Boating Under the Influence: Incident Analysis and Consequences

Officer Given suspects impairment in the captain after observing multiple signs during a boating safety inspection.

### Incident Analysis: Boating Under Influence Arrest on October 7, 2023
* 🚤 On October 7th, 2023, Officer Given of the FWC observed a **20-ft vessel with 12 occupants** near Duck Key, Monroe County, backing away from a larger boat while **multiple alcoholic beverage containers** floated in the water.
* 🍺 Upon approaching, the officer noted several intoxicated individuals and identified the operator, Adam, who had just been **bitten by a jellyfish** and was **anxious about getting to shore quickly**.
* 📋 The officer conducted a safety inspection, discovering the vessel **lacked required safety equipment**, including life jackets, and noted signs of **possible impairment in Adam**, prompting further investigation.
* ⚖ During the encounter, the captain struggled to **produce the vessel registration** and had difficulty **following instructions**, which raised **suspicions of impairment** and led to the administration of **standard field sobriety tests (SFSTs)**.
* 🍻 The officer reported a **strong odor of alcohol** from the vessel, with two coolers containing multiple empty alcoholic containers, some showing signs of **rapid consumption methods** like shotgunning.
* 🚨 Adam was ultimately arrested for operating the vessel while impaired, with breath tests showing a **blood alcohol concentration of 0.71 and 0.81**, well above the legal limit.
* 👮 He received several citations and was released to his mother, with the officer warning him that **similar actions in the future could lead to more severe consequences once he turns 18**.
* 📅 As of the video's release, Adam's case remains ongoing, with further details about the **outcome yet to be clarified**.

there's a lot of cans floating around here. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, sir? I just got bit by just tuing wake only. I'm wor about yeah. We got to get to fast. Is there anyone on the vessel that has not had a drink today? We are working on making contact. The one that dropped the Bell, please, on October 7th, 2023. Officer Given, a the FWC, was on water patrol near Duck Key in Monroe County when he observed a 20-ft vessel with 12 occupants backing away from a large white cabin boat. While approaching the vessel, Officer Given observed the multiple alcoholic beverage containers floating in the water downwind. The vessel, the officer will soon make contact with the vessel, noting several intoxicated occupants and the operator, later identified as Adam. Seeing that I get so many questions and misinformed comments, I'm going to break down some of the interactions of this video as well as audit the field sobriety tests performed on Adam in this video because so many of you guys don't

seem to understand them, and nor do I sometimes. If you hate these short breakdowns or my voice, I'll be including time codes on the screen so you can skip past these, but you're going to be missing out. Can you get the registration for me? Having a party out here, aren't we all really? How you doing, officer? Good. How are y'all? Mind wrapping this through the center console thing for me? I just got called stinging, but no, no, I did not, officer. Are they poisonous out here? I wouldn't really say poisonous. Never gotten stung before. It won't hurt you. Well, it hurts, but it's not going to kill you. Anything where y'all from? We're from here. Okay, you already know anything about these cans floating around? Would you? What don't? Would know anything about all these cans floating around? Excuse me, there's a lot of cans floating around here. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you? So, I just got bit by a jellyfish, man. Only the only thing I'm worried about this.

game is yeah we got to get to shore fast. We're just trying to go home back to two us just got St badly. Yeah, we got twice. I felt I see it's really bad saying man. It's allergic reaction yell really [ __ ] is like really. It's all my stom no registration on board. What's your name? You have your driver's license on you. This really hurts bad. I need right now should match my. What's your name officer given all right captain. We're going to run through a safety inspection. I need you grab all the safety equipment for me. All right we just got the boat rewired so everything got moved around. Okay okay so if this boat started sinking what are you going to do. You swim okay. Do you have flares. I'm not sure we everything. Do you have a horn or whistle on the vessel not okay. Do you mind open the cooler for me. This cooler yes sir. You mind open that cooler for me so no life jackets at all on board no.

