Multiple agencies respond to scene
This week, with help from SeaTow, a Sarasota Police Department officer was able to climb aboard an unmanned boat that was circling at a speed of about 40 mph in Sarasota Bay, north of The Ringling Museum, and stop it, the Police Department has reported.
On April 28, members of the Sarasota Police Department’s Marine Unit responded to a call about a boater in distress, a news release said, with initial reports indicating that the boater had fallen overboard.
Officers of the Marine Unit, with assistance from the United States Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, the Venice Police Department and SeaTow, “worked together to safely bring the situation under control,” the release said. “After several attempts to foul the vessel’s motor with tow lines were unsuccessful,” the release points out, personnel with SeaTow were “able to deploy a plasma tow line, slightly slowing the vessel.”
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The reduction in the boat’s speed allowed Officer Ron Dixon to safely maneuver alongside the vessel, providing Lt. Bruce King “the opportunity to board and bring the boat to a stop,” the release added.
The vessel’s operator later told Marine Unit officers that he was on his way to return the boat following the weekend’s Suncoast Boat Show at Marina Jack in downtown Sarasota “when a larger vessel cut in front of him,” the release continued. “As he attempted to navigate the wake, he was thrown from the boat,” the release noted.
“The operator, who sustained minor injuries, was not wearing a life jacket and was not utilizing the vessel’s emergency engine cut-off switch at the time of the incident,” the release explained.
“Fortunately, no damage was reported to any law enforcement vessels or to the operator’s 26-foot Everglades vessel,” the release added.
“The Sarasota Police Department reminds all boaters to always wear a life jacket and properly utilize the emergency engine cut-off switch to prevent accidents and injuries on the water,” the release emphasized.