Latest news with #BestoftheBest
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
44 Percent: Miami Gardens business owner, Best of the Best, Third Horizon Film Festival
The pandemic ushered in a lot of sorrow: Some of us saw loved ones die, others saw the loss of jobs, and some (I'd venture many of us) are still recovering from the aftermath of it. But some, like Syerra Donaldson, were able to reinvent themselves during lockdown. She managed to turn her growing cooking hobby into a thriving catering business. Donaldson's graciousness and humility are evident as she tells the story of her path to business owner and Food Network star to Miami Herald reporter Michael Butler. But what impressed me most was the beautiful community that surrounded and uplifted her on her journey. It's what we all need when it comes to forging our own paths, and I'm hoping as the summer comes we continue to see more of that love spread around. INSIDE THE 305: How a Miami Gardens therapist turned her pandemic hobby into a catering business During the pandemic, some people parlayed their hobbies into a full-fledged business. Syerra Donaldson was no exception. The Miami Gardens therapist is the proud owner of catering company, EasyCookinWithSy, and has seen significant success with a win on the Food Network's 'Supermarket Stakeout' and placing third in the quarter finals of celebrity chef Carla Hall's Favorite Chef contest, Minority Business reporter Michael Butler reported. 'The competition was just there to teach me personal development,' Donaldson said. 'In the beginning I wasn't scared, but I was timid. Now my confidence is higher.' Take a look at the scene at Best of the Best, Miami's celebration of Jamaican music Following a two-year hiatus, Caribbean music festival Best of the Best returned to Miami's Bayfront Park, featuring acts such as Buju Banton, Marcia Griffiths and Beres Hammond, Wayne Wonder and Skinny Fabulous. Miami Herald Haiti correspondent Jacqueline Charles and photographer Sam Navarro shared the sights and songs of the festival, now in its 19th year. OUTSIDE THE 305: After last year's devastating hurricane season, Caribbean nations brace themselves Last year Hurricane Beryl slammed into the Lesser Antilles and Jamaica during another deadly hurricane season. This year Caribbean nations are preparing for what should be another active hurricane season. As Charles reported: Between 17 and 19 named storms are being predicted for the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane season, according to the Colorado State University early forecast delivered in April and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology. The latter is forecasting that nine of 19 named storms are anticipated to become hurricanes, four of them major, once the season starts on June 1. 'Though these forecasts come with some uncertainty, the region must remain vigilant and prepared, as it only takes one storm to cause a significant impact. The likelihood of storms making landfall along the U.S. coastline and within the Caribbean remains high, so we must take every necessary step to ensure the safety of our communities,' said Elizabeth Riley, the executive director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, CDEMA. Judge delays Miami trial of five men accused of plotting assassination of Haiti's president The trial of five men accused of plotting the assassination of Haiti's president Jovenel Moïse has been pushed back to March 2026. Moïse was killed at his home outside Port-au-Prince in July 2021. As Charles and fellow reporter Jay Weaver wrote: U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra said at a recent hearing that she was not happy about delaying the federal trial, which was originally set for March and then postponed until September of this year. Becerra said she had no choice but to push it back again because of the massive volume of evidence, including more than 2.5 million text messages, emails and other records, that federal prosecutors are still turning over to the defense lawyers — a basic discovery issue that has turned into a sore point for the judge. Harvard agrees to relinquish early photos of enslaved people, ending a legal battle Photographs of enslaved people will be given to the International African American Museum in South Carolina, following a lengthy legal battle. The photos, which are more than 175 years old, had been housed at Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, and are returning to the state where the photographs were taken. Per the Associated Press: The photos of the subjects identified by Tamara Lanier as her great-great-great-grandfather Renty, whom she calls 'Papa Renty,' and his daughter Delia will be transferred from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology to the International African American Museum in South Carolina, the state where they were enslaved in 1850 when the photos were taken, a lawyer for Lanier said Wednesday. The settlement ends a 15-year battle between Lanier and the university to release the 19th-century daguerreotypes, a precursor to modern-day photographs. Lanier's attorney Joshua Koskoff told The Associated Press that the resolution is an 'unprecedented' victory for descendants of those enslaved in the U.S. and praised his client's yearslong determination in pursuing justice for the people she had identified as her ancestors. HIGH CULTURE: Third Horizon Film Festival returns Now in its eighth year, the Third Horizon Film Festival returns to Miami highlighting filmmaking from the Caribbean diaspora. Festivities kick off tonight at the PAMM with 'Koutkekout (At All Kosts)' a documentary set in Haiti that centers on artists holding their own festival as the country faces continued turmoil. An opening reception will follow the screening. Tickets for tonight range from free for children to $18 for adults, tickets for screenings at the Koubek Center Price range from $8 to $15, and festival passes range from $60 to $500.