Sir, but we live right there, though. Okay, we like in, where that, where, where are y'all staying at? We're in Duck Key. Duck Key, yes, sir. Okay, like we're not even two minutes down the canal. Okay, is there anyone on the vessel that has not had a drink today? So only two of you drank, right? Guys, come on and drink. I have mine too. Okay, um, you're giving some signs of possible impairment. Uh, I don't want to risk. I can't make you drive or ask you to drive until I know for sure that you're not impaired. So with that, uh, and you don't have any safety gear on the vessel. I would like, I'd like to get this vessel back to the dock where you're at and continue to stop there. That way we can run through this. At this point in the encounter, officer gives the suspicion of a BUI, boating under the influence, and has completed phase one of his investigation, which will allow him to lawfully administer SFSTs, standard field.

sobriety tests. Basically, the moment the officer made contact with the captain, the test had started. Law enforcement generally looks for five things: a moving boating violation, an equipment violation, expired registration, unusual operating actions, or evidence of drinking or drugs in the vessel. Now, let's audit this encounter. When the officer asked for the vessel registration, the captain provided the officer with his Florida boating safety ID card without being asked to do so. He also had trouble removing it from his wallet, and this mistake doesn't seem like a big deal, but it's often considered not following directions in the eye of the law. The captain also had trouble removing his ID from his wallet, and I actually wasn't too surprised to see that officer given had actually added a time code for when he was fumbling in his wallet. When the captain started looking for the vessel registration, he stumbled and caught himself in the rail of the center console, and throughout the encounter was often seen bracing himself or leaning on objects to keep himself steady and in

the end, he was unable to locate his registration. The officer then conducted a safety inspection, asking for all safety equipment on the boat, which I will add is a bit vague and unusual considering most bu investigations I've watched. Law enforcement will be specific with what they want to see. Here's an example of how they usually go: How y'all doing? Just want to check your life jackets. If everybody could hold one up for me. That being said, the captain will eventually ask what safety equipment the officer was looking for, and the officer says he's looking for life jackets specifically, 12 of them for everyone on board the vessel, which is fair because what are they going to do if the vessel sinks? But in the end, the captain was unable to locate any of the required equipment, and I want to note that one of them was literally on the center console, the Horn of the vessel. He didn't even try honking it. Since we're not actually there, we are unable to determine if the officer actually smelt alcohol, but in

his report. He stated, I could not differentiate where the odor of a strong unknown alcoholic beverage was coming from, as the odor was so profuse from the entirety of the vessel. The officer also asked to inspect the two coolers on the boat, and although we cannot see inside the coolers very well, the officer also made this statement: Two coolers on the vessel contained multiple empty alcoholic beverage containers, some of which had puncture holes, presumably from shotgunning, a method to rapidly consume a beverage. Some of the beverage brands on the vessel matched the cans I observed floating on the surface while approaching the vessel. That being said, I'd like to say I'm not exactly sure if the captain is required by law to show the officer what was inside the cooler, one reason being is I've yet to see an officer from the FWC for a non-fishing vessel in open coolers without the owner's consent first, except for this one time when I got on board and looked and checked the hatches if there's alcohol.

on board. We're going to take the next step. So why is there alcohol coming from the going once, going twice. Okay, all right. Step on my boat, stepping up, open that up. Huh, interesting. But you will note that after the officer opened the cooler, he quickly shuts it and then asks one of the other people on board to open it for him. Probably because the statute that gives law enforcement authority to inspect storage containers without consent or warrants seems to only apply to vessels used for fishing or storing fish or other resources from the ocean. Seeing that there were no fishing rods or any other evidence of fishing, I will assume that this statute didn't apply to this stop, and that's why he asked for consent first. Moving on, I believe that the captain of this vessel has shown obvious signs of impairment, and Officer Given is justified in continuing his BU investigation on shore or dock. I don't know. And by the way, if you like my video breakdowns of these encounters, let me know in the comments. Lately, I've been

keeping my videos shorter to appeal to the YouTube algorithm, but it's actually driving me nuts. I often edit out segments where I've broken down things I found interesting because I feared some of you wouldn't appreciate it. I fear that my channel would be perceived as one of those faceless body cam channels where they just crank out body cam footage and use AI-generated voiceovers, and you really never know who owns the channel, and I hate that. It's lazy, or they have horrible voices. I don't know. Also, I'm going to start using my avatar, this stupid thing. I know it bothers some of you Boomers watching, but I've been successfully using it for years now on my other channel, and everyone loves it. So let me know how much you hate it in the comments. I have my B. I just don't have it on me. You can look it up. That's fine. Yeah, uh, yeah. I'll agree to that. I'll let you drive back to Doc. I'll follow you, uh, just a slow, slow put-in.

