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

A person has been arrested after cellphone video captured what seemed 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 group who says they "pride ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the attractive waters we get to call residence," was shot simply after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Landing Marina.

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

"As we passed them and expressed our disagreement, we have been ignored and so they continued popping away with no care on the earth," the group posted of 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 studies

Miami-Dade Police stated Wednesday night 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 neighborhood, we share the duty to guard our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in an announcement. "I am extremely happy 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 may propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram tales, saying he was not responsible for the balloon popping.

"First off, I want to put my heart out and say how essential it is to protect our surroundings," he mentioned.

Cloud Nine, an occasion planning firm, also deflected responsibility in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We adorned the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We are never in charge of eradicating balloon decorations," the statement read partially.

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

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

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys severe, is that this one thing you are going to do proper now?' [They] kind of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna said. "It was horrifying to see what they were doing to the marine life and the waterways by just dumping all of these balloons into the water."

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee said balloons might be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to inner injury, hunger, and dying.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.