A South Florida man is facing an attempted murder charge after he was accused of intentionally cutting off a diver’s air supply during a dispute at a lobster diving site, police said.
Michael Joseph Simpson, 51, surrendered to authorities on Aug. 4 and was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office. He was initially charged with attempted felony murder, but a judge on Aug. 5 agreed with defense attorneys that the charge was not accurate and reduced it to attempted second-degree murder, NBC 6 South Florida reported.
Simpson was given a $10,000 bond on Aug. 5 and had already posted it as of the latest update, online jail records showed.
The incident occurred at around 5:30 a.m. local time
on July 29 in Biscayne Bay, a lagoon along the southeast coast of Florida near Miami, according to an arrest affidavit. The owner and operator of a boat took the 18-year-old victim to a known diving spot for the state's lobster mini-season.
As the victim was preparing to dive, another vessel — a Conch boat — approached the area at a high rate of speed and began circling the boat the victim was on several times, the affidavit states. The Conch then anchored about 10 feet away, and a verbal dispute followed after its occupants claimed the other boat operator was "in their spot."
The victim later entered the water to search for lobster using a Brownie air-supply system, according to the affidavit. As he was underwater, Simpson allegedly became upset during an exchange and said, "I'll turn the Brownie off if I want to!"
Witnesses told investigators they then saw Simpson swim to the air-supply unit and intentionally turn it off, cutting off the victim's air supply, the affidavit states. After realizing the system had been shut off, the operator of the victim's boat jumped into the water and pulled him to the surface.
The victim was tangled in a hose and an anchor line, and was "gasping for air, appeared disoriented, and did not understand what had occurred," according to the affidavit.
An occupant aboard the victim's boat provided investigators with photos and video of the incident. The video footage allegedly showed Simpson "swimming rapidly away from the Brownie after it was shut off," the affidavit states.
Report: Man was a volunteer member for county boat safety task force
Simpson allegedly fled the scene after the incident, according to the affidavit. Several occupants aboard the victim's vessel later identified Simpson from a photographic lineup, and he voluntarily surrendered to authorities on Aug. 4.
In a statement to CBS News Miami, the Office of Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said its thoughts are with those affected by the incident and that the allegations against Simpson are "contrary" to the mission of the county's Boater Safety and Bay Education Task Force.
Simpson had served as a volunteer member of the task force's temporary advisory group, established in April 2025 to develop recommendations for improving boating safety, the news outlet reported. The task force completed its work and issued its final report in May 2026.
USA TODAY reached out to the mayor's office for comment.
Man accused of turning off diver’s air supply didn’t do it, family says
Simpson's family disputed the allegations in a statement provided to CBS News Miami and NBC 6 South Florida, calling them "categorically false" and asserting that Simpson "never came into contact with, or interfered with, anyone’s diving equipment" while he was diving with friends and his two young children.
The family also said multiple eyewitnesses had contradicted the allegations and alleged that they were not interviewed before charges were filed, the news outlets reported.
"Mike Simpson has devoted his life to boating safety. He has earned a reputation as one of South Florida’s safest and most responsible boaters and serves on a boating safety council," the family said, according to the news outlets. "He looks forward to presenting the full facts in court, clearing his name, and restoring the reputation he has spent a lifetime building."
USA TODAY Network - Florida reached out to Simpson's attorney for comment.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man accused of cutting diver's air during Florida lobster dispute
