You need probable cause to take someone into custody. If you don’t have probable cause, the charge (if any), will be overturned. Every once in a while there is a bad apple, but cops don’t typically take people into custody based on a “hunch.”
The standard for probable cause is pretty high and cops are very familar with the standard. I suspect there is more to this story. If not, then your friend did not get charged and suffered only an inconvenience. A small price to pay in order to keep our waterways and streets safe.
if you really feel that being arrested and taken to jail is a minor inconvience and is a small price to pay to keep us safe- then i really hope you and your wife and all your friends go to jail every time you hit the water. you might change your tune after it happens to you.
you sound like all those people that say " if you’re not doing anything wrong you have nothing to fear from the law"
it’s sad to say but you need to FEAR any police interaction these days. plenty of innocents in jail, lots of rights being abused, lots of beatings and taseing and even killings and all in the name of " public safety"
Jeff Davis is my President
It is unfortunate and I am sure I would not be happy if I was completely innocent and spent the night in jail. However, people make mistakes. We can’t expect our police officers to be perfect. If that were the case, it would be even more difficult to catch the real criminals. If your friend was completely innocent and didn’t mouth off during the episode, then the officer that took him in should be written up. Tell your friend to call his captain and file a complaint. Police officers are accountable for their actions.
We must not malign the entire force because of the actions of one of it’s members. If everything stated here is true and this man was absolutely innocent (no smart mouthed comments or resisting either) of the charge of intoxication; then this was a serious offense by a LEO. We do have something called the Constitution and 4th amendment. Again, that is IF there wasn’t probable cause.
“If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel .” Benjamin Netanyahu
"Heard about this incident from a friend. The explantions was he already been processed for the arrest and that is why he had to spend the night in jail, regardless of the outcome of their “tests”.
Law enforcment requires use of good judgement, clearly that a-hole had none, and he should never be allowed to have any authority again.
I can’t believe some of you think being harassed and arrested for NO REASON is only an inconvenience. This is f’ing America!
I agree with Adam for the most part. law enforcement is generally interested in “helping” people only if they can write a ticket that will generate $." … FEATHER THROWER
LEO’s are SO interested in writing tickets for money, because they are probably on commission, right?! HA! Please, just another officer trying to do what he thinks is best out there on the water. I would LOVE for any one of you complaining to switch shoes, it’s not an easy job.
LEO’s are SO interested in writing tickets for money, because they are probably on commission, right?! HA! Please, just another officer trying to do what he thinks is best out there on the water. I would LOVE for any one of you complaining to switch shoes, it’s not an easy job.
No it’s not an easy job, if it were, anyone could do it. LEO has to be better than than. There is something called the 4th amendment that must be followed an it’s not always easy. Again, that is IF what is said here is true and there wasn’t probable cause (like resisting, etc…)
“If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel .” Benjamin Netanyahu
hey bigfisher cry me a ****ing river for putting in 2x the hour and no extra pay what about the men and women that get shot at every single day of the year they are defending this great nation, yes i was one of them and i dont appreciate coming back to the state and have to listen to someone ***** about there job because they had to put in a little extra time, appreciate your service but dont ***** about something you have chossen to do for 25 years.
the guy with most rods in the water catches the most fish
I was not ******* as you call it. Just trying to get out a point. I love my job. My father was a Deputy my brother was Chief of Police now ret. My son is a State Tropper. We give our time for somthing we belive in. We choose this job just like you choose the milatary. I assume you did it because you belive in the ideals of our country as there is no longer a draft.I think you for your service. Not sure why you seam so hostile about what I posted. I was just trying to say most of the law officers I know are just trying to do the right thing and just like the milatary get little pay for it not a ***** its a fact.
Dang, it’s hit three pages. I avoid the Beaufort River during this week because of the repeated boardings and polite harrassment. I live on the river across from the sand bar and the blue lights are going constantly both weekends.
That said, when they are issuing BUI’s to people in canoes and kayaks, or to the poor drunk smuck who simply put one hand on the steering wheel of the boat even though someone else was clearly in control of the vessel, it seems wrong to me.
If you guys truly believe that DNR is abusing their authority by making wrongful arrests and harassing innocent boaters then complaining about it here won’t really accomplish anything. Take your complaints to your elected officials, the head of DNR and even the media. I am not trying to be a smartazz about this, I am being sincere. If the DNR problem has become this bad then it needs to be fixed and I will gladly join you in this effort as abusive officers make the job just that much harder.
I iwll say that as a member of the LE community, I am saddened by the almost constant complaints and lack of respect for LE. I will admit that a good part of that blame rests on our (LE0’s) shoulders but, definitely not all of it. It is unfortunate that the actions of a few can so easily sully the reputation of so many good men and women.
