SURFSIDE, Fla. – Surfside Police Chief Antonio Marciante spoke to Local 10 News on Tuesday about the arrest of Joshua Epstein, the son of former Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer.
“I can tell you, every arrest we make is based on probable because it’s the legal standard,” said Marciante.
Epstein, 18, is accused of pushing Vice Mayor Jeff Rose after a recent town hall meeting.
Since Epstein’s arrest, his mother, who is an outspoken critic of Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger, has said the arrest was politically motivated.
New video obtained by Local 10 News that is from one month before Epstein’s arrest shows him being removed from a town hall meeting by Marciante.
Marciante said the video shows Epstein pretending to be pushed.
“Mr. Epstein ended up, for lack of a better term, flopping, or throwing himself back into the door,” he said.
In the video, someone can be heard saying it was a fake push.
A report was never filed, but Marciante said if a body camera wasn’t rolling, it could have been a different story.
“It could have been a very big deal,” he said. “A complaint, excessive force against me.”
Salzhauer was asked for her response to the video in question.
“My son never made that into anything more than what it was,” she said. “Which was he was being harassed by the police and he got himself out of the way.”
Local 10 News’ Rosh Lowe asked Marciante how a town comprised of eight blocks could have so much drama.
“I don’t know, sir. I can’t answer that,” he replied. “I’ve been in law enforcement for 34 years. I can tell you I’ve never seen anything like this.”