VicPD have issued a reminder that operating a boat while impaired is both illegal and unsafe, after one man was arrested for steering a boat while impaired near the inner harbour last week.
On Wednesday, May 29th, police were called to the Dockside Green neighbourhood dock after receiving reports of an intoxicated boat operator in the area.
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At approximately 11:00 a.m., a resident called 911 with concerns that a boat had become stranded on a sandbar. Police say it was stuck on shore for a “considerable amount of time” before the operator was able to pilot the vessel off the sandbar.
After watching him struggle for some time, the caller indicated that the boat operator may have been impaired.
Officers then met the operator on the Dockside Green dock as he returned to tie up his boat and say that they noted “immediate signs that the operator was impaired by drugs”.
Police then took the man into custody and called in an officer who is trained in drug recognition to confirm that he was allegedly impaired.
He was then transported to a holding cell where he was kept and then later released on a promise to appear in court.
The operator was also issued a prohibition on operating a boat for a 24 hour period.
“VicPD officers are reminding the public that operating a boat while impaired by drugs or alcohol is both unsafe and illegal,” said the department in a statement.
