MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – One of the co-stars of a spoof-arrest video getting national attention said she is sorry it got an officer in trouble.
The video in question shows a uniformed Miami Beach police officer walking behind three lingerie-clad women in handcuffs in front of the Miami Beach police station.
"Him being in it just made our video great," Instagram model and content producer Maddy Belle said.
The fake-arresting officer is identified in an official statement by the Miami Beach Police Department as 11-year veteran William Beeker.
The videos were posted to an Instagram account belonging to Francia James, a Playboy cover model and performance artist from Miami. James tagged fellow models Belle and Julianne Kissinger.
Belle said having Beeker in their video happened by accident.
"We were just doing our own skit, just the three of us, and he came out of the blue and was checking on us at first. And we asked him, 'Hey, you want to be a part of our video?'" Belle recalled.
She said Beeker agreed to play along, and that the skit took just minutes to shoot.
Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales called the videos "highly offensive."
Belle said she feels differently.
"It shouldn't put him in a bad light. Yes, we were dressed a little provocative, in lingerie. But it was supposed to be funny. Like, 'Ha ha, look at these girls,'" she said. "Him being in it just made it that much funnier for us."
The video had accumulated more than 2 million views across the three Instagram accounts by early Tuesday morning.
Beeker has been relieved of duty with pay, pending an internal investigation.
"I'm really sorry this all happened," Belle said. "He doesn't deserve that. He was just helping us."