Skip to main content
Clear icon
60º

WATCH: Off-duty officer jumps in to save boy from shark that got ‘dangerously close’ at Florida beach

Shark was within 'a couple of feet' from boy, police say

COCOA BEACH, Fla. – Video from Cocoa Beach shows the moment a Florida police officer jumped into the water to save a little boy after the officer noticed a shark swimming his direction.

Cocoa Beach Police Officer Adrian Kosicki was off duty last week and walking with his wife near the pier when he saw the shark approaching the boy, who was on a boogie board at the time, according to a Facebook post from Cocoa Beach Police and Fire.

In the video posted on Facebook, you can hear people yelling at the boy as the shark approached.

“Hey, shark! Hey, there’s a shark right there,” one person yelled.

Moments after the verbal warnings, what appears to be a shark fin sticking out of the water can be seen getting closer to the boy as Kosicki works to pull him from the surf.

Cocoa Beach police officials said the shark was within a couple of feet of the boy.

With Kosicki’s help, the boy and his boogie board made it out of the water unscathed.

In the Facebook post, the police department praised Kosicki for jumping in to protect the boy from a potentially dangerous situation.

“We’re certainly not marine biologists, educated and trained to differentiate between the various species of sharks, their respective feeding habits, and aggressiveness near swimmers. We just do what we do best — protect the public from harm,” police officials wrote. “Thanks to Adrian, we’ll never know what that shark’s intentions were, and that little boy will forever have a pretty cool story to tell. Great job!”

OFFICER PULLS BOY FROM CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH SHARK Cocoa Beach Police Officer Adrian Kosicki was off-duty Thursday evening, July 16, walking on the beach with his wife near the pier when they noticed a shark approaching a small boy on a boogie board. Adrian made the decision to quickly enter the water and pull the boy from the surf as the shark began to get dangerously close, within only a couple of feet at its nearest distance. We’re certainly not marine biologists, educated and trained to differentiate between the various species of sharks, their respective feeding habits, and aggressiveness near swimmers. We just do what we do best—protect the public from harm. Thanks to Adrian, we’ll never know what that shark’s intentions were, and that little boy will forever have a pretty cool story to tell. Great job!💪🦈

Posted by Cocoa Beach Police & Fire on Friday, July 17, 2020

Loading...