Posted on 12/02/2012 6:08:48 PM PST by artichokegrower
A U.S. Coast Guard crewman was killed and another was injured early Sunday when their boat was rammed as they attempted to apprehend suspected drug smugglers near Santa Cruz Island.
The incident occurred as a small boat launched from the Coast Guard Cutter Halibut, based in Marina del Rey, was approaching a panga-type vessel suspected of illicit activities, said Coast Guard spokesman Adam Eggers.
“When the Coast Guard small boat approached with its blue law enforcement light energized, the suspect vessel, identified to be a profile Mexican-style panga, maneuvered at a high rate of speed directly towards the Coast Guard small boat and struck it before fleeing the scene,” Eggers said.
(Excerpt) Read more at noozhawk.com ...
If they are caught it will be a Murder charge.
No way! If you light up the drug boat, you might kill a couple of rat voters for the next election. That is not allowed.
The smugglers just taught the Coast Guard a lesson. “Come after us, and we will try to kill you.” When that boat started to turn towards the small Coast Guard boat, the Coast Guard should have been good neighbors and taught the smugglers a lesson.
Lovely. RIP.
Just wait and see the next time they will deploy the new cod-drone robo fish.
Twin .50’s? Thats not enough nowadays, they need a couple of miniguns and a crowd dispersal weapon that will heat them up internally, a radarange on steroids, oh and yes THAT is real.
We live in sight of the ocean in San Diego and have witnessed four attempted landing by panga’s with illegals and drugs. Those were all captured, but they don’t keep coming and loosing boats because they aren’t successful. Many more make it. Our efforts at reducing seaborne smuggling of humans and drugs is minimal. Since we can see a large expanse of ocean..there is almost no CG or Customs present. All the cases of capture that we have witnessed have been because the panga got caught on the beach or reefs and were reported by surfers.
PLus..I think the USCG returns to boats to Mexico, because they are always reported as stolen. So the real owner gets them back.
No, no, no! Every single story like this should end the same way; namely, "Everyone on board the panga was killed while resisting arrest."
Sigh. Whatever happened to the days when the Coast Guard was more concerned with rescuing idiot boaters. Now their going up against thugs with nothing to lose, backed by billionaires.
The 'now' you are referring to has been a fact of life for the USCG for decades. It is not a really recent phenomenon. My late father was a chief warrant officer in the USCG, and decried what was happening to the service he proudly served in, due to the increased emphasis on drug interdiction, *before* he retired... in the late 1970's...
the infowarrior
Yep. When I got out of the Puddle Pirate biz in 1983 the CG was tasked with so many missions I couldn’t keep track of them all. Quite frankly I’m surprised this hasn’t happen more often. Narcos can easily outgun the CG.
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