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Off-duty officer pulls boy boogie-boarding away from shark along Florida beach

COCOA BEACH, Fla. — An off-duty police officer pulled a boy from the water just as a shark was within a couple feet of the child who was boogie-boarding along a Florida beach.

"Hey buddy, there's a shark right there," Cocoa Beach officer Adrian Kosicki can be heard saying in a video the department posted on social media.

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

Kosicki was with his wife walking along the beach near the Cocoa Beach Pier when he saw the small shark swimming in the surf. The shark was only a couple feet away from a boy boogie boarding when Kosicki went into the water and pulled the child out.

“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,” Cocoa Beach police wrote on social media. “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.”