MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Three men were arrested after, investigators said, they tried to rob two undercover Miami Beach Police officers at knifepoint, early Saturday morning.
According to Miami Beach Police Chief Daniel Oates, the officers were trying to curb crime along Ocean Drive. “We had some plainclothes officers out doing some of the special crime patrols we’re doing these days in the Ocean Drive corridor, and two of them were basically targeted for a robbery,” he said.
Oates said the subjects had no idea they were attempting to rob undercover officers. “The robbers didn’t realize that they were encountering on-duty police officers in plain clothes,” he said.
Investigators said one of the subjects was wielding a knife and another was holding up clenched fists as they surrounded the officers. One of the detectives then told the robbers, “I’m an officer,” as he showed them his gun and badge.
However, police said, that didn’t stop the trio. “Obviously, there was tremendous restraint on the part of our officers, and we took some bad guys into custody,” said Oates.
According to the arrest report, one of the suspects told the law enforcers, “‘Officer, my bad. I really didn’t know you were cops.'”
Oates said the Ocean Drive patrols, involving both uniformed and undercover officers, have made remarkable progress. “[Crime is] periodically an issue, and we do the best we can to address it,” he said. “We have periodic surges of resources and extra resources. We just went through a six-week period, we called it ‘Operation Strike Back,’ and we made over 200 arrests.”
The police chief said the work of undercover officers was instrumental in curtailing crime. “It wasn’t just people in uniform. We deployed people in plain clothes.”
Oates said he has the following message for criminals who want to target people on Ocean Drive. “To the extent of the predators and bad guys out there, we want to keep them guessing as to who’s a cop and who isn’t,” he said.
The three men who were arrested on Sunday are facing one count of armed attempted robbery.
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