WSVN — From tragedy on the high seas, to a drug war on the streets, Craig Stevens takes a look back at our state’s big stories in 7’s Top 7.
South Florida was in the national spotlight in 2015 after a Broward Sheriff’s deputy was charged in the shooting death of Jermaine McBean.
In December, a grand jury indicted BSO Deputy Peter Peraza for manslaughter. McBean was walking home in Oakland Park two years ago carrying an air rifle he purchased from a pawnshop. The deputy told investigators McBean ignored numerous orders to stop, but his family says McBean was wearing ear buds at the time and could not hear them.
His mother spoke out when the indictment came down.
Jennifer Young: "Thank God. Thank you, Jesus, for making them see the injustice that’s been done to my son."
Another police officer also faced criminal charges. Fort Lauderdale Officer Victor Ramirez was caught on cellphone video pushing a homeless man to the ground, slapping him across the face and cursing at him.
Officer Victor Ramirez: "I’m not (expletive) around with you. Don’t (expletive) touch me. Don’t (expletive) touch me."
He was charged with battery and falsifying records.
All South Florida police officers battled a dangerous drug epidemic that took hold this year. The synthetic drug Flakka sparked bizarre behavior, like a man running naked through traffic.
Another man impaled himself trying to scale the fence at Fort Lauderdale Police headquarters.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue official: "Went into his leg and exited in the rear."
More than 40 people have died while taking the drug.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel: "There’s no drug that I’ve ever seen in my 36 years in law enforcement that even comes close to Flakka."
A mystery at sea in South Florida. Two 14-year-old boys disappeared after taking off on a fishing trip. Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen’s 19-foot boat was found capsized off the Jupiter Inlet days later.
The community, including neighbor NFL Hall of Famer Joe Namath, joined the family’s desperate search.
Pamela Cohen: They had a mishap somewhere along the line. These boys have been out there doing this forever."
After an eight-day search, the Coast Guard stopped looking for the boys.
U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Mark Fedor: "The decision to suspend was excruciating and gut-wrenching."
Another tragedy at sea took the lives of 33 crew members on the cargo ship El Faro in October. The ship sank during Hurricane Joaquin en route from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico.
Frustrations rose with the tides. Unusually high supermoon tides were blamed for flooding from Fort Lauderdale to Miami Beach!
President Obama blamed climate change.
President Barack Obama: "You go down to Miami, and when it’s flooding at high tide on a sunny day, fish are swimming through the middle of the streets, there’s a cost to that."
The cost of keeping Uber in Broward County was priceless to some but devastating to others. The popular ride sharing service pulled out of Broward County in July, saying it couldn’t comply with a new ordinance that would include extensive background checks for drivers.
The public outcry was swift.
Uber rider: "Fix it, fix it. Get Uber back. We love Uber."
Thousands signed petitions demanding Uber stay despite the taxi industry’s opposition. In October, county commissioners eased restrictions, allowing Uber to merge back into service.
Miami-Dade is still working on the rules of the road for ride sharing services.
Tomorrow night, I’ll look at the top national stories of 2015. In the Newsplex, I’m Craig Stevens, 7News.