tonight on "nightline." shark junkies. to ride or not to ride? these guys will do anything for the thrill of coming as close as possible to the ocean's most feared predator. tonight, the conner isatiservat with a different idea of who's in danger. >> get out of the vehicle right now! >> cops behaving badly? a traffic stop, a high speed chase and then shots fired 37 this minivan full of kids. tonight, the split-second decisions in a moment of crisis. and a message from the cop who lost his job after an incident gone wrong. and first lady, 50.

happy birthday, michelle obama. after five years in the white house, the mom in chief still has some surprising new views to share.

>> kbeeng. and thanks for joining us. you're used to hearing about shark attack, but a new trend might just be more alarming. feel attacking sharks. there's a new breed of daredevil on the open seas and they're treading dangerous waters, grabbing sharks, riding sharks. and experts say it's shark, not human, who are paying the price. . >> reporter: there's a lot of dumb stuff out there on the

internet, and this might be the dumbest. a fun-loving australian fisherman cage diving with a bird cage. he was trying to create a viral video to promote his clothing line. >> i turned around and i seen the shark coming for me and i just threw the bird cage right behind my legs and saved him from grabbing my legs. i have to thank the bird cage, really. >> you know wh >> more and more people are jumping in the ocean with the sharks. it could be the making or the breaking of the endangered predator of our oceans. >> sharks really can't afford any more negative pr or publicity. because we really need to save sharks on this planet. we need them. >> reporter: so check out this florida teenager who hitched a ride on a whale shark.

>> i thought maybe i should swim with him because i might not be able to do it evergreen. >> then this friisherman that grabbed a 200-pound sand shark in the surf. >> i think people think i'm crazy. running in the water and grabbing a shark by the tail. >> it's huge. >> reporter: shark tourism is a $300 million a year industry with more than 80 shark diving centers in 29 countries attra attracting shark junkies to get closer than ever. >> it's a thrilling, exciting sad venture. and people want that now. people don't want the ordinary. they want the thrilling, exciting, awesome adventure. and sharks, they can deliver. >> reporter: i went cage diving with great whites in south

africa a few years ago, but even that is old hat nowadays. my brave colleague when the diving with tiger sharks last summer wearing nothing more than a wet suit. no cage in sight. >> if a small shark was to make a mistake and bite you, chances are we could probably handle it. if a big shark makes a mistake and bites you, chances are you'll bleed to death on the boat. >> reporter: one of the divers was killed on his boat in 2008. >> reporter: the making or the breaking. if no one gets killed, then we learn to love and respect sharks and conservation efforts blossom. also fishermen might realize sharks are worth more alive as tourist attractions than dead in shark soup. >> if i lose my life doing it, not only do i lose many i life,

but i make them look bad, too. that's going to make people's perception go way back to the "jaws" perception. >> reporter: which is why there was online outrage when a tourist posted this image of a diver hugging a lemon shark off bora bora. >> there really is a lot of experience that goes into it. if people did it all the time, a lot of people would be getting seriously injured or killed. >> mark eel lee is a surfer and a sofl proclaimed water man in hawaii who regularly dives cageless with sharks. >> that moment when you're actually close enough to a shark to touch it, there's things that you see as far as muscle definition and things that never really transfer on to film that just really are impactful. >> that explains why more and more people are diving with sharks. with also shark week now an annual event on discovery, sharks are in a way the kings of

the final frontier, our ocean, the least explored part of our globe. sharks are still mysterious. they excite fashicination and/o fear. >> it's like religion or politics. people get really emotion. one side, these things are benevolent creatures like unicorns and would never hurt me because we have a special connection. that's bs. on the other hand, there's people who think they're absolute killers. it's really something in between. >> so we have ocean ramsey who actually swims with great whites. yep. that's a great white. >> they're misunderstand and misconstrued as ravenous, mindless man eating machines. that's not how they are. >> you're [ bleep ] crazy. >> and on the other hand, people more akin to our nantucket dude who likes to wrestle. >> ooch kcatching sharks is my favorite thing to do.

just a big battle. so fun. >> reporter: shark diving might be a fun thing for us and them, but only if we do it right. >> we can't treat these animals like dogs and cats because they're not. they're predators. we have to respect them and give them credit. >> even experience divers like mark have had close calls. he was diving with a seemingly friendly tiger shark with the bahamas. he went back in and the same shark turned on h im. >> shark, they're still wild animals. i make no bones about it. you can have great interactions with 100 tigers sharks. it's a numbers game. you're going to run into that one personality, that's the shark that would mug you with a knife on the streets of brooklyn. don't try this at home. >> here's my favorite shark statistic. up to 100 million sharks are killed by humans every year. while only five humans, yes,

just five, are killed by sharks. our australian thrill seeker is lucky that he wasn't one of them. >> i still watch it and yeah, i'm still in the doghouse. my wife won't talk to me. i tried flowers. >> are you kidding me, man? >> our thanks to nick watt. next, ha car full of kids and a cop with a gun. what went wrong? and happy birthday to the first lady. michelle obama speaks out about the future.