and then uh I'll continue this at the dock. Okay, know Officer Willie Guerrera? Yes, sir. If you ask him, he knows me. Okay, and like I'm working on my captain's license right now. Okay, I know. Called well, yeah. So, I'd rather continue this at the dock so we can kind of let them uh not be in the middle of all this. All right, you mind driving back? Yes, I'll hold everything. I want to follow you back to the do. Okay, I got really stung by a jellyfish through here. Is what do I do for that? I have like s EA as. Okay, usually it's just time. Time takes it away. Uh, you can get some kind of ointments from the like Pharmacy that can help. Yeah, they can help minimize this thing, but uh, there something I can do right now. Not right now though. Not that I know of. Thank you, officer. No problem. So, in a nutshell, the officer asks for the address they were staying at and then allows one of the passengers to drive back to its dock while in route officer.

given radios for backup and gives dispatch the address you will need assistance at. I'm going to point out what I'm going to point out one more thing because I'm hell of annoying. It looks to me like the captain took over operation of the vessel again, which probably is not going to go super well for him considering he was given instructions not to do that. Hey, I need everybody over here now. How's it going, guys? Hi, hi, up. What's going on? What's up? How's it going? You usually just put pull in straight like that? No, nor turn the boat, but since he's here, I want to him all right. The arriving officer just asked the captain of The Vessel if he normally docks his boat like that 'cause he kind of just pulled it in and everybody else just Parks inside. In many other videos I've made, officers use poor docking skills as probable cause to conduct sfst. So good, you guys need ID? No, not from you. Now that everyone's off the vessel, you try to find all the safety equipment and

[Music] The do this does this guy have anything to do with what you're doing. No scram. It's myat. Don't care. Well do you want registration. Yeah yeah you can get the registration but might be in should be on the boat. I don't think it's on the boat. No how old are you. I'm 17. Okay you wreak of alcohol right now so you know I've just right want light jacket. Yeah all me on here right well not earlier. Uh is that it just no flares no fire exer no whistle no registration on board. All right now that everyone's off and the boat doesn't completely wreak like alcohol I would like to conduct a few tasks to see if you're intoxicated. Okay yes sir. All right you can take a seat just get comfortable. You got anything to do with anybody else on the boat um no they everybody else is good. Yeah that's good. You got any information on them or anything like that you want their information. Uh just the driver would be

good to have her information. The one that brought it in, the lady that drove the boat in. Hey guys, hi. Who drove the boat back? I drove back. You drove it back. Do you have your ID on you? I don't. I'm from Key West, but he needed a Sil driver. Okay, I got you. You don't have a picture of your driver's license? I don't. Okay, that's fine. Oh, I have it in the car. I can go grab it. Yeah, if you want to go grab that, that'd be good, right? Just let me know when she gets back. Now, do you have any physical defects or disabilities? I have dyslexia, ADHD, and slight autism. Okay, now one thing I'd like to explain in this video, as opposed to my other videos, is the seated SFST. It's very different than the standing SFSTs you'll see in DUI investigations that are largely dependent on a person's ability to balance, and often being at sea can disrupt a person's equilibrium and

balance in layman's terms. They have C legs, and if an officer conducted standing SFST, it would make an easy defense in court. I'd also like to say that C legs wear off a minimum of 15 minutes once on land, but I've yet to see an officer wait the 15 minutes to administer the test standing. Instead, they go right for the seated SFSTs to avoid testing balance and evaluate cognitive function. And if you were paying attention, the operator just stated that he has dyslexia, ADHD, and autism. And I'm no doctor, but I believe that this guy is going to have some trouble considering I've watched this test performed a hundred times, and I still can't grasp it. Do you have any defects with your eyes? Yes. Okay, I know you said you wore glasses. Do you know what that's for? Um, nearsightedness? Yes, sir. Okay, are you sick or injured? No, sir. Okay, are you under the care of a doctor or dentist? No, sir. Are you taking any

medication or drugs. No sir, I'm going to check your eyes. Hold your head still and follow the stimulus with your eyes only. Do you understand? Yes sir. As the officer stated, he's now testing for horizontal gaze nystagmus, which is involuntary jerking of the eyes occurring as the eyes gaze toward the side. When you're intoxicated, it looks like this. Unfortunately, it seems like a difficult thing for officers to actually capture on body cam, so I give you that example. But here are the four clues that Officer G observed while conducting the test. So the next one we're going to do is finger to nose. So make a fist with both hands, extend your fingers, and turn your palms forward like so. Yeah, turn your palms forward. Thank you. Remain in this position while explaining the test. Do you understand? Yes sir. When I say begin, tilt your head back to about a 45° angle and close your eyes. So 45 and just close your eyes. Okay. When I tell you to touch the tip of your nose with the tip of your finger.

index finger and immediately return it to your side, so the tip of your finger, which one, left or right, I'll tell you which side to go with, okay? So the tip of your finger, this is the tip. If you look at my finger, so this is the tip, not the pad or the side, okay? So the tip to the tip of your nose, very tip, where the fingernail ends, yes sir. So the tip, so when I tell you again, you'll tilt your head back or just watch me and you'll tip a nose, tip a finger, okay sir? When I say right, you must touch your right index finger to your nose. When I say left, you must touch your left index finger to your nose. Do you understand? Yes sir. Begin left, right, left, right, right, left. So the next one we're going to do is called Palm hat. So you place your hands Palm to Palm, with one hand up and one hand down, alright, like this, like that, that's toward each other, okay? Palm, palm to palm, hands like this, straight forward.

okay, remain in this position while I explain the task. Do you understand? Yes, sir. I tell you to begin. Turn the top hand over and count out loud one, then turn the hand back over and count out loud two, counting only when the hands make contact like this: one, two, one. Yes, sir. Okay, repeat this. Speed up as you go and do not stop until told. Make sure to keep your hands and fingers parallel during each pat like this. Okay, do you understand? Yes, sir. Okay, begin. Okay, you may quit. Make a fist with both hands. Place your left fist at the center of your chest and your right fist against your left fist like this. So, yes, sir. Remain in this position while I explain the task. Do you understand? Yes, sir. Okay, when I say begin, you must perform four tasks. The first task is to count out loud from one to four while you move your fist in a step-like fashion. Make contact between your fist at each step. Okay, one, two, three, four. Not against my chest, no, it's out and a step-like fashion. Okay, so one, two, three, four. Understand?

okay. The second task is to memorize the position of your fist. After you have counted to four, clap your hands three times, and return your fist to the memorized position. One, two, three, four. The third task is to move your fist in a step-like fashion in reverse order, counting out loud from five to eight, and returning your left fist to your chest. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. The fourth task is to open your hands with palms down and place them in your lap. So sorry, palms down, your palms down, palms down in your lap. Yes, sir. Do you understand? Yes, sir. Okay, you may begin. Thank you, sir. So at this time, I do believe your normal faculties are impaired. Okay, so she'll stand up and just turn around for me. Are you arresting me? Yes, sir. Okay, you driving a boat with your normal faculties impaired? I was driving in the open water. I'm 17, man. Please. Yeah, so your alcohol is actually less. All right, turn around, put trans behind your

back. What's going on here? You're operating a vessel with normal faculties impaired, sir. What about everybody else? You didn't test anybody else driving that boat. Please, man, it's just a BUI, okay? You'll have to go through it and deal with it, right? I'm underage, man. Come on, I understand. Hey, the court says how you deal with it, okay? You made that decision when you drove a... What happened to that boat? What happened with him? I stopped you because you were pulling away from that boat, okay? And I saw all the people on board without a single life jacket on the boat. Now, there's no doubt in my mind that this kid's over the legal limit, and he definitely should not have been operating the boat at the time. But he does have a few points that I would like to point out. According to the Florida statute 562.111, underage drinking in the State of Florida is legal, much like it is in the whole United States. And I've actually made about five videos.

