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

A person has been arrested after cellphone video captured what gave the impression to be several 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 residence," 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 have been ignored and so they continued popping away with no care on this planet," the group posted of their message.

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

Miami-Dade Police stated 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 surroundings.

“As a community, we share the duty to protect our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in a press release. "I'm extremely proud of our Illegal Dumping Unit, for their thorough investigation and swift conclusion to this case."

David Torres-Bocanegra

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

"First off, I wish to put my coronary heart out and say how important it's to protect the environment," he said.

Cloud 9, an event planning company, also deflected accountability in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor adorned the boat and left. We embellished the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We're by no means answerable for removing balloon decorations," the statement learn in part.

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

"I was fairly upset about it, this is our bay, that is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I was right here once they were setting them up and then initially I didn't really think a lot of it but I suppose because the day was done they usually started popping away and letting them all go into the water I was shocked."

One witness mentioned the balloons may have been part of a marriage proposal. Bruna mentioned he confronted the individuals.

"I discussed to them,' are you guys serious, is this one thing you're going to do right now?' [They] form of just blew me off, ignored me," Bruna mentioned. "It was horrifying to see what they had been doing to the marine life and the waterways by just dumping all of those balloons into the water."

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission mentioned balloons could be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to internal harm, hunger, and demise.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.