DNR Beaufort Water Festival

[Palmetto Pride]

JAB-

There is nothing more to the story - period. Hence the reason i posted this on a public forum. DNR is a fucking joke and it should cost Chisolm his job. Especially since he WATCHED this happen.

[LowcountryBuck]

I have a dear friend of mine, who has been a USCG licensed captain for 20 plus years was pulled at the water fest this past weekend by agents Spires and Thompson for a routine safety check. After passing with flying colors, he was asked if he had consumed any alcohol, of which he responded honestly "maybe 2 beers in 5 hours". They asked him to take a breathalyzer test which he passed with a 0.0. They then asked if he would be willing to take a urine test and he agreed, and after an hour in custody, he was driven to the hospital. The results supposedly take several days, but he was TAKEN TO JAIL for the night despite their own tests! This is THE MOST egregious act I have ever heard from our state's DNR. This man is one of the most detailed, honest, and straightlaced people I have ever known. Does anybody know these fuckstick rabbit sheriff motherfuckers? This is BULLSHIT! and I'm pissed!

Do these stupid pricks have that much power or can they really do this to a free citizen obeying the law? The adverse affects from USCG and possible employers will last considerably longer than the stinch of wetback piss he had to endure in a night in jail. Fuck these guys. This is why I hate most of these cocky assholes. Someone tell me he will get an apology and compensation for this, and the officers will be reprimanded for their actions.

Ur friend's last name wouldn't happen to be Mangus would it?

[2thDoc]

crazy. you hear stories like this more than you should. then you here a reaction to a story like GMAC's. I want to say "boats need to be checked because sooner or later they are gonna catch someone that was about to make trouble." BUT....this story sounds like a witch hunt or an officer plainly out-stepping his bounds. I hope whoever is at fault gets what is coming to them....

[Quackhead22]

If there is no more to this story then this is pure horse shit!! That being said me and my friends get stopped at least once every weekend by DNR and usually it goes off without a hitch. The GW's where we typically spend most of our time are respectable and easy to deal with but then again most of them are from "older" generation of wardens. There are one or two in the area that have made a bad name for themselves but the older ones tend to keep them in check....

[SCSwitchback]

This type of shit is par for the course with DNR and many, if not most, law enforcement officials.

[Geetch]

The "routine safety check" is nothing more than an end-run around probable cause.

As are seatbelt laws and a few others.

[jwilliams]

Occasionally, you hear a story like this and it is as it sounds. Most of the time, there is more to the story. If it turns out there isn't more to the story, shame on the officer and I hope appropriate action is taken.

[SC quacker]

JAB-

There is nothing more to the story - period. Hence the reason i posted this on a public forum. DNR is a fucking joke and it should cost Chisolm his job. Especially since he WATCHED this happen.

Wrongful imprisonment has its consequences.

[Salt Marsh]

How would you feel about the police stopping you while you were driving down the road in your car, appearing to be in full compliance with the law, and the officer comes up to you and says, "I am stopping you to see if your drivers license has expired, if you have your registration in the vehicle, and to see if you have proof of insurance." "You are not to leave until I have completed the search and interrogation I deem necessary."

I would think you would not consider that stop to be reasonable. You are not doing anything overtly wrong and the police officer just decides to stop you to see if you are in compliance with the law. He can and does keep you there you until he decides you are innocent. Doesn't sound very American does it?

How is that different that the safety checks performed while you are on the water? There are no overt signs that you are anything but a law abiding citizen. Yet, you are stopped, your boat is searched, you are detained and forced to prove you are not violating the law. Does this sound right to you?

It has always bugged me to be running down the creek and to have DNR sitting by the bank, wave me down, and subject me to a "safety check" when I have not done anything wrong. If you refuse to stop for the baseless search and seizure, they hit the blue light and all of sudden, for no reason other than they are offended that you refuse to bend to their will, you are in a felony situation and will be looking for a lawyer to get you out of this.

DNR, like any other law enforcement arm of the government, is required to have probable cause to stop someone. Without that magic justification, the stop is nothing more than an illegal search and seizure. Why we have tolerated this conduct is beyond me.

[SC quacker]

DNR, like any other law enforcement arm of the government, is required to have probable cause to stop someone. Without that magic justification, the stop is nothing more than an illegal search and seizure. Why we have tolerated this conduct is beyond me. [/QUOTE]


Not exactly correct. I do not think anyone ever intended DNR to have to have probable cause to check hunting and fishing licenses and to check for game violations. Likewise, DNR has more freedom than other agencies to enter your property to see what is going on. The problem is that powers that are required to do its job of protecting wildlife are now being used to harass anyone who happens to step on a boat.

The part that ticks me off is that in 40 years I have probably been stopped 75 times on the water (without ever getting a ticket) but have been checked for a hunting or fidhing license maybe 5 times. DNR needs do do its job of protecting wildlife instead of harassing citizens in order to check out tits.

