Coverage spread: 2 sources — 2 right
Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.
Where they agree
- Michael Joseph Simpson, 51, was booked on an attempted murder charge and released on $10,000 bond after surrendering to Miami-Dade authorities.
- Investigators allege the confrontation began over a dispute about a lobster diving spot near Fisher Island during the July 29 lobster mini season.
- Authorities say Simpson threatened and then shut off the surface-supplied air of an 18-year-old diver, who was pulled to safety gasping and disoriented but uninjured.
- Simpson’s attorney, Howard Srebnick, denies the allegations and says video evidence and eyewitnesses support Simpson’s account instead.
Where they differ
- Both outlets rely heavily on the same Local 10 News and Law&Crime reporting, so factual framing is nearly identical between the New York Post and Fox News versions.
- Fox News’s version includes an unrelated embedded video about a separate California lifeguard arrest and a stray photo caption referencing an unconnected Rodriguez cocaine-possession case, appearing to be production artifacts rather than substantive reporting differences.
- The New York Post’s account gives slightly more complete detail on Srebnick’s specific criticisms of the Sheriff’s Office’s investigative process before the excerpt cuts off.
Michael Joseph Simpson, 51, was booked into a Miami-Dade jail on an attempted murder charge after investigators say he intentionally cut off the air supply of an 18-year-old lobster diver during a confrontation over a diving spot off Fisher Island, Florida. Simpson surrendered to authorities on Tuesday, was released on $10,000 bond, and through his attorney has denied the allegations, saying video evidence supports his account.
What exactly happened on the water?
According to the arrest affidavit, cited by Law&Crime and repeated in coverage from the New York Post and Fox News, the incident took place shortly after 7 a.m. on July 29, about a half-mile east of Fisher Island, during Florida’s annual lobster mini season — a two-day period when recreational divers can take lobsters ahead of the regular season. Investigators say Simpson approached another boat at high speed, circled it multiple times, and then anchored roughly 10 feet away, claiming the group was diving in “his spot.” He allegedly warned that a larger boat of his own was coming, and when it arrived and anchored nearby, the confrontation escalated.
Authorities say Simpson threatened to shut off the surface-supplied air system feeding an 18-year-old diver who was searching for lobsters underwater, then jumped in the water and did so. Witnesses reportedly shouted that a diver was down below and cursed at Simpson to stop. The boat owner dove in and pulled the teenager to the surface; the diver came up gasping for air and appeared disoriented, though he was not physically injured, according to Local 10 News reporting picked up by both outlets. Investigators say Simpson left the scene before deputies arrived, then later identified as the suspect and voluntarily turned himself in.
What does Simpson’s defense say happened instead?
Simpson’s attorney, Howard Srebnick, gave a statement to Fox News Digital flatly denying that his client disabled anyone’s diving equipment. Srebnick said Simpson was diving from his own boat with friends and his two young children present, and that video actually shows one of the accusers becoming tangled in the Brownie’s Third Lung air system — the surface-supplied air unit in question — while Simpson was nowhere near it. He also disputed the claim that Simpson fled the scene, saying his client simply moved his boat away to defuse the situation, and later cooperated fully with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, giving a statement on the record.
Srebnick said multiple eyewitnesses aboard two separate boats back up Simpson’s version of events, and criticized the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office for arresting Simpson without first interviewing witnesses he describes as clearing his client. He said he expects the State Attorney’s Office, once it reviews the video and interviews all witnesses, to drop the charges.
What charge is Simpson facing, and what happens next?
Simpson is charged with attempted murder and was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade County. His bond was set at $10,000, and jail records confirm his booking Tuesday evening. Neither outlet reports a scheduled court date or indicates whether prosecutors have responded publicly to the defense’s claims. The case now appears to hinge on the video evidence and eyewitness accounts from the two boats present, which both sides say will vindicate their version once reviewed.
Why this dispute matters
Florida’s lobster mini season draws large numbers of recreational divers each year to popular reef and wreck sites, and competition over favored spots is a longstanding source of friction on the water. This case stands out because the alleged retaliation went beyond a shouting match or boat maneuvering — it involved tampering with life-support equipment on an active dive, a scenario divers rely on completely once underwater. Surface-supplied air systems like the Brownie’s Third Lung give divers extended bottom time without tanks, but they also leave a diver fully dependent on someone above water keeping the air flowing, which is central to why prosecutors treated the alleged act as potentially lethal rather than a minor scuffle.
Sources
Featured photo: Russian Elmo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)