Overview
- Authorities say that on July 29 a dispute off Fisher Island escalated when Michael Joseph Simpson allegedly swam to a floating Brownie’s Third Lung surface air unit and turned it off while an 18-year-old diver was underwater, cutting the diver’s air supply.
- Deputies identified Simpson from cellphone video and witness statements and he voluntarily surrendered on Aug. 4; a judge reduced the original attempted felony murder charge to second-degree attempted murder on Aug. 5 and set bond at $10,000, which Simpson posted.
- Video and eyewitness accounts provided by bystanders were central to the arrest affidavit and investigators say the victim’s boat operator pulled the diver to the surface, where he was tangled, gasping for air and disoriented.
- Simpson’s family and his attorney deny the allegations and say other eyewitnesses and an on-water Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission interaction cleared him, a claim the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office has not publicly confirmed.
- The case highlights how the Brownie’s Third Lung surface-supplied system leaves divers dependent on a surface air source and how heavy boat traffic during Florida’s brief lobster mini-season can produce heated fights over ‘spots’ and raise questions about boating safety and enforcement.