NORTH MIAMI, FLA. (WSVN) - Authorities explained why some potentially important body camera video of the aftermath of a deadly boat crash was deleted, saying the officers’ decision was “within the bounds” of the agency’s policy.

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the bodycam footage following the Sept. 4, 2022 crash near Boca Chita was deleted due to a miscategorization of the footage.

Investigators said prominent Miami real estate mogul George Pino was at the helm of a 29-foot Robalo boat when it crashed into a Biscayne Bay channel marker. Seventeen-year-old Luciana Fernandez, one of the injured passengers, later died from her injuries .

At issue is one word an officer is heard saying in bodycam video worn by another FWC officer: “smell.” However, unlike the officer whose bodycam video was deleted, this officer was not in close proximity to Pino.

Brent Fannin with the grassroots coalition Wild Florida Alliance criticized the deletion of the footage .

The Miami Herald reported that the responding FWC officer said he considered the crash “just a boating accident” and didn’t take steps to preserve the video for a criminal investigation like this one.

In a statement issued Wednesday, FWC chalked the deletion up to that miscategorization, writing that the officers did not delete their FWC videos, and “their actions were within the bounds of the policy as it is currently written.”:

“Florida law requires that body camera records be retained for specific minimum periods determined by the content of the record. It is extremely important that members take great care in categorizing the body camera records.”

The guidelines also state that in the case of felony footage like this, a “longer retention period shall be used.”

“I can’t imagine how horrible this must be for that family, to have seen what has happened, much less seen it so flippantly brushed off the shoulder by Rodney Barreto,” said Fannin.

Rodney Barreto, FWC’s current chair, was elected In 2020. Fannin led the charge against his conformation.

“The issue here with the botched investigation of George Pino is one of many issues that we’ve seen with the FWC,” he said.

As for Pino, he was charged with felony vessel homicide. His trial set for July.

Pino is expected back in court on Thursday.