POLICE STATE / MILITARY - LOOKING GLASS NEWS | |
Boat Owners Subjected to "Nazi Style" Armed Searches by Homeland Security |
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by Virginia Hennessey Prison Planet Entered into the database on Monday, September 19th, 2005 @ 13:36:08 MST |
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Two of the Moss Landing Harbor residents who were the subjects of random
boat searches during Labor Day Weekend say their experiences were closer to
armed invasions than the friendly "safety inspections" characterized
by U.S. Coast Guard officials. Both residents said search crews entered the harbor in inflatable boats
with machine guns mounted on their bows. Then, carrying M-16 rifles, they approached
residents and boarded and searched their boats in the name of safety and "homeland
security." One resident, who asked not to be identified for fear or retribution,
said his experience was "very intimidating, very frightening." "To me it reeks of Nazi Germany and the death squads in Argentina,"
he said. "I don't want my name on their list." Scott Jones, a live-aboard resident who was searched, said there has been talk
in the harbor about contacting the American Civil Liberties Union, but he first
wants to hear further from the Coast Guard about its future intentions. Lt. Mark Warren of the Monterey Coast Guard Station said he has heard mostly
positive response to the operation, but may rethink future actions given current
criticisms. "We take lessons and learn from these types of operations. If the public
is genuinely distasteful of it, we might not do it," he said. "I'm
not saying we won't, but I'm not saying we will." In addition to trying to ensure the safety of boats on the bay during the holiday
weekend, Warren said, the operation was part of an effort to increase the public's
awareness of the Coast Guard's role as a law enforcement agency under the Department
of Homeland Security. He said the public might have been surprised to see weaponry
that is now standard issue to all Homeland Security forces. "I, as a U.S. citizen, am highly offended by that," said Jones, who
is accustomed to Coast Guard boardings when he sails. "When a sheriff's
deputy drives down the road or a CHP officer drives down the road and I see
them, I'm aware of his job, and not because he's pulled me over and put a gun
to my head. "The Coast Guard's needs would be better served by an advertising campaign,"
he said, "rather than bullying people in their bedrooms at 10:30 at night." Jones said he and his wife were sleeping when they were awakened by knocking
on the side of the boat. He went to the deck and was confronted by two armed officers asking if they
could come aboard. Thinking something had happened in the harbor that the officers
needed to talk to him about, Jones acquiesced. "It seemed a little unreasonable at 10:30 at night," he said, "but
it was the middle of the night and I was half asleep, so I said 'OK.' At this
point, I looked out and saw six to eight officers (on the dock) and all appeared
armed." The officers boarded his boat and quickly spread out beyond the immediate deck
without invitation, saying they were conducting a safety inspection. "I can say with all certainly that what they did was not a safety inspection
or in any way related to a safety inspection," he said. The officers demanded
access to the bilge, saying they wanted to make sure the boat wasn't taking
on water. "This was highly suspect," Jones said. "If you're on board,
you'd know if you were taking on water." When Jones showed them the bilge, the officers repeatedly, and with increasing
forcefulness, demanded to know if there were other accesses to the bilge. They
also "demanded" the driver's licenses of everyone on board. Increasingly upset by the nature of the search, Jones asked for the officers'
authority and justification. One officer read to him from a federal code authorizing
the search. "It was either the Patriot Act or homeland security,"Jones said. Warren said the officers would not have cited the Patriot Act because it affords
the Coast Guard no additional authority. Jones conceded he may have heard "homeland security" and registered
"Patriot Act," but still feels the search was unwarranted and in a
gray area of the law at best. "I wouldn't question their professionalism, but I do question their motive
and their authority," he said. "To me, it sounds like something that
an ACLU lawyer would just tear apart." Coast Guard officials say they are authorized by maritime law to board and
search vessels on U.S. waters, including waters that lead to U.S. waters, to
enforce federal laws. Warren said the officers were attempting to ensure the safety and compliance
of docked boats by checking for oily water in their bilges and that their sanitation
devices were in locked position. Some searches were conducted at night in an
effort to catch boats before they went onto the bay for the weekend. The second boat owner who spoke to The Herald said his boat was searched after
he challenged officers who were searching other boats, at 10:30 p.m. Sept. 2,
and during the morning on following days. Told they were acting as Homeland
Security officers, he asked what they were protecting the harbor from. "Terrorists," he said he was told by the officers, who exhorted him
to "remember the Cole," referring to the October 2000 attack by terrorists
on the USS Cole that killed 17 sailors. "The only terrorists down here are you guys," he told them. "You're
scaring the hell out of me with that machine gun." While Warren was noncommittal about future searches, he said it is important
for the public to know the Coast Guard's presence will be increased. "The Coast Guard's focus on homeland security has increased our presence
on the water and will continue to increase our presence simply because that's
what Congress is wanting us to do right now," he said. "The concern
at the congressional level about the security of ports is pretty high." |