LTC 557-2018 Open CarryM AMIBE CH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC#
557-2018 LETTE TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Dan Gelber and Members
FROM : Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: October 17 , 2018
SUBJECT: Open Carry
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to inform the Mayor and City Commissiam that this
coming Saturday, October 20, 2018, members of the gun advocacy group known as "Florida
Carry" intend to fish on the South Pointe Pier while openly carrying firearms.
In that regard, please be advised that openly carrying a firearm while engaged in t ile properly
licensed activity of fishing is permitted under state law. The City Attorney 's Office an d the Miam i
Beach Police Department have been communicating with the organizer in an attempt to plan for
this event , and the Police Department is preparing to accommodate the lawful activity of this
group in a manner least likely to cause alarm to the public .
Members of the Commission may recall that six (6) members of this group previousl y appeared
unannounced at South Pointe Pier on Sunday , June 24, 2018 , carrying fishing equ ip me nt and
openly displaying firearms . Miami Beach Police Department officers were dispatched a nd made
contact with those individuals to verify that they were engaged in lawful activity and to quell the
trepidation of those residents and visitors who observed the group members open l y carrying
firearms. This event received significant media attention at the time , and this Saturdat s event is
also likely to receive media attention .
Our best available information at this juncture is that members of the group wi l I arrive
sporadically beginning as early as 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. However, the group orga nizer was
unable to provide any clarity as to how many members plan on attending tlhi s event.
Furthermore , despite offers from the City of Miami Beach to provide pa r king in closer p rox imity to
South Pointe Pier, the group organizer declined and informed the Police Department that group
members will park in the public parking garage located at 512 1 ih Street. Group members will
then walk to the Lummus Park seawall and proceed south to South Pointe Pier, whe re t hey will
fish for several hours before walking back to the 12 1h Street parking g arage and leavi ng the City.
Based upon the information we have received , it is anticipated that the event will end sometime
around 2:00 p.m.
Miami Beach Police Department officers will be present during the entire event o provide
reassurance to the community and to protect the rights of all involved .
JLM IBo:MF:tr