DeSantis will send troopers to Miami Beach, other cities during spring break

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that 140 state troopers will be deployed across Florida to assist 17 different law enforcement agencies with anticipated spring break crowds.

That includes about 60 troopers in South Florida, DeSantis said during a press conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center. About 45 of those will be concentrated in Miami Beach, according to the city’s mayor, Steven Meiner.

DeSantis said state officials reached out to communities across the state to ask what reinforcements they needed to deal with spring break chaos in March and fulfilled all of their requests. The troopers will be stationed in popular spring break destinations, including Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach and Panama City Beach.

“We at the state level stand ready to help our local communities maintain order,” DeSantis said Tuesday, adding that the state is willing to send additional resources if necessary.

DeSantis was joined Tuesday by Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass and Dave Kerner, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which oversees the Florida Highway Patrol. The governor was also flanked by more than two dozen officers from the agencies.

He said Florida Highway Patrol troopers will be assisting with directing traffic, helping with crowd control, conducting DUI checkpoints, flying drones, providing security in residential neighborhoods and operating license plate readers entering Miami Beach.

The governor added that 24 “quick response troopers” will be on standby to respond to any major incidents in Miami-Dade, Broward, Bay and Volusia counties.

In the weeks leading up to spring break, DeSantis said on multiple occasions that he was prepared to send assistance to Miami Beach and other cities dealing with large, unruly crowds. He spoke with Meiner about what resources the city might need.

“This is a pivotal moment for our city,” Meiner said Tuesday, noting that he asked for resources beyond what the state initially offered. “They came through, and they gave us even more.”

READ MORE: Miami Beach wants to ‘break up’ with spring break. How the city will try to do it

Miami Beach is bracing for a wave of visitors during the next two weekends.

City officials have imposed curfews during spring break in March in each of the past three years after huge crowds packed Ocean Drive. Last year, a midnight curfew was enacted after two deadly shootings.

This year, the city has sought to signal to potential visitors ahead of time that the party is over. Officials have announced a host of aggressive measures for this weekend and next weekend, when the highest volume of visitors is expected, including public parking closures and license plate readers on the Julia Tuttle and MacArthur causeways entering the city.

The city could also impose a curfew this weekend, though an announcement has not yet been made.

In past years, the city has in some cases sought to shut down state-run causeways entering the city. DeSantis said Tuesday that he is hopeful that won’t be necessary, given the proactive steps being taken, but that if Meiner asks him for help, “our folks will be ready to respond.”

“This is really unprecedented,” DeSantis said of the proactive approach.

Miami Beach leaders have tried to get the word out about the city’s measures through a public messaging campaign that declares the city is “breaking up with spring break.” A video in which actors talk about the effort — “it’s not us, it’s you,” one says — has gone viral on social media.

READ MORE: ‘It’s not us, it’s you’: Watch Miami Beach’s impassioned plea to spring breakers

For more details of the city’s spring break plans, go to miamibeachfl.gov/breakup.