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9 months ago
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The Fort Lauderdale mayor welcomed spring break with open arms before the annual March madness, and party seekers flocked to the city's beach in droves.
Drone footage, which was first published by The U.S. Sun, showed large crowds of co-eds sprawled out across the beach, and a fun beach boxing bout with gloves, a ref and an overexcited crowd cheering them on.
City police and the mayor's chief of staff told Fox News Digital it was a "successful" first week, with limited crime, as they brace for a tougher challenge this weekend, which coincides with St. Patrick's Day.
"Our spring break crowds have been as expected so far this year, with this week being the busiest week we are anticipating," Casey Liening, spokesperson for the Fort Lauderdale police, told Fox News Digital. "We have not had any major issues or disturbances."
FORT LAUDERDALE BRACES FOR SPRING BREAK WITH FREE ROOFIE DRINK TESTS, DUI ALTERNATIVES
Fort Lauderdale sent Fox News Digital all arrests near the beach between March 4 and 9, and if the suspect(s) is a spring break participant:
FLORIDA FLOODS SPRING BREAK HOT SPOTS WITH STATE TROOPERS IN ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ CRACKDOWN ‘ON MAYHEM’
A video of a wild melee involving dozens of women supposedly on a Fort Lauderdale beach went viral on social media, particularly X, and was picked up by multiple news outlets.
It's unclear where the video originated or where and when the actual altercation took place.
Police and city officials told Fox News Digital in separate interviews that the reports are inaccurate. Both pointed to a pier in the background of the video and said the city's beach doesn't have a pier.
"Generally, I can tell you that our officers have and will continue to disperse any crowds we observe," Fort Lauderdale police's spokesperson told Fox News Digital in an email.
FLORIDA SPRING BREAK PARTIERS CAUSE MIAMI MAYHEM
Meanwhile, Miami Beach's purposely draconian guidelines appeared to be effective during the first week of "March madness," with local outlets reporting it was a quiet opening weekend.
Miami Beach took drastic action following last year's mayhem, when two people were fatally shot, and police made 500 arrests (including 230 felony arrests) and seized 105 guns.
The U.S. Sun, which reported from the Fort Lauderdale beach over the weekend, said party-goers were spotted drinking from beer bongs, chugging mixed drinks from jugs and locked in beer pong matches.
Other beach-goers danced, flung Frisbees and footballs, kicked soccer balls and even duked it out in boxing gloves.
FLORIDA SPRING BREAK HAS FAMILY BEACH TOWNS BRACING FOR CROWDS AS MIAMI BEACH CRACKS DOWN
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said before spring break season started that there were designated areas where alcohol was permitted, as well as safety preventive measures that included roofie tests, rideshare options and accessible Narcan.
"We want to make your spring break experience the best experience you've ever had," Trantalis said during a March 4 press conference.
"Why? Because we want you to come back. We want you to come back next year. We want you to come back in future years, and, hey, maybe you want to make Fort Lauderdale your home."
WATCH DRONE FOOTAGE WITH BOXING MATCHES
Meanwhile, spring break in the typical hot spot Miami Beach looked like a busy vacation weekend versus an annual college-age student party mecca.
The city's goal for weeks was to "break up" with spring break, which the New York Post said was a "bust."
That headline was touted in a post on X by former Mayor Philip Levine who posted the headline with hand-clapping emojis.
The first week of spring break appeared to go according to plan for two major cities in Florida, but the first and last week are historically calmer compared to the middle weekends in March.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week he's sending over 140 state troopers, along with various other state resources, to South Florida as part of an "unprecedented" pre-emptive strike against spring break crime.
The plan is to send 60 state troopers to reinforce communities throughout South Florida, with a high concentration in Miami Beach, according to the governor.
And 60 more state troopers will mobilize in additional hot spots like Daytona Beach and Panama City Beach, and 24 quick-response troopers will be deployed in Bay, Volusia, Broward and Miami-Dade counties for immediate incidents.
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"This is really unprecedented," DeSantis said during a March 5 press conference. "I don't think we've ever seen the state come in this forward-leaning going into a season like this."
Officials in both cities are prepping for what could be coming this weekend, which includes St. Patrick's Day on Sunday.
"With all things considered, I think that we're good and prepared as we've ever been throughout my time in the state of Florida," DeSantis said.
