Blue smoke over Haulover Beach, lots of cops. It was a party, not a crime
Miami-Dade police marine patrol boats gathered this weekend at Haulover Beach — but not to chase drug smugglers or arrest drunken boaters. Instead, they were part of an elaborate celebration for a fellow officer’s gender reveal party.
Judging by the blue smoke streamed from a privately hired helicopter, several boats off the beach and dozens of guests, the child is going to be a boy.
The event got more attention than the new mom and dad likely expected, however, and some questions. Some people who saw it from a distance, or viewed a video posted on social media, questioned whether the smoke was bad for the environment, complained that the affair left debris on the sand and questioned why taxpayer-supported boats and police ATVs had attended a private event.
“They had police caution tape up. Confetti went all over the place,” said musician and climate change activist Charlie Levine, whose artist girlfriend Natasha Tomchin posted a video of the event on her Instagram page. “We spend a good portion of our time [when we got to the beach] picking up pollution. The beach was covered in confetti.”
Her video showed the confetti tangled up with seaweed. A video posted on Instagram from the company that staged the event, Gender Reveal Miami, shows shots from the helicopter that captured several boats, including marine patrol boats, nearby on the water. Another shot showed people firing off confetti, cheering and hugging. While no media covered the joyful event, at least one popular social media platform showed the helicopter dropping the powdery substance.
Miami-Dade police were unapologetic for allowing several marine patrol boats and officers on ATVs to hang around during the festivities. Miami-Dade Police Lt. Carlos Rosario said the department was happy to share a special day with one of their officers and his family. The department would not share the officer’s name, calling it a private event.
“These are difficult times and we are pleased whenever we are able to bring joy to members of our community, which our officer is also a part of,” he said. “Thankfully, we have been able to share in many other special moments throughout the year with our community and encourage all to browse our social media channels to see examples of these special moments.”
Rafael Lopez, owner of Gender Reveal Miami, also insisted that the blue smoke that could be seen over the beach was harmless — a combination of baking powder, corn starch and food coloring. He said the company only used safe materials for celebrations.
Much like quinceañeras and Sweet 16 parties, gender reveal parties have become much bigger and more celebrated events in recent years. The company website has a gallery of similar events and shows balloons, candy and plenty of other stuff to mark the reveal.
Lopez on Monday seemed happy about the attention.
“People have called me,” he said in Spanish. “They don’t know what they’re seeing. But we’re super careful.”
Levine did want to stress one thing. He said he and Tomchin are appreciative of first responders and he wanted to congratulate the new soon-to-be parents.
“It’s just the littering that has created a mess and a problem,” he said.
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
