BY MARIKA LYNCH

 The older brother of Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas was one of 317 people arrested
 during a tense weekend of protests. Luis Daniel Penelas, 47, joined the critics who
 described harsh use of force by police trying to subdue crowds.

 The Little Haiti activist and cellular phone salesman said he was arrested after he objected
 to police allegedly beating another protester about 5 p.m. Saturday in front of Versailles
 restaurant. Moments before, Luis Penelas said he and the man had rushed a baby choking
 on tear gas to safety inside the Little Havana landmark.

 ''You'll pay for this. I'm observing everything you are doing," Penelas recalled yelling at
 the officers. They cuffed him, arrested him for disorderly conduct, and sent him to the
 Dade County Jail, where he spent the night on a second-floor cot. Penelas was released
 at noon Easter Sunday.

 Monday, he was penning a letter to his brother, asking for an investigation into what he
 called the ''barbaric force officers used both on the streets and at the Dade County Jail.

 ''I'm very disappointed, really, really disappointed," Luis Penelas said. ''I believe that
 if maybe a couple of people with some kind of credibility -- I'm not saying I have a lot,
 but a little -- can speak, maybe something will change.

 As of late Monday, though, Miami Police, who made the majority of arrests, hadn't
 received any formal brutality complaints, said Detective Delrish Moss, a police
 spokesman. The department had received about 13 calls by the close of business
 Monday. A few were laudatory, the rest were not. Only one woman complained
 of violence, though, he said.

 Saturday, city of Miami and county police officers dressed in riot gear spread
 throughout Southwest Miami-Dade, tossing tear gas and hauling off dozens in
 handcuffs. Police defended the tactics, saying they were necessary and preemptive
 to snuff problems before they got out of hand.

 Most of the protesters, the majority of whom were charged with minor offenses,
 were released over the weekend -- including Carolyn Cole, a photographer for the
 Los Angeles Times. Police said she threw two to three rocks at them between
 snapping shots on Flagler Street and Northwest 25th Avenue. Cole, 38, charged
 with throwing a deadly missile, paid her $7,500 bond and was released Saturday.

 Perhaps the most violent offender, though, was still in jail Monday. Daniel Perez,
 29, of 10730 SW 28th St., allegedly ran his light blue Toyota through a police
 barrier, got out and started swinging a metal bat at three officers, a police report
 said. He was charged with attempted murder and is being held without bail, said
 Don Ungurait, spokesman for the Miami-Dade County state attorney's office.

 The three officers initially hospitalized -- one with a shoulder injury, two with back
 pain -- will be back at work today, Moss said.

 Five other Miami officers also were hurt Saturday, with a broken hand, a broken
 finger, a sprained wrist and two cases of twisted knees.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald