State Police Poaching Lobsters

[eastcoastdiver]

Yesterday, my buddy and I were doing a surface interval between our dives when three guys, dressed in full dive gear (the Viking suits, matching tanks and communications head gear) came down to enter the water. I asked what dive team they were from and initially they were reluctant to tell me. Then one of the them said they were with the MA State Police Dive Team. We made some small talk telling them about the dogfish we had seen, etc.

These divers entered the water with no flag and no numbers on their tanks. They came out about 20 minutes later with lobsters in all three bags! One of them had at least 24 bugs and the others had maybe 5 or six. We also didn't observe and lobster gauges anywhere.

THere is no way that these guys could get that many legal lobsters in 20 minutes... But hey, who's going to stop them! They didn't even stop on the rocks to take off their gear - right up to the police vehicles in the parking lot to put them in the cooler!

Who is going to stop an unmarked state police van and ask to see their lobsters? Not only did these guys have a police van, they also had two black explorers.

Just another example of our tax dollars at work. Where are the Environmental cops when you want them... not that they would have done anything to their brother officers.

Kinda makes you sick to your stomach when you see this stuff! Wondering if anyone else has witnessed similar incidences?

- A law-abbiding Diver-

I didnt know that if you dont use a flag, dont have numbers on your tanks you are a poacher. Id like to know how you can tell how many bugs where in there bags. I have a pretty big bag and i cant fit 24 bugs in it. When i shore dive i dont take off my gear untill i get to my truck and if i have bugs i always put them in a cooler right away. I keep my gauge in a pocket.
I must be a poacher too. No one should be above the law but when i read your post it seems like you where just pissed because they did so well. I dont think you had enough evidence to convict they.

 

[jkennedy]

I wouldn't judge ALL cops by these fools. Carry a camera. we could have had fun with those photos..........

 

[Cards90]

I do not think there is anything bad about a few cops going bug hunting with or without proper permits. They may deserve the break after dealing with all the red tape they incounter daily. No I am not a cop or a cop lover, tickets stink, and I disagree with alot of the laws that they enforce.

They took a chance just like many others do daily, I say let them be, it's all good in the end. :42:

 

[augk]

Or maybe they just don’t have a boat to empty their own pots?

 

[Scuba65]

Ok..that's just despicable! Today my hubby went diving in an area in MA, he was getting out of the water with his catch bag...2 lobsters...and he makes sure they are always of legal size, well a State Police came up to him asking him if they were of legal size and blah,blah....so, hubby told him if he wanted he could measure them himself and he said no, and left. by, law you're supposed to display your license # on your tanks or on the flag, but again like everybody say's..they are cops and they have the right to do anything they please....they are god!

 

[BigJetDriver]

years ago I had some police officers and forest preserve cops try real hard for a long time to stop me from hunting a friends farm legally that was next to the forest preserve.

You would never in a million years beoieve the abuse and threats that I and my friends took. Eventually one day I found out why. The forest preserve cop who was also a local town cop and his buddies from other local and county departments were hunting in the forest preserve and the only place they could be seen from was from the farm that I was hunting.

I had guns pointed at me, my guns conficsated, charges filed against me, was threatened with police dogs...and all to cover up their own crimes. I got my property back of course but it wasn't easy. Many months later when the court ordered my guns given back no one seemed to know where they went off to. It took several more months and threats of further legal action to get any one to remember.

I think for a while they had become part of some cops personal collection.

The owner of the farm even had to resort to calling in the state police to get these guys to stop driving their trucks accross his hey field while comming out to harrass me.

When a cop becomes a crook they can be very very dangerous.

But then the only time I was ever mugged for my money was by a Chicago police officer when I was about 17.

Mike,

I am truly sorry you have had such bad experiences with some of your local guys. As you know, I am an officer in my "other" job.

We hate guys like that. They give the profession, and those of us who care, a smearing that is hard to overcome in the mind of the public.

BJD

 

[RBachman]

Okay, where's the moderator? Can we move this thread to the "Bash the Cops" forum?

How about if you just file a complaint with the proper authorities? Then again, I guess that wouldn't be as much fun. How about if we fire 'em all and you can recruit all their replacements right here in this forum? Aah.... who needs 'em anyway?....

Agreed, they do need to be fired and perhaps there should be a forum to bash bad cops (sarcasim intended.) We certianly don't need them in uniform. They and even those that defend them give the rest of the professional, credible and law abiding officers a bad name. As for complaining to the proper authorities, who would you call? One of these three?

I like the idea of videotaping them and just giving it to the news or an environmental group.

 

[Dryglove]

Geez, a cop hating forum??? Remember there are bad apples in every profession and two sides to every story. I am sure there is some sort of way to file a complaint or request to speak to a supervisor. You could also notify your state fish and game dept as i am sure they would not take to kindly to their actions. They have values to uphold and if they were indeed poaching they are no better than the scumbags they arrest for this type of action. For that matter we have bad apples in our diving community, does that mean that all divers are unworthy because of a few weenies

 

[MikeFerrara]

Mike,

I am truly sorry you have had such bad experiences with some of your local guys. As you know, I am an officer in my "other" job.

We hate guys like that. They give the profession, and those of us who care, a smearing that is hard to overcome in the mind of the public.

BJD

I've known a lot of cops. I've had some good experiences too so I'm not nocking all of em just a few bad ones I've run into.

 

[matt_unique]

I've known a lot of cops. I've had some good experiences too so I'm not nocking all of em just a few bad ones I've run into.

I agree with this too. For me, it is extremely rare to run into a good cop compared to the rest.

My last cop experience....I was on my way home from work and stopped at a stop sign. The person behind me did not stop and ran into me. The collision pushed me into a main road and the idiot just sat there. I had to tell him to back up so I could get out of the main road. Neither of us called the cops but within 3 minutes (kid you not) a cop arrives. This is already suspicious as far as I'm concerned. He comes over to me to ask what happened. I have a black eye from the impact, etc., etc. I said "well I think it's obvious....I stopped and this person did not". Cop says "well that's not what I heard. A witness called in and said you backed into him." I said "oh really....looking at this debris...and the fact that we are at a stop sign....does that really make sense to you? What did the other driver say?" Cop says "he said the same thing".

15 minutes of yelling later, while I am taking photographs of everything with my camera phone, cop comes back and says "I just spoke to the driver and he said he ran into you, you're off the hook".

This cop never even asked the other driver and I knew it because I was right there. I think this is typical of cop behavior. They don't seem to want to do anything they are required to do and find the path of least resistance. In addition to having attitudes that they are better than everyone else. You can spot a cop in 5 minutes if you walk into any bar for example.

I don't even want to get started with more cop stories....

--Matt