THIS PETITION IS BRAND NEW!  Please help me get it off the ground by SIGNING it and SHARING it as well as TAGGING your friends.  If you have ever been disturbed by events on Ocean Drive, now is the time to sign & share.  It only takes a moment of your time.  Thanks for helping.  (It usually takes 10,000 signatures to receive an official response regarding CHANGE from government officials.)

Recently, on Ocean Drive, during the daytime hours, the unimaginable happened.  

On Tuesday August 24th 2021, 22 year old Tamarius Blair Davis Jr., of Norcross, Georgia was caught on surveillance video roaming the streets of South Beach and was filmed as he attempted to shoot a gun at a random person walking by.  Thankfully he missed. But he was determined to kill someone at random… and he succeeded in his goal.  

On his next shooting spree, just moments after the surveillance video was captured, he decides to set his sights on an easier target.  He walked into La Cerveceria off 14th Street and Ocean Drive in South Beach and randomly selected his victim. Relatives identified the victim who was killed as Dustin Wakefield, 21, of Colorado. Dustin Wakefield was a defenseless father sitting down for a meal on his vacation with his family that included his young wife and infant baby.  

The victim was taunted at first as the gun was initially aimed at the baby.  Dustin’s response was “He’s just a baby!” After defending his family, he was shot numerous times at close range.  

Unimaginable.. cold-blooded murder.  

Eye witness cell phone video showed the murderer then psychotically dancing over his body in excitement.  The screams of shock and horror in the background were so blood-curdling and chilling that I had to immediately close the video.  (<---CHILLING Video Link of moments after the murder.  Viewer discretion is advised.)  

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As we all know, Ocean Drive’s Entertainment District can be a dangerous place.  We've all heard the stories of rival gang members shooting each other on Spring Break or during Memorial Day Weekend (Urban Beach Week).

Those of us who have lived here long enough have also witnessed the embarrassingly sharp decline of Ocean Drive.  It's gone from being known as the street featuring the most operational Art Deco Architecture structures in the WORLD or of course, the real street filmed in the movie Scarface (the infamous chainsaw scene, yeah, that’s ocean drive) - to being known as a ghetto, chaotic, and dangerous place.  The street is only a few blocks long and dead ends on each side.  There is a (new) no-drive rule which allows this small stretch of road to turn into chaos.

It's common knowledge amongst locals to avoid the popular, chaotic, dangerous, violent and drug-fueled, bar-hopping stretch of street at night.  But even the most seasoned local may pass the actual street of Ocean Drive to get access to the beach during any hour of the day.

- Was it dark out when this event occurred?  

No.

 

- Did it happen on a Friday or Saturday night?

No.  It happened on a Tuesday.

 

- Did it happen at a super late hour like 2AM?

No.  It was during broad daylight. 

 

- Was this during Spring Break or Urban Beach Week?  

No.  It was during the summer, also known as slow-season, because it’s ‘usually’ so quiet.

 

- Was it between two people with bad blood?  Rivaling gang members?  People who at least knew each other?

No. The victim was completely chosen at random.  

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A 21 year old father visiting from Colorado, sitting down with his wife and 1 year old baby was gunned down at close range for no reason in broad daylight. Just process this for a second. 

This could have been absolutely any of us.  Any of our families. ANY OF US or ANY one of our family members or friends.

For those of us who have lived here long enough, at some point - you've probably taken a visiting out-of-towner friend or family member to Ocean Drive to have food, or drinks, or perhaps your only interaction with Ocean Drive is to simply cross it to go to access the beach.  If you are not shaken to your core, you need to open your eyes. 

Perhaps the boomers in government don't spend much time on social media or listen to current music... but SOUTH BEACH and in specifically, Ocean Drive, is INFAMOUS for being, well, what it is; A seemingly law-less, violent and uninhibited stretch of a street. A sketchy section of only a few blocks known for late-night bar hoping.  A tiny little ocean front street dotted with as many palm trees as there are drug dealers (openly selling, by the way) .  ‘This’ is what South Beach’s Ocean Drive has become known for.  