Just my opinion on the subject. I’m guessing if they gave him a urine test at the hospital, and didn’t draw blood, they weren’t looking for alcohol, but most likely to see if he was under the influence of drugs. Probably marijuana. BUI can include a number of substances, including prescribed drugs by a doctor. Not sure if he was actually charged before they had evidence to prove it. I believe in our law enforcement,but their has to be a mutual respect between both boaters and DNR. I got stopped and checked last week by the CG. They were simply there to check and make sure we were safe and legal. Of course I had everything in order and had no problems. I had a beer in my hand the whole time they were aboard. Super nice group of people. They also warned us about DNR and said they were on the hunt. Whatever that meant? It seems DNR has gotten a bad wrap from everyone, even other LE, because they are almost never cordial or polite. I would imagine most boaters are pretty nice folks. Most of the time DNR makes you feel guilty before ever boarding the vessel. If LE wants to protect boaters, make everyone who operates a boat, get a Boaters Driver License. This way, all the people who have no clue aren’t in control of a vessel without proper training. I bet a lot more people get hurt because of no boating/saltwater experience, than BUI. Boats and Cars are, in my opinion, a little different and need to be treated accordingly. Look forward to hearing the outcome of this incident. JUSTCUZ!
mouthing off to the law has been mentioned as a path to arrest. WHY?
isn’t free speach one of our rights?
what law is broken that warrants arrest for speaking your mind?
i’m not talking about a profanity laced tirade- just the IF YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH YOU’RE GOING TO JAIL BULL****?
i’m very interested in the LEO replies to this question- along with the reasons behind their response.
i’m not against proper law enforcement- but stuff has gotten WAY WAY out of control with our government.
Ronald Reagan warned thirty years ago, when the “Reagan Revolution” temporarily restored our nation’s course toward Liberty, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States when men were free.”
So your question is, “Why is mouthing off a path to arrest”? Just mouthing off should never be a “path to arrest” but, if there is evidence that a violation has occurred and you are cooperative and respectful, you stand a far better chance of walking away from it than if you shoot your mouth off. I have been in LE for more than 20 years. I have always prided myself on my professionalism and self-control. I used to teach a class Called Tactical Communications and one of the first things I taught my students was that 99% of the B.S. you have directed at you is rarely directed at you but more so the uniform/badge. I taught them not to take it personally and to be courteous and professional. Obviously not everyone is able to do that and I guarantee that many of you that trash LE would not find it as easy as you think it is. I took this job knowing that the pay sucked, that it would be hard and often thankless and I have never complained about that. What I do resent is all the “armchair quarterbacks” that find fault with everything LE does or does not do. Walk a mile in our shoes, watch an innocent person bleed to death after being shot “by accident”, hold a guy’s head in your lap trying to keep him conscious after he was rear-ended while riding a motorcycle. Have a drunk puke on you or a resister bleed all over you and let’s see how rosy the world looks to you. Most of us really don’t want your thanks, but more importantly we really don’t want the whole profession maligned by someone that doesn’t have a clue about doing our job. Respond or don’t respond, I really don’t care because I am done with this topic.
DFreedom and all other senoir le i dont believe that 99% of the people that have replied to this topic, and had issues with dnr or any other le agency are refurring to you, at least that is how i feel never ever had an issue with a senior officer that i can remember, it has always been the power tripping le that thinks he has something to prove, no disrespect but they need to step back a couple notches instead they are the first ones to to say i can do this and i can do that if you dont do what i say, with that said i feel that this subject has its pro’s and con’s but in the end if you do wrong you should be punished, and if you are in the right and stand your ground you shouldn’t be hauld to jail just cause the le officer doesn’t like talk back and that officer should be relieve of dutie because he is just making it harder for the rest of you guys and gals to do yours because of this type responce from everyone on here, thanks again for your service there are still some of us out there that appriciate those of you just doing your job cause i have seen a country first hand that has no laws and i hope that it never gets that far here
the guy with most rods in the water catches the most fish
If someone blows a .05 or less, “it is presumed conclusively that the person was not under the influence of alcohol.” SC Code Section 50-21-114(B)(1). DUI and BUI are the only cases in which a person can actually establish his INNOCENCE. DNR officers are not trained as DREs (drug recognition experts). That guy realized he screwed up by charging him, and was just trying to cover his arse by requesting a urine sample at the hospital. DNR is putting on a big PR show at the WF, including bringing down the BATMOBILE (mobile datamaster/breathalyzer machine) and parking it at the downtown marina. BTW, the Batmobile does not have a video camera like all other breath testing facilities, including the 2 at the Beaufort Co. jail 2 miles away. You have to wonder why they don’t want people to have a potentially exonerative videotape of their sobriety, or why they are keeping relevant evidence from a jury that will prove the guy was drunk. it sounds like it would have been very helpful in this case, but the evidence that could help this guy is gone forever.
Drinking on a boat is not unlawful, as it is in a car. That’s why it’s even more important to have officers trained properly in determining impairment (or lack thereof).
If this guy had refused either test, his boating privileges would have been automatically suspended for 180 days. SC Code Section 50-21-114(E). For a captain, that can be worse that a driver’s license suspension.
“Taking one for the team” by spending a night in jail is easy to say if you’re not the one doing it. How is this guy supposed to get his reputation back? His name, picture and charge are on a jail website and were published in a weekly crime blotter.
I know it’s ok to drink a couple of beers while boating…but I don’t. Seems like an easy way to stay out of trouble or potential trouble to just not drink on the boat. My beer is cold and waiting on me after I put away my boat.
I hope we’ll get the story on the urine tests but my guess is…we’ll never hear what the results ended up being. I’m guessing alcohol won’t be a factor in the charges that were made.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 16 year old
1 - 12 year old
1 - wife (The Warden)
Any more word on what has happened with this lately ? I’ve got a few friends who would love to hear about the DNR officer in question getting a good reaming.
I think that if the officer orders all these tests after having an intitial negative response on a breathylizer and they all come back negative, then the bill for said tests is paid out of his salary. I think the officer would exercise a little more common sense if that were the case…
“Never argue with an idiot…he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.”