MIAMI (WSVN) - The FBI is searching for a man accused of burning a City of Miami Police car.
The FBI announced they are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for setting the car ablaze on May 30.
Investigators said the incident happened after a day of peaceful protests in Downtown Miami, in response to the death of George Floyd, turned violent.
The car was under Interstate 95 on the corner of Northwest Third Avenue and Fourth Street.
The violence continued into the night, with looters breaking into several stores at Bayside Marketplace and other locations in Downtown Miami.
No injuries were reported.
7News cameras captured the scorched vehicle as it was towed away.
Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina addressed the incident during a news conference on Monday.
“I think that when you take that kind of action, you’re infringing on people’s right to assemble and their right to free speech,” he said.
Investigators released photos of a man who they believe is responsible for the act, and they want people to pay close attention to the tattoos on his right arm.
“The idea might be that we’re going to burn this car as a sign to the police that we’re displeased, but ultimately, it’s the taxpayer who pays for that car, and it’s expensive, and so that’s irresponsible,” said Colina.
Colina said they have no trouble with peaceful protests, but destroying a patrol car is wrong.
“You should be able to come out to the street and be heard and be angry and be there as long as you want to express yourself, and then you have someone that takes that kind of lawless act, and it essentially forces us to have that crowd dispersed,” he said. “Well, that’s not right, but that person’s responsible for that, not us.”
FBI Special Agent George Pino released a statement that reads, “The FBI holds sacred the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment freedoms. Unfortunately, we are seeing individuals who are taking advantage of these peaceful assemblies to pursue violence and in doing so are threatening the rights and safety of all citizens.”
Colina said he agrees, adding that one man’s action is making it worse for those who want their message heard.
“Call those people out and say, ‘Hey, we’re angry. We want to be heard. We want to assemble. Join us. Let’s do it peacefully, loudly, so people can hear us, he said, “but let’s do it right, so they can’t come in and tell us we can’t.”
Anyone with information on the man’s identity is asked to call the FBI at 754-703-2000 or 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324). They can also go to fbi.gov/violence.
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