Arrest Made in Balloon Littering Investigation at Coconut Grove Marina – NBC 6 South Florida

A man has been arrested after cellphone video captured what appeared to be a number of boaters popping balloons and letting the trash fall into the water near a Coconut Grove marina on Tuesday.

The video posted by MMG Outboard Division, a bunch who says they "pride ourselves on protecting and spreading consciousness on the attractive waters we get to call dwelling," was shot just after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Touchdown Marina.

Two folks onboard the boat are seen popping balloons and letting them fall into the water.

"As we handed them and expressed our disagreement, we had been ignored and so they continued popping away with no care on the earth," the group posted in their message.

Miami-Dade police have made an arrest after cellphone video surfaced of people on a boat popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola experiences

Miami-Dade Police mentioned Wednesday evening that they arrested one man and handed out nine civil citations.

The man was identified as 29-year-old David Torres-Bocanegra. He was charged with reckless disregard for the environment.

“As a community, we share the accountability to guard the environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez mentioned in a press release. "I am extraordinarily pleased with our Illegal Dumping Unit, for his or her thorough investigation and swift conclusion to this case."

David Torres-Bocanegra

Tom Rivas, who rented the boat so he could suggest to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram tales, saying he was not liable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I want to put my coronary heart out and say how necessary it's to guard our environment," he stated.

Cloud 9, an event planning firm, also deflected duty in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor adorned the boat and left. We decorated the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We're never in charge of eradicating balloon decorations," the assertion learn partly.

Esteban Bruna, a yacht broker, shot the cellphone video.

"I used to be fairly upset about it, this is our bay, that is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I used to be here once they were setting them up and then initially I didn't actually think a lot of it but I guess because the day was executed and so they started popping away and letting all of them go into the water I was shocked."

One witness mentioned the balloons might have been a part of a wedding proposal. Bruna said he confronted the folks.

"I discussed to them,' are you guys critical, is this something you are going to do right now?' [They] type of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna mentioned. "It was horrifying to see what they have been doing to the marine life and the waterways by just dumping all of these balloons into the water."

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission mentioned balloons will be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can result in inside damage, hunger, and loss of life.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.