A father is accused of throwing his 7-year-old son off a tour boat after an argument Sunday in Newport Harbor.
Sloane Briles, 35, of Irvine, Calif. was arrested by Orange County sheriff's deputies after the boy was pulled from the water and onto a nearby boat.
Briles was on a sight-seeing trip on the Pavilion Queen with his two sons, ages 7 and 6 and a woman described by deputies as his girlfriend.
The two adults began arguing when Briles reached for his son said Orange County Sheriff's spokesperson Jim Amormino.
"For some reason, he hit the boy and then threw him overboard," said Amormino. Briles threatened to throw the child overboard if he didn't stop crying Amormino said.
"The crowd on the boat became very angry at the father for hitting the kid and extremely angry when he threw him overboard," he said.
Briles jumped in the water and then climbed back aboard the boat after his son was rescued by a nearby boat, Amormino said.
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Once aboard the Pavilion Queen, Briles became "combative and had to be taken down by the deputies," Amormino said.
A deputy suffered minor hand injuries.
Briles was arrested for child endangerment and resisting arrest. He was released after posting bond, according to the sheriff's department.
On Briles' Facebook page, he shared that he was a U.S. Marine Corps Sgt at 29 Palms from 1995 to 2000. He also lists that he is an alum of Rancho Buena Vista in Vista, Calif.
The Pavilion Queen was carrying 85 people at the time of the incident.
