@terrenceconcannon
A Florida man who refused to leave his small boat multiple times in recent days finally agreed to evacuate before Hurricane Milton made landfall… despite previously telling cops in a viral video that they would need to forcibly remove him .
The Sailor Supposedly Named José Malinowski — known affectionately as “Lieutenant Dan” on TikTok — ignored multiple warnings from Tampa police to leave his ship… all while a Category 4 storm remains on track to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast.
I know the mayor of Tampa just said in her press conference that Lieutenant Dan went to a shelter.
He didn’t do it,
I’m right here. https://t.co/Wv6NleShNW pic.twitter.com/40c7aLqI9B-Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) October 9, 2024
@BrianEntin
A clip of Dan’s interaction – posted by TikToker “Tampa Terrence“, which has been narrating Lt. Dan in recent months – shows the sea captain refusing a police officer’s request to leave.
The officer – who Tampa Terrence claims is chief of the Tampa Police Department Lee Bercaw – tells Dan that the police will be back the next day to forcibly evacuate him… and Lt. Dan says he’ll see him tomorrow because he’s not going anywhere.
However, we spoke with a representative from the Tampa Police Department… who told us they don’t actually remove people by force. Fortunately, they say, Malinowski has finally informed them that he will indeed evacuate the boat.
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Malinowski — a one-legged man who got his nickname from the character in the 1994 film “Forrest Gump” — has spoken in several videos about why he originally planned to stay on the water… saying that God originally told him to buy the boat, and he believes that the Almighty protects him.
As for the calls from people saying that Hurricane Milton would destroy their ship… Lt. Dan pointed to the story of Noah’s Ark – saying that everyone on land drowned, but Noah and his family, and the animals, survived in a boat .
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall Wednesday night or Thursday morning. It comes just weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the southeastern US… reportedly killing at least 227 people and displacing thousands more.
Looks like Lieutenant Dan thought twice before trying to weather this storm.