Florida Man Attempts to Swim Away From Arrest Following Alleged Code Violations on Their Boat
A man "for shore" just made a bad situation much worse when attempting to flee from law enforcement near Key West in April.
Another Florida man has been arrested for doing something stupid.
During an incident in April, two officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission stopped a couple on their boat for alleged code violations near Key West just off the shore of their home.
A man identified as “AJ,” along with his girlfriend, were not carrying any IDs at the time of the incident.
The boat, which actually belonged to the man’s friend Ethan, apparently had multiple infractions, according to the officers.
Further into the video, AJ became increasingly agitated when he was asked about any possible warrants he may have. His attitude only got worse when his girlfriend asked him for his phone’s passcode to get in contact with AJ’s boss.
“Listen, I’m not trying to add another charge. I’m not trying to do anything stupid. I was doing nothing wrong, we were in our backyard. So if I jump in the water and swim away right now, what’s gonna happen?” AJ asked the officer.
“I’m gonna follow you, and we’re gonna say that you’re running and that’s fleeing and eluding,” the officer replied.
AJ then attempts to rationalize his potential getaway, suggesting that he was not under arrest and that the officers could not look up his warrants without identifying him. The officers counter that him swimming away would only add an additional first degree charge on top of whatever issues he may run into with his warrants once his identity was confirmed.
AJ’s girlfriend’s pleas for him to calm down and threats to break up are no use as the man begins to swim away.
“I’m gone after this, I’m telling you, I’m leaving,” she is heard saying.
The officers follow him in a seven-minute swim back to shore where he was arrested. The girlfriend, who admitted that she doesn’t know how to drive a boat, remained trapped on the water during the chase.
AJ’s exact charges following the incident are unknown. Hopefully his presumably now-single girlfriend was alright after she was eventually rescued.
The footage of the incident, uploaded last month, is recently going viral with over one million views on YouTube.