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Miami Herald
Driver shot by Miami cop near Bayfront facing 4 felonies, but judge sets low bond
The driver of a BMW shot by a Miami police officer while he was on the hood of the car outside a music festival last weekend was charged Thursday with four felonies and two misdemeanors — while he was recuperating in the hospital. But his bond was considerably less than expected after a judge denied a request from state prosecutors to keep the man behind bars. Menelek Emmanuel Clarke was being treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital with three bullet wounds when Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer convened the Zoom hearing. She questioned probable cause in three of the charges, denied the state's request for pre-trial detention and set the shooting victim's bond for all the charges combined at $8,653. READ MORE: A Miami cop on car hood shot driver through windshield at music festival. Is it permitted? Clarke, 21, is facing charges of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, leaving the scene of an accident, fleeing and eluding law enforcement and resisting arrest with violence, all felonies. He's also been charged with failure to obey a police officer and reckless driving, both misdemeanors. When Glazer questioned three of the charges, including leaving the scene and fleeing and eluding, Clarke's attorney Michael Orenstein agreed, saying his client wasn't trying to get away from police. 'He was shot multiple times,' Orenstein told the judge. Clarke was shot inside his car on Biscayne Boulevard at Northeast Second Street early Sunday evening, just after the start of a Caribbean music festival at Bayfront Park called the Best of the Best. His mother had just gotten out of the car to meet family and get tickets. Clarke's sister was in the back seat during the shooting. She said her brother did not hit the officer intentionally and was slowly trying to turn past him. Cellphone video of the incident posted on YouTube and Only in Dade begins with Miami police officer Mauricio Delgado clinging to the car's hood, his weapon in his right hand pointed into the vehicle only inches from the front windshield. The car slowly makes its way north on Biscayne Boulevard and begins to turn west on Northeast Second Street, when Delgado fires at least three times. The vehicle stops directly in front of a Miami police car. Clarke jumps out of his car in a white shirt and jeans and walks quickly east toward the park, his hands going down to his waist, then up in the air as ordered. It doesn't appear as if he's injured. He obeys police commands to go to the ground, turns over and is handcuffed. Blood can be seen on the back of his shirt as an officer gets on top of him. Delgado was treated for minor injuries and released. Orenstein said Clarke was shot three times, in the right arm, his chest — which collapsed his lung — and in his thigh. Miami Police policy says officers should avoid firing at moving vehicles unless someone inside the vehicle — not the vehicle itself — poses a severe threat to the officer or anyone else. No weapon was found on Clarke. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
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Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Miami Herald
A Miami cop on car hood shot driver through windshield at music festival. Is it permitted?