[BigBrother]

The part that ticks me off is that in 40 years I have probably been stopped 75 times on the water (without ever getting a ticket) but have been checked for a hunting or fidhing license maybe 5 times. DNR needs do do its job of protecting wildlife instead of harassing citizens in order to check out tits.

This damnit, THIS!

[kquinn]

We put in at the Parris Island ramp at 6pm and there were 9 DNR vehicles with trailers in the lot. The mobile breathalyzer unit was at the ramp at 11 am (we were told). Seems like a waste of money from a group that claims to be underfunded.

[GMAC]

No, Geetch. That is incorrect. Because it is a violation of the law to drive w/out a seatbelt, an LE officer that sees you not wearing one can make a probable cause stop. You may disagree with the seatbelt law, but it is still a violation. The safety check is a stop done with no evidence of any violation. That is exactly the point of this discussion. You can be shaken down EVEN THOUGH THE POLICE HAVE NO REASON TO SUSPECT THAT ANY LAW IS BEING VIOLATED.

[Salt Marsh]

Not exactly correct. I do not think anyone ever intended DNR to have to have probable cause to check hunting and fishing licenses and to check for game violations. Likewise, DNR has more freedom than other agencies to enter your property to see what is going on.

Can you please point out to me the portion of the US and State Constitution that makes exceptions for police conduct by SCDNR and states they do not need probable cause to make arrests or reasonable suspicion based on specific and articulable facts to detain and question people. They are officers of state, just like SCHP, the various County Sheriff's Departments, SLED Agents and city police officers. They are bound by the same laws as everyone else. They would love for the intentions of the legistlature to overide the mandates of the constitution, but that, thankfully, is not how the system works.

I just do not see the difference between a police officer stopping me for the sole purpose to see if driver's license is valid and a DNR officer asking you to prove you have certain items in your boat.

The basic premise in the US is that you are innocent and have no obligation to prove that fact to the government. If the government thinks or believes you have violated the law, they must have some reasonable suspicion based on specific and articulable facts to initiate an investigation that involves detaining you and then that must rise to probable cause so as to arrest you.


Just because they have been doing it and getting away with it, does make it permissable under the law. It just means no one has challenged them on their conduct. I think this will happen soon. Since their main purpose as gone from protecting wildlife to raising revenue with boating violations, I beleive you will find people willing to challenge them and question their previously unquestioned tactics.

[cedarcreek89]

I agree Salt Marsh. Although I wish people would challenge them I doubt it will happen.

[mcduck]

said it once say it again fuck these younger schp/dnr/whoever that is flexing there powers. I towed a boat in the other day at the dam on murray a lexington county boat watched me. after i started making my way out of the ramp bam he checked me. I JUST DID YOUR JOB! and now you check me?? fuck cut there budget all the way out. you should have to be forty years old to apply for a leo job!

[mcduck]

and dont get me started on fat ass paramedics!

[SC quacker]

Can you please point out to me the portion of the US and State Constitution that makes exceptions for police conduct by SCDNR and states they do not need probable cause to make arrests or reasonable suspicion based on specific and articulable facts to detain and question people. They are officers of state, just like SCHP, the various County Sheriff's Departments, SLED Agents and city police officers. They are bound by the same laws as everyone else. They would love for the intentions of the legistlature to overide the mandates of the constitution, but that, thankfully, is not how the system works.

I just do not see the difference between a police officer stopping me for the sole purpose to see if driver's license is valid and a DNR officer asking you to prove you have certain items in your boat.

The basic premise in the US is that you are innocent and have no obligation to prove that fact to the government. If the government thinks or believes you have violated the law, they must have some reasonable suspicion based on specific and articulable facts to initiate an investigation that involves detaining you and then that must rise to probable cause so as to arrest you.


Just because they have been doing it and getting away with it, does make it permissable under the law. It just means no one has challenged them on their conduct. I think this will happen soon. Since their main purpose as gone from protecting wildlife to raising revenue with boating violations, I beleive you will find people willing to challenge them and question their previously unquestioned tactics.

So are you saying the game warden should not be able to check your license and what you have shot in the dove field? Unless they have seen you shoot over the limit or somehow accessed the property to find bait, there is no probable cause.

[Swamp Rat]

said it once say it again fuck these younger schp/dnr/whoever that is flexing there powers. I towed a boat in the other day at the dam on murray a lexington county boat watched me. after i started making my way out of the ramp bam he checked me. I JUST DID YOUR JOB! and now you check me?? fuck cut there budget all the way out. you should have to be forty years old to apply for a leo job!

I don't think that LEO boats are obligated or required to tow a disabled boat. Rescue people from one where life is in jeopardy, yes... But how often will the police tow your car from an accident scene?

Would I give a tow? I will and I have, but it's not their "job".

[duckduckdog]

So are you saying the game warden should not be able to check your license and what you have shot in the dove field? Unless they have seen you shoot over the limit or somehow accessed the property to find bait, there is no probable cause.

Don't know if that's what he's saying, but that exactly what I'm saying! When is the last time a cop showed up at your door just to make sure you weren't stealing cable?