Miami Beach Cop Says Mayor Tried to ‘Instigate’ Confrontation Along With Democratic Fund-Raiser During Party Crashing Incident

Last December, police in Miami Beach, Florida,
responded to a call from a resident holding an invitation-only art
party on Star Island. Up to 1,000 uninvited guests looking to crash
the party showed up anyway, according to an Internal Affairs (IA)
report on the incident. The newly-elected mayor of Miami Beach,
Philip Levine, filed a complaint when he witnessed one officer,
Giordano Cardoso, firing his Taser into the ground in an attempt to
control the crowd and allegedly waving the Taser around.

IA found the use of the Taser by police appropriate. In the
report Officer Cardoso claimed the mayor was trying to intimidate
officers on the scene. Via
the IA report:

As the crowd dispersed, Mayor Philip Levine was
overheard by them “encouraging” a male known to the Mayor to try
and enter the residence again. According to witness Marquez, Mayor
Levine “witnessed his friend excite the crowd and described the
friend’s actions as very strange (challenging the officers as he
looked back at the crowd).” According to witness Marquez, “the
friend seemed to be “putting on a show” by arguing with the officer
and looking back towards the Mayor.”

The Miami Herald fills in some details:

Though the report doesn’t identify him, the man is
Christopher Korge, a high-level Democratic fundraiser who hosted
President Barack Obama at his Pinecrest home in 2012.

Cardoso told Korge that “if he continued to try to enter, that it
would be considered trespassing.” That’s when, the report says,
Levine approached Cardoso, shook his hand and said, “I’m the new
mayor of Miami Beach,” and repeated it several times.

The mayor claims he spoke to someone with the police department
the next day but could not provide a name. Police say they
attempted to contact him several times for a sworn statement but
could not reach him.

Levine was
endorsed last year by Bill Clinton, and his official bio
describes
him as an “integral” member of the Miami Beach community for
the past 30 years. The homeowner who threw the party said the mayor
was a friend and had been among 300 invitees. He called the party
crashing scene “absolutely insane” and a “horror.”