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Thousands of spring breakers are flocking to Florida’s beaches this month, prompting police to ramp up their operations and take action against so-called “takeover” events.
Authorities in Volusia County, Florida, are working to penalize social media users who promote large, unsanctioned spring break events sometimes referred to as “takeovers.”
Volusia County is likely to become the first in the state to implement financial penalties for these promoters, Sheriff Michael Chitwood told reporters Tuesday. The county is home to popular spring break destinations like Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach.
“We’re going to sue you civilly. We’re coming after every asset that you have. This goes to every promoter. You promote a truck event, you promote a takeover event, we are coming after you financially,” Chitwood said.
These events can “endanger public safety,” Chitwood explained.
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Thousands of spring breakers are flocking to beaches in Volusia County, Florida (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
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Body camera footage shared by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office showed crowds gathered for spring break celebrations last week (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
“There’s a way to do business. Get permits. You do things the right way,” he added.
Authorities are also ordering a “special event zone” in the area from Friday at 11 a.m. until at least Sunday, which will allow officers to hand out higher traffic fines and other penalties, Chitwood announced.
Tuesday marked the busiest day of spring break so far in New Smyrna Beach, according to the local police department.
“We are experiencing heavy traffic, large crowds of juveniles, and increased activity throughout the city, especially in beachside areas and along main roadways,” the agency said. “Expect delays, limited parking, and a high volume of pedestrians.”
Police in Volusia County seized six weapons and arrested 133 people amid the spring break celebrations last weekend, Chitwood said Monday.
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Volusia County police arrested 133 people in spring break crowds over the weekend (New Smyrna Beach Police Department)
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Crowds gather on New Smyrna Beach for spring break celebrations (New Smyrna Beach Police Department)
The sheriff also addressed social media rumors about a shooting on Daytona Beach over the weekend, which he called “absolute bulls***.”
“There were zero gunshots on the beach, because what they were doing was crushing a water bottle to make it sound like a gunshot to stampede the crowd,” Chitwood said.
Video shared by the sheriff’s office showed a large crowd of people running on the beach.
“I was out there, the chief was out there. We were in the middle of it. People might not want to hear this, but everybody who we came in contact with was absolutely polite,” Chitwood continued.
The sheriff said he’s proud of his deputies for the work they carried out over the weekend.
“We arrested people from Alabama, from Georgia, from North Carolina, from South Carolina, from Florida, you name it. Everybody was here,” he said.
“And again, like I said, everybody we encountered — we made an arrest in a crowd of 1,000 people, nobody said anything. They let us do our job. And when we told people to move on, they moved on,” he added.