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the situation on a new mexico highway escalated quickly. a mother, tuled over by state troopers for speeding while driving a minivan full of kids. and then real time decisions as the nightmare on both sides camed to a climax with gunfire. you're about to meet the man who lost his job in the faceoff. and find out why he wants the world to know what he says is the full story. here's ryan owen. >> get out of the vehicle! get out of the vehicle right now! >> it's the traffic stop that outraged so many for many reasons. a mom stopped for speeding in her minivan with five children

inside keeps taking off on police. one of those children, her 14-year-old son even scuffles with an officer. >> open the door! >> later, that same officer bashes in the passenger window. a backoff officer fires three shots at that minivan packed with kids between the ages of 6 and 16. >> so this is you here? >> yes. >> reporter: those shots cost him his job with new mexico state police. the 12-year veteran with the force says he pulled up on the traffic stop long after it's ka lated and said he had no idea there were children inside that minivan with dark tinted windows. >> when you find out there were children in that minivan, what did you think? >> well, i -- my heart sank. i was on the passenger sided a that time, seeing them get out

at gun point again, i couldn't believe there were that many children. >> did you second guess your decision? >> no, because i thought i did what was correct at that time. >> he said all dispatch told him was to respond to an unruly driver. >> approach on the left hand side, all i see is a bunch of heads. what went through my mind is that we're outnumbered. >> reporter: when the driver started to flee yet again, the 53-year-old said he lined up with the line on the road and shot at the tire. >> i know you say you're aiming at the tire, but that tire is connected with a vehicle that had an awful lot of people in it. why would you fire at a vehicle that knows has a lot of people in it. >> i'm not shooting at human being. i'm shooting at a tire.

>> he missed the tire and the mom and five kids were off again, this time leading cops on a chase that reached speeds of 100 miles an hour. >> get out! get on the ground right now! >> reporter: when it finally ended, officers arrested the driver, a 39-year-old of connecticut and charged her with child abuse and fleeing police. she said she's not guilty and did what she did that october day to protect her children. she's a self-described empowerment coach who gives parenting advice. and a recording artist who uploads her music videos to youtube. >> pick at the jackson wounds and rubbing in the michael vick. >> reporter: today, we returned to the scene of that routine traffic stop that turned out to be anything but. montoya was the only one of the

three officers fired for his actions that day. other two, including the officer who broke the window are back on the street. here in taos, many believe he should be back with them. >> i believe in him. i think he's the honest, most caring person. >> they describe a veteran officer who was never dref, certainly never trigger happy. this was the first time he fired in the line of duty. >> i believe justice has been done. he's a good man. >> here, the man known nationally as the cop who shot at a minivan full of kids is better known as a youth referee. >> it's unfathomable that he lost his job especially in light of the fact that there had been other instances where similar incidents were justified. >> the use of deadly force has

to be used only when you are being threatened by deadly force. >> right there. that's his discharge. this was a horrible car stop by all participants. >> nicholas cosell is formerly with a police department. >> who was a danger to him? >> he says montoya had no business trying to shoot out that tire. >> him shooting a tire of a vehicle moving away from him, the tire in the year is exposed about the size of a dollar bill. he has the ability to shoot that tire, he should be in the olympic team. >> when i moved over, i could see well in front of me. there was no vehicle in front of that vehicle either going or coming. so i believe i had the right to try and detain that situation there. and that's how come i shot at the tire.

>> montoya is appealing his determination, but knows getting his badge and especially getting his gun back, that's an uppill battle. >> can the public trust your judgment after you fired on a mi minivan with kids in it. >> i'm not one to take my handgun out of my holster in every little situation. >> do you want to live in a world where police officers are firing routinely at vehicles with weem in them when they' been fulled over for speeding? does that world make sense to you? >> no, it does not make sense. no, and if i knew there was even one child in that vehicle, i wouldn't have done it. >> i'm ryan owens for "nightline" in taos, new mexico. next, michelle obama celebrates her 50th birthday and gives a candid answer about whether she would go under the knife for plastic surgery.

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>> swroo around 2 million american women will turn 50 this year. today, it was michelle obama's turn. and she made headlines. >> the famously fit first lady, known for showing off her guns dropped a bit of a bombshell this week. as michelle obama enters her sixth decade, she's not ruling out plastic surgery or botox. women, she says, should have the freedom to do whatever they need to do to feel good about themselves. right now, i don't imagine that i would go that route, but i've

always learned to never say never. quite a message from a woman who has a lot to say about health and wellness. in the past five year, she's used herself as an example to others, not just urging exercise, but hula hooping for the camera. >> vegetables and fruits are a big part of a healthy diet. >> not merely encouraging americans, especially kids, to eat their vegetables, but growing them in a white house garden. she's quick to say she does not see her role as an adviser to her husband. i asked her about that a few months back. >> so outside the white house, there's always lots of chatter about how much is the first lady influencing policy. >> i rarely step foot in the west wing. in fact, people are shocked when they see me there. >> i guess there's the pillow at night if you really feel passionate about something. >> education is the key to success for so many kids.

>> although this week her agenda dovetailed with her husband's as she plans to focus on education in her last three years at the white house. she's spending time with friends, including a weekend at oprah's home this month. and like many parents, the self-proclaimed mom in chief says she's looking for new challenges, pointing out that daughter malia will be in college when the president's term ends and sasha, not far behind. she told my colleague barbara walters she and her husband are already talking about their soon to be empty nest. >> as barbara noticed this summer with the girls both in camp, we got a glimpse at our future. just the two of us looking at each other at the dinner table. >> do you have a dream for what you would like to do? will you continue in politics? >> one of them seems pretty certain an't no politics.

unlike the only other first lady to turn 50 in the white house in the past quarter century. other mrs. obama chooses, she makes clear 50 is a milestone, not a mill stone. her party is tomorrow night at the white house. dancing high on the agenda. happy birthday, mrs. obama. thank you for watching abc news and tune into "good morning america" tomorrow. as always, we're online at abc news.com. have a great weekend. and good night, america. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you tta taste this soup. [ male announcer ] you say tomato. ♪ old el paso says diced tomato stand 'n stuff chicken tacos. ♪ you say what's for dinner?

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