It’s been nearly six months since Planning and Natural Resource Department enforcement officers swept through Coral Bay with guns brandished and what many boaters termed rude behavior. The Planning Department enlisted the help of the Justice Department to investigate, but despite repeated attempts by the Coral Bay boaters to find out the results of that investigation they haven’t gotten any answers.
“They definitely violated our civil rights. They should apologize for their outrageous behavior,” Coral Bay boater Will Hudson said.
Hudson said that he and other boaters feel the enforcement officers treated them like second-class citizens.
James McCall, director of the special investigations unit at the Justice Department, said the investigation is complete and has been turned over to Attorney General Vincent Frazer.
“I cannot speak for the attorney general,” he said.
Frazer did not return a phone call requesting comment. McCall referred questions to the acting chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Renee Gumbs-Carty, who also did not return a phone call asking for more information.
Planning spokesman Jamal Nielsen was on vacation and referred questions to DPNR Commissioner Alicia Barnes, but she was out of the office for the day.
Barnes announced the internal investigation July 27, 2012, after boaters said the officers cut mooring lines, put violation stickers on boats they believed weren’t registered, demanded pedestrians show identification and waved guns around in their sweep through Coral Bay.
One security camera video shot July 25 captured images of three officers conversing in the parking area near the Coral Bay dinghy dock. The video was posted on YouTube. While Roberto Tapia, who heads Enforcement, has claimed the rifle was on a strap over the officer’s shoulder, the video clearly shows that wasn’t the case.
Tapia said in the press release issued when the internal investigation was announced that his officers were involved in a week-long initiative in Coral Bay to rid the area of illegal moorings and to enforce the law on “many” unregistered vessels in that area.
