Twenty-two officers and four boats are responsible for the safety of countless boaters who set sail on Cayuga County's six waterways every summer.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Marine patrol officers Zach Prentice, left, and Richard Myers return to dock after patrolling Owasco Lake Thursday afternoon.
Marine patrol officers Zach Prentice, left, and Richard Myers return to dock after patrolling Owasco Lake Thursday afternoon.
With two marine patrol officers per boat, only one of whom is a police officer with weapon-carrying and arrest-making authority, the law is outnumbered on the water.
But soon, marine patrol officers may have more power to protect themselves as well as those cruising the waves.
The state Senate has passed a bill that would allow marine patrol officers in Cayuga County to become peace officers, a title that would give them authority to carry a weapon and make minor arrests. The legislation, a product of three years struggle by Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould and State Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, must be signed by Gov. David Paterson before taking effect.
“We have more and more activity here, and with that activity comes, once in a while, some bad behavior,” Nozzolio said. More powerful law-enforcing authority is necessary, he said, to ensure a safer boating environment.
Police officers frequently patrol the roads in pairs; additional assistance is only a radio call, siren blow, and speedy drive away. But only one marine patrol boat goes out on a waterway at a time, each carrying an active or retired police officer and a trained assistant, who can only assist the police officer, Gould said.
“It should be no different on water than it is on land,” Gould said. The 22 marine patrol officers monitor use of the county's six waterways - lakes Ontario and Como, Owasco, Skaneateles and Duck lakes, and the canal system. Four boats operate on a rotating schedule to cover all six areas.
The new bill would allow non-police marine patrol officers to train to become peace officers, who have limited police authority. Gould said the peace officers would also be required to complete firearm training.
Crimes on the water are similar to crimes on land - disruptive partying, intoxicated driving, speeding - but on the water, officers are on their own, should something go awry.
“If for some reason the police officer is down or injured, what do you do?” Gould said.
In a situation where there are only two officers, it is a matter of self-protection for both to have arresting and gun-carrying authority, Gould said.
“You can't just call for back up,” said Richard Myers, 58, a retired police officer who patrolled Owasco Lake Thursday. He and his partner, Zach Prentice, a 20-year-old criminal justice student at Cayuga Community College, had rescued the passengers of two overturned sailboats that morning.
They had no sooner rescued two women whose boat had flipped over completely before spotting a man and a baby, whom they scooped up as well and deposited on the shore, said Myers, a spot of blood gleaming from his skinned knuckle.
More often, the job entails reprimanding crews of boat partiers and speedy drivers, he said.
Bridget Kennedy, 38, of Auburn, said she often encounters rowdy boaters in the area of Owasco Lake where her 8-year-old daughter, Baylee, likes to swim with her friends. She wouldn't mind seeing the sheriff's boat out there, said Kennedy, before launching her boat from Emerson Park Thursday.
“I don't think it's a bad idea,” Kennedy said of increasing the authority of non-police marine officers. “It definitely wouldn't hurt.”
Staff writer Sarah Gantz can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or sarah.gantz@lee.net
But soon, marine patrol officers may have more power to protect themselves as well as those cruising the waves.
The state Senate has passed a bill that would allow marine patrol officers in Cayuga County to become peace officers, a title that would give them authority to carry a weapon and make minor arrests. The legislation, a product of three years struggle by Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould and State Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, must be signed by Gov. David Paterson before taking effect.
“We have more and more activity here, and with that activity comes, once in a while, some bad behavior,” Nozzolio said. More powerful law-enforcing authority is necessary, he said, to ensure a safer boating environment.
Police officers frequently patrol the roads in pairs; additional assistance is only a radio call, siren blow, and speedy drive away. But only one marine patrol boat goes out on a waterway at a time, each carrying an active or retired police officer and a trained assistant, who can only assist the police officer, Gould said.
“It should be no different on water than it is on land,” Gould said. The 22 marine patrol officers monitor use of the county's six waterways - lakes Ontario and Como, Owasco, Skaneateles and Duck lakes, and the canal system. Four boats operate on a rotating schedule to cover all six areas.
The new bill would allow non-police marine patrol officers to train to become peace officers, who have limited police authority. Gould said the peace officers would also be required to complete firearm training.
Crimes on the water are similar to crimes on land - disruptive partying, intoxicated driving, speeding - but on the water, officers are on their own, should something go awry.
“If for some reason the police officer is down or injured, what do you do?” Gould said.
In a situation where there are only two officers, it is a matter of self-protection for both to have arresting and gun-carrying authority, Gould said.
“You can't just call for back up,” said Richard Myers, 58, a retired police officer who patrolled Owasco Lake Thursday. He and his partner, Zach Prentice, a 20-year-old criminal justice student at Cayuga Community College, had rescued the passengers of two overturned sailboats that morning.
They had no sooner rescued two women whose boat had flipped over completely before spotting a man and a baby, whom they scooped up as well and deposited on the shore, said Myers, a spot of blood gleaming from his skinned knuckle.
More often, the job entails reprimanding crews of boat partiers and speedy drivers, he said.
Bridget Kennedy, 38, of Auburn, said she often encounters rowdy boaters in the area of Owasco Lake where her 8-year-old daughter, Baylee, likes to swim with her friends. She wouldn't mind seeing the sheriff's boat out there, said Kennedy, before launching her boat from Emerson Park Thursday.
“I don't think it's a bad idea,” Kennedy said of increasing the authority of non-police marine officers. “It definitely wouldn't hurt.”
Staff writer Sarah Gantz can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or sarah.gantz@lee.net
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childofthekorn1318 wrote on Jul 24, 2009 1:21 PM:
"the law is outnumbered on the water"?
This is taking the stance that the law are saviors, and that civilians are a risk and the enemy of the law. This creates contention for law enforcement and segregates them into an "us vs them" mentality. "