Chief hopes man who ran motorcycle into officer 'pays heavy price'

SOUTH BEACH, Fla. – A Miami Beach Police Department motorman was injured Friday afternoon while attempting to stop a motorcyclist who was traveling northbound in the southbound turn lane on Collins Avenue in South Beach. 

Chief Daniel J. Oates said the motorcyclist slowed down briefly and then sped up and struck Sgt. Philip Elmore at Seventh Street. Miami Beach Fire Rescue personnel found Elmore in pain and laying on the ground near the collapsed motorcycle. 

Officers arrested the suspect and closed Collins Avenue during the investigation. Oates said the suspect's "behavior was outrageous" as "he ran his motorcycle into a police officer" he hopes "he pays a heavy price for that."

Elmore, a 13-year veteran with the department, remained at Jackson Memorial Hospital on Friday night. 

"He is in a lot of pain, but he is in good spirits, and it doesn't appear that there is anything that won't mend in time," Oates said. 

"The motorcyclist struck our officer," a police department spokesperson wrote on Twitter. 

The Miami Beach Police Department deployed about 370 police officers to patrol the streets of South Beach, as college students celebrate spring break this weekend. Oates did not identify the suspect.