GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. — A man has been arrested after police say he yelled racist slurs from his boat near the City Pier in Green Cove Springs.
Mark David Morgan, 53, was charged with breaching the peace and trespassing after a warning.
On Aug. 29, Green Cove Springs Police Department was made aware of a man using a black dingy to approach the City Pier, and harass Black citizens with racial slurs.
Specifically, the man was reportedly heard yelling "f****** n*****"
This reportedly created an ongoing disturbance amongst families, some of whom had their children present.
Police say the man engaged in language and behavior that "outraged the sense of public decency" to the extent that there was talk amongst citizens about bringing firearms to the pier in order to shoot the boat Morgan was operating.
In an effort to curb this activity, police placed an undercover officer on the pier. The officer reportedly observed a man in a black dingy leave the pier and motor out to a cabin cruiser.
Just after dark, officers noticed the man operating the dingy without proper lighting and was issued a boating citation. He was already trespassing from the pier.
Morgan was arrested this past Saturday on a warrant for breaching the peace and trespassing after a warning.
"For all of our citizens and visitors who may have had to endure hearing Mr. Mark Morgan screaming obscenities and racial slurs while in his boat off of the City pier, rest assure as he was arrested on a few GCSPD warrants related to his behavior," said the department on Facebook. "Thank you to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office’s Marine Unit for apprehending him for us today. The City, and County, will not tolerate this uncalled for and uncivilized behavior."