent crime has given him and his department an opportunity to address other safety and quality-of-life concerns, including the Grove’s chaotic street scene.
On South Bayshore Drive and other Coconut Grove streets, the rules of the road seem to have become more of a suggestion than a requirement.
Electric scooters whip between cars, dirt bikes fly through pedestrian crosswalks, and just about everyone is speeding. But maybe not for much longer.
Miami Police Chief Manny Morales told Grove residents this week that his department is seeking to address the traffic issues that plague the Grove.
Whether that’s by flying a drone overhead to locate traffic bottlenecks, pulling over reckless dirt-bike riders or ticketing speeders, Morales said he hopes to “change the mindset” among drivers about what’s acceptable on the Grove’s public thoroughfares.
Loud, obnoxious speeding was the first concern raised at Tuesday’s “Breakfast with the Chief” event at Plymouth Congregational Church, which gave Coconut Grove residents a chance to voice their concerns and pose questions directly to Morales.
Irwin Halperin, president of the Grove Hill Tower Condo Association, said that the most common complaint by far he hears from owners is about cars pushing 80 mph between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. along South Bayshore Drive.
The street is already patrolled, but Morales said, “Obviously, we need to do a better job.” Morales pledged that he would seek to turn the Grove into a no-speeding zone. “For people to know, oh, man, I can’t speed here,” he said.
A concern about electric bikes also echoed through the room. One resident – the mother of a first-grader – described how young dirt bikers frequently ride through or near playground areas at high speeds.
Fear over dirt bikes, particularly those operated by children and teenagers, grew following the death of Fabian Moses in August.
Moses died while biking with his wife on the Rickenbacker Causeway after being hit from behind by a 14-year-old on an electric dirt bike. The teenager was arrested and charged with a third-degree felony.
Miami Police responded several weeks later by launching Operation Ride, a citywide effort to prevent the improper use of two-wheel vehicles, from electric bikes to muscle-powered ones, in every zone of the city.
Morales said police wrote 1,000 tickets and made 100 arrests in the first week. The second week saw 700 tickets and about 50 arrests.
Coconut Grove Police Commander Freddie Cruz said his strategy when dealing with dirt bikers, especially teenagers, is to redirect them off public streets and into a park. He finds they often listen. Tickets and arrests are saved for repeat offenders, he said.
Morales said despite police efforts, intervening is not as easy as it may seem.
“You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. You have got these guys roaming recklessly, if you don’t attempt to stop them in a lawful manner, people believe Miami is lawless,” Morales said. “And if you go after them and you chase them and they crash and kill somebody, oh, my god, the police are reckless.”
Morales said he and his department are able to devote more manpower to projects like Operation Ride because of the reduction of violent crime throughout the city.
“Before we were worried about (gun)shots and people being assaulted. Now we’re shifting those resources to help us do more quality of life. So, I’m looking forward to doing a lot more addressing of unsheltered folks and being able to get them the help that they need, being able to address quality of life crimes, traffic and loud music,” Morales said.
Coconut Grove is a neighborhood that Morales knows well. Before his time as chief, Morales served as Coconut Grove’s police commander from 2013 to 2016. “Some of my fondest memories were when I was the commander in the Grove,” he said.
Prior to Tuesday’s event, Morales said he took a trip down memory lane, reflecting on how the Grove used to be. From 2013 to now, Coconut Grove’s crime numbers have plummeted, dropping 78% across all crimes and 88% for violent offenses, he said.
The Grove currently leads the city with a 36% reduction in crime, almost double the drop in crime of 20% seen citywide, according to police.
Though crime is down, the city may begin to look a lot more dangerous after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier advised law enforcement agencies last month that people have the right to openly carry firearms in Florida.
“Don’t be alarmed if you see somebody walking up or down Main Highway with a rifle strapped to their back,” Morales said.
“Right now, the interpretation is that you can carry a firearm out in the open. Now, there’s definitely some exceptions that we’re holding on to, even though the statute is not very clear on it,” Morales said.
Those exceptions include public spaces that are private property, like CocoWalk.
William Rivas, a CocoWalk shareholder who helps to manage the property, asked Morales to clarify the center’s rights at Tuesday’s event. Rivas said signs alerting visitors that they can’t openly carry firearms on the property will be posted.
“We don’t want to be the bad guys, but safety is paramount,” he said.