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I am not saying everyone who visits Ocean Drive is attracted to it because they are violent people who are looking for trouble. (However it sure does attract those people too…)

Of course there are completely normal tourists who simply don't know what Ocean Drive really is. Like this victim and his family.  They don’t know of the dangerous people it DOES attract or the everyday madness that occurs on that street 24/7, 365.

Ocean Drive has been 'attracting' a CROWD that is PRONE to violence for awhile now. 

I do not need to sit here and tell you about the years when Memorial Day Weekend/Spring Break turned into Swat Situations, States of Emergency, Situations so bad that neighboring police districts needed to assist the cops, Violent Riots (usually against the police during MDW/SB), Times the city of MB had to implement Curfew Enforcement just to get the crowds off the street, Shootings, Deaths, Property Violence, Rape, Physical Violence, Robberies, Theft, Police stationed high above in 2-story watch towers during those MDW/SB events, or the countless incidents of Damage to Property owned by businesses and local residents.

And if you think the people who are attracted to the rowdy block parties and chaos that happens during Memorial Day Weekend (Urban Beach Week) or Spring Break simply leave once the events are over … think again.  Let’s start thinking about Ocean Drive as ‘the all year version’ of those two (usually) troublesome/rowdy events. 24/7, 365.  Ocean Drive attracts the same types people as those events ALL YEAR LONG.

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As locals of Miami Beach:

- We have turned our heads and keep walking when violence occurs between homeless people or drunk tourists during fight in an Ocean Drive alleyway. 

- We have turned a blind eye and even LEFT Miami Beach when Memorial Day Weekend/Urban Beach week happens, only to come back ready to hear the tales of all the craziness that occurred.

- We look the other way at the disturbingly-public displays of drug-dealing and street prostitution that occurs on Ocean Drive.

- We’ve learned to live with avoiding entire portions of South Beach during Urban Beach Week and Spring Break.  (Which by the way, EVERY SINGLE local knows those are NOT spring breakers.... those are the SAME EXACT people from the Urban Beach Week Crowd.). (Again, Google it.)

- We’ve all seen the cell video of POLICE SHOOT OUTS in the middle of the street taken from balcony windows above (google it).

- We’ve all heard the news reports of rape, robberies, and all other types of violence you can think of.  

- We’ve seen the miami beach police post on social media about the drug busts and arrests they’ve made of unsavory people with warrants that they found on Ocean Drive.   We’ve seen the Miami Beach pics of the contents of trunks belonging to those arrested ... stocked with automatic weapons, guns, knifes, and enough drugs to distribute to hundreds of people.

Sorry.  We can’t look away anymore.

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In order to protect our safety, as locals, we have learned to adapt and follow an unwritten set of rules:

- We avoid certain areas like Ocean Drive  at certain times of the day, like when it gets dark. 

- We avoid the establishments on Ocean Drive.

- We learned to brush it off when programs like Saturday Night Live make fun of us.

Basically we have learned to work around it.

But this didn't happen on a weekend, at a late night hour or during Spring Break or Memorial Day Weekend (Urban Beach Week). Did it?

Unlike a SNL comedy skit that can be turned off when finished watching… for people who live here, it's not funny anymore.  And we can’t just turn it off.  The only ones with the power to turn it off already - is you, The City of Miami Beach Government.

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What makes THIS event WAYYYY different, (and the absolute reason we NEED TO MAKE CHANGE) is that it was cold-blooded murder.  Right here.  During broad daylight.  To a random person.   In our backyard.  On a street that has had KNOWN, serious, serious issues that have only seemed to worsen with each passing year.  Issues that The City of Miami Beach’s government honestly just DOES NOT SEEM TO CARE ENOUGH ABOUT TO CHANGE!

If all the city cares about is money, how about considering the REAL, long-term damage this is doing to our reputation.  Eliminate the appeal of the "family vacationers" and I do believe you've just done serious damage to Miami Beach’s tourism economy.

And beyond doing damage control to our tarnished reputation and ensuring the safety of tourists, how about ensuring the safety of residents?  How about cleaning up that street for us?  The people who pay tax dollars.  

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The problem is that South Beach is so beautiful, so infamous, that it will 'always' attract visitors and their money.  So there's less incentive to make a change.

