A man jailed at Miami-Dade Pre-Trial Detention Center in connection to a murder during the 2023 spring break in Miami Beach threw human waste on a corrections officer Monday, Feb. 10, 2023, according to his arrest report.
A man in Miami-Dade County jail awaiting trial for a 2023 fatal shooting during spring break in Miami Beach threw human waste on a corrections officer who was searching his cell Monday night, according to court records.
A corrections officer was searching Dontavious Polk’s cell around 6:30 p.m. Monday when Polk threw urine and feces on him, according to Polk’s arrest report. The attack was caught on the jail’s security camera.
Polk now faces an additional charge of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon. The incident happened at the Miami-Dade County Pre-Trial Detention Center, 1321 NW 13th St., where Polk is being held.
Polk, 27, has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 19-year-old Dan’Vonte Tarver on the streets of Miami Beach during the busy spring break period three years ago.
Tarver was walking down the sidewalk of Ocean Drive near 11th Street around 6:30 p.m. March 19, 2023, with his arm around a woman when three men, including Polk, approached him. Polk lifted his shirt and pulled out a Glock 27 .40 caliber gun with an extended magazine and shot Tarver several times, according to his arrest report.
After Tarver fell to the ground, Polk shot him several more times. Paramedics took Tarver to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he died. Detectives found 11 spent rounds on the sidewalk, according to the report.
Tarver is from Palm Beach County and worked for the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, according to his obituary. He is survived by his parents and a young son, his family said in the obituary.
A grand jury convicted Polk of murder in August 2024; he has pleaded not guilty. The case is pending, but he was ordered held without bond until trial.
His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
Miami Herald
David Goodhue covers the Florida Keys and South Florida for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald. Before joining the Herald, he covered Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware.