Miami police charge Bayfront Park board member Carlos Martell with battery after Billy Corben says he grabbed his arm at August meeting

Miami police charged a Bayfront Park Management Trust board member with simple battery after political advocate Billy Corben said he was attacked while recording the panel's Aug. 13 meeting in downtown Miami.

Officers charged Carlos Martell, a member of the trust that oversees Bayfront Park, on Sept. 18, according to the Miami Police Department. The charge is a misdemeanor.

Corben, an Emmy Award-winning investigative documentarian known for confronting local officials about spending and corruption, said Martell left his seat at the meeting table, rushed toward him and grabbed his arm. Corben said Martell was trying to take the phone he was using to record the meeting.

An incident report from Miami police describes the same confrontation but does not name Martell as the attacker. A separate recording posted to Corben's Instagram shows Martell moving toward Corben and grabbing his arm before a sergeant at arms steps in and pushes Martell away.

Corben said he immediately asked for an arrest on a battery charge. He said the sergeant at arms told him to sit down and stop talking.

A Miami police officer entered the meeting after the incident, and Corben said he tried to make a complaint then. Corben said the officer told him the matter would be handled after the meeting ended.

Corben said he waited another 45 minutes after the meeting for a supervising officer to arrive and complete a report. He said the delay was part of a process meant to discourage him from reporting an incident involving a board member.

The sergeant at arms is a licensed peace officer, and Corben questioned why that officer did not arrest Martell during the meeting. Miami police did not answer a request for comment about that decision.

Corben also said the sergeant at arms works for Miami Commissioner Miguel Gabela. Gabela appointed Martell to the Bayfront Park Management Trust.

"When she chased down Martell and intervened, that was to protect him from himself because she knew if he put his hands on me she'd have to arrest him," Corben said.

Corben said the officer's intervention and the delay in filing a report were tied to his past conflicts with Gabela.

The Bayfront Park Management Trust controls the 32-acre waterfront park in downtown Miami and manages a $31 million budget.

Martell's next court date was not available from the Miami Police Department. The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office will decide whether to prosecute the simple battery charge.