Father accused of throwing child into ocean told police he was 'going to jail for being awesome'

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A terrifying swimming lesson led to child abuse charges against a father in Florida.

It is illegal for anyone to jump off the Main Street Pier in Daytona Beach, but that is what witnesses said John Bloodsworth was doing Monday night while his child was struggling to swim in a deep part of the ocean near the pier.

"I said, 'I can't take this no more.' So I went down to the pier, down to the shore and confronted him myself," Mitch Brown, a former Georgia state trooper, told WESH.

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Brown was on vacation with his family and said they were having dinner on the pier when they noticed a child trying to bob above the waves on the side of the pier.

"The little kid was out here by himself. Completely by himself. There was nobody around him, no adults," said Brown.

Brown said others were watching as Bloodsworth would tumble from the pier, swim past his child and throw him into the waves while yelling at him to learn to swim. Fed up, the former trooper decided to confront the man.

"I said, 'You're coming with me, one way or another,'" said Brown.

Brown brought Bloodsworth to a police officer, who later arrested him.

According to a Volusia County Beach Safety report, Bloodsworth claimed he was trying to teach his son to swim. The officer who arrested him said the father was clearly intoxicated.

Bloodsworth is facing child abuse and disorderly intoxication in public charges.

While at Volusia County Beach Safety headquarters, Bloodsworth allegedly said he was "going to jail for being awesome," and he would be "coming back to the pier to jump off every day."

CNN/WESH