Starting to believe Benson

[Lucky Luciano]

Have you never heard of a guy being arrested for "sleeping it off" while in his car with keys in the ignition?

Have you never heard of the owner of a car being charged when someone in the car has possession of something illegal, or is otherwise doing something illegal?

 

I don't claim to know the law on boating ordinances that well, but it seems like a fairly easy and logical step to compare DUI-related laws to BUI-related laws.

 

first of all in in all instances in boating situations, there are not "keys in the ignition" because not all HAVE keys to start the engine. some are the old fashion type that you actually PULL on the rope to start the engine and i seriously doubt deep water commercial OR private vessels over 100 ft. have "keys" to start the engines. most of small powered vessels between 16 and 40 ft. do have a key system which might be revelant so why bring this up you ask?

 

because the laws are, if not the same, quite similar in most states. they don't have laws for fishing boats with pull starters vs. recreational ski type boats that most likely do have a key based ignition system. so your "keys in the ignition" argument is legally in left field.

 

second... in moving vehicles on the road such as cars etc., most states have LAWS that prohibit open alcholol containers in the driving compartment while on public roads. (i would also like to state that limozines are also under a different set of laws as are private charterd vehicles driven by professional drivers.) this is NOT true in boating instances or every person on every boat that consumed any alchohol or had an open container of alcohol would be subject to arrest.

 

I think where you comparison fails is that Benson is the owner of the boat, and he was on the boat at the time. I believe my comparison to be much more realistic. In the car, in the boat...it's fairly similar.

 

if what you say was correct, then the designated driver who drives you home from a bar while you are drunk in YOUR car would make you subject to a DWI.

 

if this were the case the same would hold true to the owner of ANY vessel on public waterways. if someone owned a vessel and he hired a captain and crew to operate the boat, would HE then be subject to a sobriety test and DWI because he was the owner if he were drunk? if you as the owner of a vessel on public waterways decided you wanted to get hammered and let your sober friend operate your boat does that mean YOU are subject to DWI?

 

if you as an owner decided to have 3 or 4 drinks at anchor and catch some sun or read a book until the alcohol in your system dissipated over time to a legal limit, would you be subject to DWI while reading or sun bathing? if so you would have to abandon your anchored vessel if you had a drink and float in the water until you were sober. that would be beyond stupid.

 

As for whether a driver gets charged with possession or anything like that, my main purpose was to show that it's very likely to get in trouble in the driving world if someone is simply in their vehicle while drunk, and the keys are in the ignition. Or, similarly, if there are open containers in the car at a passenger's feet. IF the laws between DUI and BUI are similar, simply because the boat was anchored does preclude someone on that boat from the problems related to BUI.

 

if the boat is anchored out of a navagational channel and not in motion (including line free drifting) there is NO driving or operating while intoxicated and NO possible reason for being tested or charged with such whether sitting in the operators seat or NOT. ESPECIALLY if the motor is not running!!

 

if this were true, every owner of a moored boat on open water would be subject to this law. also, if as owner, you lived on your boat you would be subject to sobriety tests at any time of day or night at these god complex nazi's whims. sorry but that dog don't hunt.

[adam]

A witness emerged Thursday to support Benson's claim that he was mistreated at nearby Emerald Point Marina on Saturday night.

 

Toby Patch claims he saw police "manhandling" Benson after taking him off the boat. Patch was not one of the 15 people on the boat.

 

"As they were taking him up the dock, they stopped. He said, 'I am fine, I can continue walking,' and they put their legs behind his knees and knocked him over his knees and started hog-carrying him," Patch told WXAN-TV in Austin.

 

Near the parking area, Patch says the treatment of Benson worsened.

 

"They ended up—I don't know why—but laid him on his back, I heard him say, 'Please don't pepper-spray me, please don't pepper-spray me,' " Patch said. "It was uncalled for, it was ludicrous, no point for it."

 

Patch's version sounded similar to the account Cartwright, who was on the boat, gave the Tribune on Tuesday night. She called her father, Jeff, to urge him to call 911 because she feared her cell-phone battery would run out before she could describe the incident to a dispatcher.

Now this info closes some loopholes in the story. The girl called her dad because her cell was about to die.

 

Also, the other witness that was not on the boat gives even more credibility to Benson.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-09-...0,5396011.story