8-year-old boy caught by cops jet skiing solo in Florida: 'Where’s your parents?'

nypost.com

He’s riding solo.

Wild video shows a little kid in Florida operating a jet ski all by himself earlier this month, before cops step in and bring him back to shore.

“Where’s your parents?” an officer with the Sarasota Police Department immediately asks the 8-year-old as he passes a police boat in the water on June 14, according to the footage. 

Bodycam footage from the Sarasota Police Department showing a person on a jet ski asking "Can you take me to them?"
Bodycam footage recorded by the Sarasota Police Department shows the 8-year-old riding the water scooter all on his own.  Sarasota Police Department

Video shows the youngster pointing towards the shore at his father.

Cops follow the juvenile jet skier back to his dad, questioning him about letting his son ride alone.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I don’t know. I really don’t think he’s legal to ride, right?” the boy’s father sheepishly tells the cops. 

Bodycam footage from a police boat on a sunny day shows an officer and a man in a life vest on a jet ski, with a beach and buildings in the background.
The boy’s father, who had been watching his son from the shore tells the cops, told cops he didn’t think it was legal for his son to ride the jet ski alone, according to the video. Sarasota Police Department

“But we have been using jet skis on the lake for the past few years. He’s very proficient,” the boy’s dad insists.

Under Florida law, you must be at least 14-years-old to operate a personal watercraft (PWC).

The boy’s father was hit with a misdemeanor charge, according to authorities. 

Officer Ron Dixon, who responded to the incident, told FOX 35 that the boy riding unattended was in a risky situation. 

“If he would have been side by side with an adult, it probably would have been different. It would have been educational. This kid was off by himself. [There’s] so many different factors,” Dixon told the outlet.

The department encouraged those operating personal watercraft to take safety precautions, especially ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.