Most law enforcement experts who watched the video of Miami Police Officer Mauricio Delgado lying on the hood of a car and shooting a music festival-goer through the front windshield say the officer was within his rights if he felt his life or others were in danger. But their observations come with a caveat: It's unclear exactly what led to Delgado lying face down on the hood of Menelek Emmanuel Clarke's black, two-door BMW, the officer's weapon almost pressed against the front windshield as the car crawled north on Biscayne Boulevard. Cellphone video taken from the scene outside the Caribbean music festival at Bayfront Park on Sunday night doesn't show the lead-up to the confrontation. The footage begins with Delgado on the car hood. And police haven't said if the officer activated his body worn camera — which is mandatory during interactions with the public, but not during traffic enforcement. READ MORE: Police officer shot driver outside music festival in Miami's Bayfront Park: officials 'I can't see what precipitated it, so I can't speculate,' said Dave Magnusson, a former high-ranking Miami police officer and El Portal police chief. 'What I can tell you is that the guy gets out of his car reaching for his waistband, he probably got lucky. He did then follow commands and was taken into custody.' Police say Delgado was one of four dozen officers working a shift directing traffic on the boulevard just outside the park during the Best of the Best music festival on Sunday. They say Clarke, 21, disobeyed an order to stop and drove at a slow pace into Delgado, who somehow ended up on vehicle's hood. Clarke's 17-year-old sister who was in the back seat, said the contact with the officer was accidental. They had just dropped their mother off who was to meet relatives with tickets to the concert, and they were looking for parking. Clarke, who records show lives in Broward County and was born in North Carolina, was shot several times and is recovering at Jackson Memorial's Ryder Trauma Center. Another law enforcement veteran who watched the video said the interaction raises questions. Chuck Wexler, executive director of Washington D.C.'s Police Executive Research Forum, said you'd need to review the officer's camera and surrounding surveillance video and piece together the facts to figure out exactly what happened. 'Sometimes it's a misunderstanding. It's hard to say at this point what justified the officer firing his weapon,' Wexler said. 'The video raises more questions than there are answers. You just don't know and it would be wrong to jump to conclusions.' Strict rules on firing into moving vehicle Miami police policy only allows officers to fire their weapons at a moving vehicle if deadly force is being used against the officer or another person by means other than the moving vehicle. Simply, unless someone inside Clarke's car was threatening Delgado harm, he should not have fired his weapon. 'The moving vehicle itself shall not presumptively constitute a threat that justifies an officer's use of deadly force. An officer threatened by an oncoming vehicle shall move out of its path instead of discharging a firearm at it or any of its occupants,' the policy states. 'The only exception is an act of terrorism where the vehicle is being used as a weapon.' The shooting at a vehicle policy was changed and tightened more than two decades ago by Miami Police Chief John Timoney. After the policy change, Miami Police went 22 months without an officer firing a weapon at a person. READ MORE: 'Law enforcement giant' John Timoney loses final battle to lung cancer Late Wednesday afternoon, Miami Police said they expect to charge Clarke with several crimes before the end of the week that include aggravated battery, leaving the scene of a crash, resisting arrest with violence and failure to obey a police command. And they still have not publicly released the name the officer who fired his weapon. Several law enforcement sources familiar with the incident confirmed to the Miami Herald the shooter was Delgado, who works the midnight shift in Allapattah and was working traffic duty the evening Clarke was shot. Several texts and calls to Miami's Fraternal Order of Police had not been returned as of late Wednesday. Clarke's sister Sherylann Clarke, who was in the car during the shooting, told Herald news partner WFOR Channel 4 that her brother did not hit Delgado intentionally. She said he was trying to maneuver around the officer when Delgado jumped in front of the car. READ MORE: Driver didn't mean to hit officer outside Miami music festival, sister says Clarke is represented by Hollywood defense attorney Michael Orenstein, who hasn't said much about the incident. Best of the Best goes bad Clarke was shot inside his car on Biscayne Boulevard at Northeast Second Street just after the yearly Caribbean music festival got underway. It was about 7:15 p.m. Most of the crowd estimated at 12,000 were in the park when Delgado ended up on the hood of Clarke's black BMW and opened fire. Cellphone video of the incident, which was posted on the Only in Dade website and on YouTube, begins with Clarke driving north on Biscayne and going past the crosswalk at Second Street with Delgado flat on his stomach on the hood in uniform. He's wearing a yellow vest and his weapon, in his right hand, is pointed inches from the windshield. As the car turned slowly west on Second Street, Delgado fires at least three shots, his legs sliding off the hood on the passenger front side of the car. A flash of the muzzle can be seen and the gunshots heard. The vehicle comes to a stop directly in front of a Miami police car. Bystanders are heard on the video asking what was happening. Clarke jumps out of his car in a white shirt and jeans and walks quickly east toward the park, his hands going down to his waist, then up in the air as ordered. He doesn't appear to be injured. He then obeys police commands to go to the ground, turns over and is handcuffed. Blood can be seen on the back of his shirt as an officer gets on top of him. Delgado was treated for minor injuries and released. Orenstein said Clarke was shot three times. He was hit in the right arm and chest, which exited through his back but caused a lung to collapse. And his attorney said Clarke was also shot in the bullet had not been removed as of Wednesday afternoon. Police officer stationed at hospital Orenstein, who is representing Clarke in an unrelated case in Broward County, said Wednesday that he's only seen the same social media videos as everyone else and that a Miami police officer has been stationed outside his client's hospital room at Jackson. 