Burning a Key West Symbol Was Bad. Not Tipping a Bartender Was Worse, Locals Say. - The New York Times

The Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West, Fla., was damaged by a pair of tourists on New Year’s Day, the police said.

The 20-ton buoy in Key West, Fla., is a shrine to the quirky city at the southern tip of the continental United States, a Cold War-era object that has long been a tourist attraction and the pride of residents.

So community members were naturally upset when a pair of young men in shorts and backward caps were seen in security camera footage setting fire to the Southernmost Point Buoy in the dark morning hours of New Year’s Day.

In it, two men can be seen rolling a Christmas tree up to the buoy.

Briody had served that night who did not tip him, according to a police report.

“Tipping is very important, as it is everywhere, but particularly here,” Mayor Teri Johnston said in an interview, explaining that Key West is filled with people who each work at several jobs to try to make a living.

Starks and the police said.

on New Year’s Day, and the Southernmost Point Buoy fire occurred around 3:20 a.m., the police said.

According to the police report, the men confessed over the phone when reached by an investigator.

Perkins called it “a colossal mistake,” the report said, while Mr.

“When I saw the video the following morning,” Dennis Ward, the state attorney who oversees Key West, said in an interview, “I went, ‘Wow, look at these morons.’”.

Ward said.

Ward said he would recommend some time for the two, though he wasn’t sure how much and said that a sentence would ultimately be a judge’s decision.

McLauchlin said the buoy had not been vandalized until now

Starks said it was not unusual for people in their early 20s not to tip

She, too, would like to see them do community service, but in Key West, not their hometowns