Lake Martin Topics: marine police

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	Name:	woofwoof -
	Subject:	marine police
	Date:	7/15/2008 12:55:31 AM

This type of incident may be old news to many readers this forum but it was new to me and I think it needs to be told.

Over the 4th of July holiday I decided to take several of my friends in the pontoon down to Acupolco Rock to see people jump. As we came to the narrows just north of the entrance to Blue Creek I stood up to let my girlfriend put more sunscreen on my back. I had been up about 30 seconds when I saw a marine police boat with its lights on coming towards me. When the officers arrived I greeted them with a "how are you doing"; which was not returned. He immediately questioned my sobriety and seemd almost upset to find out that I was the sober driver. He then turned to my friends and seemed equally dejected to discover that they were all in fact 21 or older. After checking my registration he asked about life jackets. When we produced a pile of life jackets he did not believe us when we said that we each had a life jacket plus two throw cushions. We had to hold them in the air and count out loud like elementary schoolers. He then turned to me and told me that he pulled me over because he saw me stand up and noticed that my kill switch was not attached. I showed him it was hooked to my life jacket which was in the drivers chair where I sat. Apparently that was not good enough. He questioned me as to what would happen if somehow I fell out of the pontoon without the switch attached to me. I simply said "I don't know" rather than trying to come up with some excuse or give a sarcastic response. The end result of the experience was a ticket for an improperly attached kill switch and a $150 fine. From the beginning it was obvious that the real reason for the stop was to find a reason to write us a ticket.
I understand that the marine police have a difficult job of patrolling a huge lake when there are so few of them. I also realize that on a holiday weekend their job is doubly tough given the volume of boats and careless behavior of many. I can also see how a pontoon full of 20 somethings looks like a prime candidate for underage drrinking or boating under the influence. However, the way we were treated was rude and disrespectful. We were simply trying to enjoy the lake and were doing so in a responsible way. Rather than being treated as adults we were treated like criminals. A simple warning and a "have a nice day" would have been enough to get me to hook a kill switch to my shorts. Instead I was left with a hefty fine and a resentment of the officers. This is the first time in the 17 years I have been coming to the lakeI that I have been treated like that by law enforcement. The DNR officer out of Manoy Creek who checks me while fishing is always very pleasant and professional and I could not see him being that rude to anyone. If others have had similar experiences with the marine police I hope they report it as I intend to.