MIAMI (WSVN) - Hundreds of protesters with opposing views on police reform gathered to take part in separate rallies in downtown Miami, and the proximity between the participants led to some heated exchanges between them.

It wasn’t always friendly between the groups that came together between Biscayne Bay and Biscayne Boulevard, near Bayfront Park and the Torch of Friendship, Sunday afternoon.

7News cameras captured Black Lives Matter signs as well as signs in support of police officers.

“No justice police,” chanted the Black Lives Matter protesters.

Though the gatherings did not escalate into violence, the dissimilar messages made for some tense moments, as members of the “Law and Order” rally made their presence felt.

“We support the police! We support Trump!” they chanted.

“Shame on you! Shame on you!” yelled a woman while she held a sign.

The Law and Order gathering was one of several local shows of support for President Donald Trump on his 74th birthday. Flotillas and caravans cheered the commander in chief in several locations across South Florida, including several boaters in Biscayne Bay. Some of the vessels had large U.S. and “Trump 2020” flags.

Law and Order protesters also took the opportunity to cheer City of Miami Police officers on bicycles.

“We have a bunch of passionate Americans. We want to celebrate the flag today, but also we wanna celebrate freedom,” said a Law and Order protester. “That’s what it’s all about.”

“We support the police!” chanted the Law and Order demonstrators.

“I want to start over at [the] Christopher Columbus [statue], but I wound up being here,” said a protester.

It was when protesters calling for police reform marched over to where the Law and Order event that things became heated.

These events unfolded alongside a spirited faith-based gathering organized by several local churches.

Cameras showed one participant singing “Lean on Me.”

“Everybody else is going to go make art and make friends and be in love,” said a protester.

“The purpose of being here today is to show solidarity for the cause. Unification is extremely important,” said Willy W.L. Strange Jr. with Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Miami. “I believe, personally, that this is God’s way of bringing His people together.”

Whether in agreement or not, the people and opinions in downtown Miami were diverse and plentiful.

“We are against sexism. We are against racism, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, colorism,” said Black Lives Matter protester Jonathan Gartrelle. “We are against the perversion of the mixture of religion with government, and all of those things are encapsulated in classism, which is now modern-day capitalism.”

“Everybody’s had it, you know? We’ve been quarantined for three months on the virus, and now we have to deal with all this other insanity,” said Law and Order protester Bob Kunst.

Police shut down parts of Biscayne Boulevard while the rallies were taking place. It was later reopened to traffic.

The large crowds were mostly gone by the time the sun went down.

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