Fake arrest lands Miami Beach police officer on leave

Officer identified as William Beeker

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Videos posted to social media on Monday evening show a uniformed police officer escorting three lingerie-clad women in handcuffs to the doors of Miami Beach Police Department headquarters in an apparently staged arrest.

The fake-arresting officer is identified in an official statement by Miami Beach Police Department as 11-year veteran William Beeker. In the first video, Beeker is seen escorting the three women to the front door of the police station. In an apparent follow-up video, Beeker is seen on his ATV speaking with the women, who appear to thank him for helping them out.

"No problem, I like to protect and serve," Beeker said just before driving off on his police-issued ATV.

The videos were posted to an Instagram account belonging to Francia James, a Playboy cover model and performance artist from Miami, who also appears to be one of the women in handcuffs. James tagged fellow models Julianne Kissinger and Maddy Belle, whose accounts are also verified by Instagram.

One video accumulated more than 2 million views across the three Instagram accounts by early Tuesday morning.

"These videos are highly offensive," Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy L. Morales said. "It is disgusting that a representative of the Miami Beach Police Department, and the City as a whole, would choose to participate in this distasteful video. He has made a mockery of the men and women of the MBPD who work hard each day to serve and protect our community and fight heinous acts such as human trafficking and other sexual crimes. We will not tolerate such behavior in our community."

​​​Beeker is on paid leave while officials investigate his role in the videos.


About the Authors:

Trent Kelly is an award-winning multimedia journalist who joined the Local 10 News team in June 2018. Trent is no stranger to Florida. Born in Tampa, he attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he graduated with honors from the UF College of Journalism and Communications.