Minnesota police announced that they will be adding extra enforcement on the lakes and rivers this weekend to catch intoxicated boaters.
The initiative is called Operation Dry Water, and it involves the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and law enforcement agencies all across the state. Agencies will be adding extra patrols on the water and near boat landings to ensure all boaters are celebrating the Fourth of July weekend appropriately.
“With the fourth of July, we’ll have four full-time boat and water deputies out on the lakes patrolling,” said Becker County Deputy Zachary Sanders. “Our main lakes are Detroit and Cormorant which we will be on and then we do have two other deputies who will be roaming throughout the county for any other situations that do occur.”
Statistics show that alcohol played a factors in seven of the 16 deadly boating accidents in Minnesota last year.
Boating While Intoxicated
Boating while intoxicated may not seem like as big of a deal as traditional drunk driving, but getting arrested for BWI will have serious consequences. If you are caught boating under the influence of alcohol, you can face the following penalties:
- Up to 90 days in jail.
- Fines up to $1,000.
- Boating license suspension for 90 (boating season) days.
That being said, just like a DUI, there are “aggravating factors” that can lead to increased penalties for your BWI. The aggravating factors for a BWI are:
- Operating a boat with a BAC of 0.16 or more.
- A prior BWI, DUI or test refusal within the last 10 years.
- Having a passenger under the age of 16 on the boat at the time of the BWI arrest.
The presence of any of these factors will raise the crime from a misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor, and in some cases it could even be a felony. If you are found guilty of a gross misdemeanor BWI, you’ll face fines up to $3,000, mandatory jail time, boat forfeiture, loss of driving and boating privileges, plate impoundment, chemical dependency assessments and long-term monitoring.
Needless to say, a poor choice can spiral out of control rather quickly, so make smart decisions this weekend, and on the off chance that you run into trouble, call Avery Appelman at (952) 224-2277. He can get you out of jail and begin planning your defense before the last firework is lit this weekend.