'At this point I don't know a lot of details and I don't believe my client committed those offenses,' Orenstein said. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is reviewing the shooting to determine if it was a criminal act. Miami Police will investigate the charges against Clarke, which are expected to be filed formally when he's released from the hospital. Miami Herald staff writer Devoun Cetoute contributed to this report.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Shocking video shows cop on the hood of a moving car before shooting suspect
The dramatic moment a Miami police officer opened fire and hit the driver multiple times while on the hood of a moving car was captured on video by a bystander. The shocking incident happened at Bayfront Park on Sunday, with the officer firing into the windshield before the driver of a black BMW stopped the car, got out and surrendered, according to Local 10 News. In another video, the officer instructed Menelek Clarke, 21, to roll over. The man had noticeable blood stains on his back and was later handcuffed by police. Pedestrians began to panic as the scene unfolded near the Best of the Best music festival. People were seen running for cover to avoid getting caught in the violence. Speaking to the outlet, the driver's sister, Sherlyann Clarke, told the outlet that her brother, 'said that he felt like he was gonna die.' He sustained several gunshot wounds before he was apprehended and transported to a nearby hospital. 'I feel like he was wrongfully shot multiple times in his vehicle with no weapon,' the woman said. The officer was suddenly hit by the BMW, police said, while directing traffic along Biscayne Boulevard on Sunday. Clarke's car also had several bullet holes in the front windshield. The footage obtained by the outlet shows the officer firing into the car while on the vehicle's hood. The footage does not show what happened in the moments leading up to the incident. 'The patrol officer, we were all stopped, we were in the middle lane,' said the man's sister, claiming they were looking for parking at the time. 'He told everyone else to go with his hand -- hand signaling that we can go. And then he stood in front of my brother's car and shot him.' In a statement after the incident, Miami Police Department Assistant Police Chief Armando Aguilar said: 'We don't know exactly what happened. We do know there was physical contact between the officer and the vehicle,' he said. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Driver didn't mean to hit officer outside Miami music festival, sister says
Details about an officer-involved shooting remained scant Monday, but the 21-year-old man who was shot by a Miami police officer outside of Bayfront Park on Sunday is expected to survive, according to his lawyer. Hollywood attorney Michael Orenstein said his client, Menelek Emmanuel Clarke, was recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, though he had not had the chance to speak directly with Clarke about the incident as of Monday evening. 'I don't know much about details at all yet,' he said. The Miami Police Department said Sunday that a 21-year-old driver hit an officer who was directing traffic outside of Bayfront Park, where the Caribbean music festival Best of the Best was taking place. The officer then shot the driver, and the 21-year-old was hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds. READ MORE: Police officer shot driver outside music festival in Miami's Bayfront Park: officials A Miami Police Department spokesperson said Monday that 'no further details will be provided as this remains an ongoing investigation' by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is unclear if the driver will face any charges. Orenstein is representing Clarke in an unrelated case in Broward County, where Clarke was charged with aggravated assault on an officer, resisting an officer with violence and armed trespassing. The charges stem from an incident in October 2023 in which Broward deputies said Clarke, then 19, brandished a gun after being told by a deputy to leave a Lauderhill park. Clarke has pleaded not guilty. Clarke's sister Sherylann Clarke told Miami Herald news partner CBS Miami that she was in the car with her brother on Sunday and that her brother was trying to drive around the Miami police officer, not toward him. She said the officer had signaled with his hands that drivers in the area should pull forward but that the officer had then moved in front of their car. 'It wasn't intentional to hit him, no,' she told CBS Miami. The incident caused festivalgoers to run for safety before it became clear what happened. Photographer Kemal Limon told the Herald he was leaving Bayside Marketplace that night when he saw a large crowd of people running away from Bayfront Park. 'I was walking by and saw people running,' he said. 'It was like chaos.' Limon noticed people stopped running once more police cars arrived, as there didn't seem to be an active threat. As a downtown Miami resident, Limon said he is prepared to see anything. 'This is Miami,' he said. 'Anything can happen. I wasn't surprised.' An employee at the nearby Yve Hotel told the Herald that many of its guests were staying there to attend the festival across the street. While he didn't hear the shooting, he saw the high amount of police activity that followed. It wasn't until Monday that he learned from the news what had happened. City editor Jessica Lipscomb contributed reporting.