Perhaps cold-blooded murder of Dustin Wakefield, a father, during the day, eating with his wife and baby on Ocean Drive will be the event you guys need to make some serious change. 

Understand that by allowing the madness to continue in the Entertainment District on Ocean Drive WILL have long-term repercussions.   Even though we can’t see the effects of this right now, don’t kid yourself Miami Beach, they will come in time.  Make a change, NOW.  

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Reclaim/Reform/Clean Up/Make Changes/Introduce New Laws, New rules/Reopen the street to traffic/Adding more law enforcement… etc.. whatever you guys need to do - just do it already!  Enough is enough!!! 

INSTEAD OF what you guys USUALLY DO, which is: **SIT THERE AND GIVE US ANOTHER EMOTIONLESS, DISHONEST, BASELESS STATEMENT about the problems on Ocean Drive/The South Beach Entertainment District…**

Maybe this time.. Miami Beach will make some damn changes and at least ATTEMPT to stop the madness that occurs all day, every day on Ocean Drive/ Miami Beach’s ‘Entertainment District.’

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We're watching, City of Miami Beach.  Residents, tourists and people across the U.S. and around the world who catch this story on the evening news or find it online.  We are all watching. I suggest every city official to start reading the local Miami Beach community message boards on FB and see the local residents complaining (all the time, not just now) about Ocean Drive.  I suggest you guys take a stroll down Ocean Drive at 1am on a weekday (don't go on a weekend, it's too dangerous.. literally).  

If all you guys in power care is money than I’d suggest you stop pretending the future financial effects of this is event aren’t coming.  More tourists will start avoid us, and more locals will move.  And one thing is for sure, unlike before where only travelers in-the-know, regular visitors or locals knew of Ocean Drives reputation and all you had left were ‘unsuspecting out of town visitors’ like the victim, well - let’s just say……. you’ll have a lot less of them - too.

It doesn’t matter how many establishments are paying off city officials at the current moment in time... (google it)... the fact is there won’t be HARDLY ANYONE besides the wrong crowd at the bars & restaurants on ocean ‘in the future’ if change is not made.

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We are ALL waiting for your REAL response to what ACTIONS you will take after this event.  (Save the PC BS.  Save your fake promises. Save it. Just tell us the damn plan.) 

We know change can’t be made immediately, but the foundation can be made for the steps to come RIGHT NOW.)

Oh yeah.. City of Miami Beach, one more thing:

Remember the eye witness video of the murderer dancing over the body and those gut-wrenching.. blood curdling screams of the wife and witnesses that are so horrible and hard to listen to that most people can’t even finish the video????

You know, this one? 

That is forever online and can be easily found by tourists. Let’s put it this way, City of Miami Beach; the news articles and those video clips about this murder on Ocean Drive will look a hell of lot better in the months & years ahead when a message under the article/video reads:

"UPDATE!!: After the publication of this article the AREA KNOWN AS THE ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT on OCEAN DRIVE in SOUTH BEACH has since been CLOSED/CLEANED UP/REFORMED/WHATEVER".  

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By showing us you are taking the steps to make this future change RIGHT NOW is a GREAT WAY to show Miami Beach (and well, the world) that you won't let the victim die in vain.

You won't let that happen, will you, City of Miami Beach?????

You won’t let him die in vain without at least any semblance of reform or change attempted on your end afterwards happen, right??????

We really, really hope not.

Make a change. RIGHT NOW! Or start preparing the plans to make changes in the future.  DO IT NOW!   We’ve all had enough of The City of Miami Beach’s passiveness when it comes to events on Ocean Drive. 

I cannot stress this enough the importance to act URGENTLY after this event.  The more time you wait— the more upset people get, and the more locals will begin to distrust our elected officials.  It also results in more chaos on Ocean Drive.  Do it now.  Doing nothing simply shows us you don’t care about the locals, our reputation as a tourist destination and sure as hell not about the victim or his family. 

Sincerely,

Sara Tayte and….MANY, MANY Residents and people across the world who visit Miami Beach.

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This petition is brand new, please help spread the word by signing, sharing and tagging your friends.  

RIP Dustin Wakefield.  A GoFundMe has been created by his family.  If you'd like to help, you can do so by clicking here.