Boat owners say they were fearful during Coast Guard search

The Monterey Herald ^ | September 18, 2005 | VIRGINIA HENNESSEY

[R. Scott]

Where have you been? They are legal now! It is a brave new world.

But still not accepted by the majority. When that happens, Sieg Heil!

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[THEUPMAN]

We keep saying it: next time you capsize or need rescuing, call your local drug cartel.





The old trade freedoms for "safety" thing.

[The_Media_never_lie]

There's something to this story that doesn't add up. 6-8 person boarding party harassing a docked boat at 10:30 p.m. without any cause?

I'll bet there's more to this story than reported.

[thefactor]

i was unaware that drug runners and other criminals keep 9-5 schedules.

[Nov3]

But still not accepted by the majority.

Where have you been? The vast majority of FR supports it. It is a brave new site.

[freema]

Is their a 'fast food mentality' or a lot of ADD on this thread, or am I just nuts.
Don't answer : )
Whatever happened to better safe than sorry?
"Jack Boot Thugs." Where'd that come from?
Don't answer that one either : )

What about those manhole explosions, etc....
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8589929/
Updated: 11:03 p.m. ET July 15, 2005
LOS ANGELES - Law enforcement authorities warned the Israeli Consulate and California National Guard that their facilities were on a list of possible terror targets that police found recently while investigating a string of robberies, officials said Friday.

“We’re very concerned about it,” said Maj. Jon Siepmann, the California National Guard’s deputy director of communications. “There was evidence that an attack was at least being planned.”

Police found the list while searching the home of a man arrested last week in connection with gas station robberies in south Santa Monica Bay communities. The list included three National Guard facilities in the greater Los Angeles area, said Siepmann, who described the threat as apparently “very serious.”

[Nov3]

I'll bet there's more to this story than reported.

What ever it is you will support it! Per your earlier quote (with no outrage on your part!)

I think we may not know the whole story. These guys may have earned a spot on sombody's watch list. Maybe the guy is a smart A and this is payback.

Give me a break. Abuses under color of authority seem to be OK with you.

[Mathews]

Yep, there had to be some sort of intell here. I don't see Coasties just showing up, at night, to conduct safety inspections. They were looking for something/someone else. As far as the owners go... well, if it were me conducting the searches/inspections, I'd say, "The job comes first." I wouldn't worry one bit if someone got their panties in a bunch. Let the lawyers hash it out.

[freema]

Who said they acted like Nazi storm troopers?

No, it's not too much to ask for them to be polite and courteous to law-abiding American boat owners.

........and they're supposed to know which ones are law-abiding American boat owners, how?

[AppyPappy]

If terrorists had used a boat to kill a bunch of people, we would be criticizing the Coast Guard for allowing it to happen.

[R. Scott]

I will have to assume that you would not mind being rousted at night in your home for a drug search.

[R. Scott]

There are a few here who accept it. I also believe they think it will never happen to them because they are “law abiding citizens”. Some would even welcome being rousted from their bed in the middle of the night if it would help win the War on drugs, War on Terror, war on Crime, War on ____. They aren’t yet in the majority.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

"And this is the way it will be as long as the US enforces it's right to maintain borders. Many people forget that a navigable waterway is a border."

I am convinced that some of the folks complaining the loudest on this thread are either Libertarians/liberals who hate the notion of borders, or they make their living by engaging in smuggling.

[freema]

Why couldn't I put into plain English, what you just said? LOL!

[Fierce Allegiance]

I was a coastie. I did hundreds of these boardings. My job was to cover the crew of the boat we inspected. I carried a 45 and a remington 870 sea service shotgun, short baerrel.

[thefactor]

if there were probable cause to search my house, then yes. if not, there's always litigation. i am one who thinks the authorities should be able to fight crime without the permission of the ACLU.

[GodBlessUSA]

What is the United States Coast Guard?

The U.S. Coast Guard is one of five branches of the US Armed Forces, and falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Coast Guard is the country's oldest continuous seagoing service with responsibilities including Search and Rescue (SAR), Maritime Law Enforcement (MLE), Aids to Navigation (ATON), Icebreaking, Environmental Protection, Port Security and Military Readiness. In order to accomplish these missions the Coast Guard's 38,000 active-duty men and women, 8,000 Reservists, and 35,000 Auxiliarists serve in a variety of job fields ranging from operation specialists and small-boat operators and maintenance specialists to electronic technicians and aviation mechanics. The Coast Guard, during an average day, will:

Conduct 109 Search and Rescue Cases

Save 10 lives Assist 192 people in distress

Protect $2,791,841 in property

Launch 396 small boat missions

Launch 164 aircraft missions, logging 324 hours

Board 144 vessels

Seize 169 pounds of marijuana and 306 pounds of cocaine worth $9,589,000

Intercept 14 illegal migrants

Board 100 large vessels for port safety checks

Respond to 20 oil or hazardous chemical spills totaling 2,800 gallons

Service 135 aids to navigation

Thank You Coast Guard, Always Ready, Always there, American Heroes, God Bless!

[SevenDaysInMay]

Blackrobes have costantly RULED that Boats and Motor Homes are "conveyances", not homes protected by our Bill of Rights",...just another example of "compelling State interests" conjured to enhance the police powers of the State.

It does not seem to matter that such dwellings are citizens' homes. One can always put such for as one's defense or cause of action, but don't bank on it. You'll be shot dead in the name of police action - in your home, even if you could have proven that you were not a criminal/terorist.

[R. Scott]

if there were probable cause to search my house, then yes. if not, there's always litigation. i am one who thinks the authorities should be able to fight crime without the permission of the ACLU.

Yes – if along with the probable cause (and not necessarily “a confidential informant, well known to the officer”) there is a search warrant. I am not a great backer of the ACLU, but I do believe that Our Constitution should be the Law of the Land, and I do not believe that any persons – including law enforcement personnel – should be exempt from that law.