featuring people under the age of 21 getting citations for it. Yet, the officers here seem to turn a blind eye. The other point that he made that was equally as good before officer given stopped this vessel. Another vessel could be seen pulling away from it. We later see that same vessel docked at the home with the owner standing by waiting. In fact, one of the FWC officers actually called him out for smelling like alcohol. I don't think it's no. How old are you? I'm 17. Okay, you wreak of alcohol right now. So, you know, I've just right. The officers might have let this go for a few reasons, but I'd be willing to bet that the officer couldn't see who was in operation of the vessel because he was operating the boat at the time. Generally, FWC officers patrol the waters in groups of two or three, enabling one of the officers to scout out potential vessels with binoculars, helping them establish who's in control of the vessel from a distance, just in case the

operator wants to switch seats, and by the way, I've made two videos about FWC officers arresting people for Bui that weren't even operating the boat. They were just standing at the controls with the engine off, watching an air show, but when the officer looked at them through the binoculars, they were standing at the controls, and they got the Bui charge. All right, how much have you had to drink today? I'm not driving. Yeah, I know. How much have you had to drink? What, that three or four? Okay, um, you mind me checking your eyes real quick? Look at everybody else over there, man. Why you, why, why, dude? It's my job. Can you talk to your supervisor, please, man? Can you let me off with a warning at Le or something? There's so many other people here, man. You were the one operating The Vessel. I wasn't, though. Did you test the girl that was driving the way back? Not yet. Can you test her? Good. When I talked to her, she seemed okay. Every single person

here please man we're all kids. I understand that, and you should know better and re-operating your V. I'm not, I don't know better, dude. Okay, well, you'll learn. How long you've been on the job for? Been on the job for a little under a year. A little under a year. I'm 17, dude. Please understand that. Are your parents here or parents are dead? Guardians with my mom. My dad's passed away though. Okay, so your mom, yeah. You live around here? I can't. You just let me up with a break. M, it's a little late now. Follow us all the way back. I backed up. I lit. Where's your M? Where's your mom at? Is she here? No, we s for a over the weekend. Okay, do you know her phone number? You have it in your phone? Yes. Where is your phone? My pocket, I believe. All right, do you mind if he gets that out of there? I do. You don't want us to call her? Why? Why? Because you're under 18. He's

already explained all that to you. We're not explaining it to you again, okay? Currently, Adam is being transported by Officer Edge to the Key West jail because there is no Juvenile Detention Center in Key West. There actually is no juvenile Department in Marathon, so we have to go down to Key West. I'm not a bad person, nobody. Hey, listen, man, nobody's saying you're a bad in my house at least. No, can you talk to, can I talk to your supervisor? That was my supervisor while being transported. Adam stated that he had to urinate, and Officer Given explained that he could use the bathroom when he arrives at the jail. Adam then explained that he would urinate all over the seats of the patrol truck if he didn't let him go to the bathroom. So, they found him a portable toilet in a construction zone. Hey, hey, this way, how about stay with us? You put your hands down, all right? You're good, put your hands down. While back on route to the Key West jail, Adam again breathing heavy and sobbing.

uncontrollably and appeared to be in respiratory distress. So the officers parked and radioed for EMS. Yo, what is going on, man? What do you got going on? Let me take the seat belt off. Face that way. You got to talk to me. What's going on? Are you just upset because you don't want to go to jail? Are you okay? What is wrong? Want to go to jail? You just don't want to go to jail. Please just take me to my mom. Can I call my mom? We tried to do that earlier. Can you get my mom? Can I go to my mom's? Did we try to do that earlier? Can I go to my mom's? I'm going to shut the door and leave you in here if you're not going to answer my questions now. Did we or did we not ask you for your mother's name and phone number, and you said what? No, am I correct? Let me explain. Hey, can I go to my mom, please? I don't want to go to Qs for.

2 days please. We tried to get this information from. I call you. Can you call my mom please? Well, we've already asked you that earlier. You know when we're going to call them. We are contacting them. I'm sorry, please just don't take me a q. We've already contacted them. Why can't I just go home? Because no one, because no one's there. We are working on making contact. The one that dropped the bell, please. I'm going to put this seat belt on. If you mess up my truck, you're going to get an additional charge for criminal. My, please call my mom, please. We have already started that. I've already explained it. Pick me up here, please. She's not picking you up here. Why? Because she, I haven't seen. I don't need a record. Please, please move your elbow in, please. Please, man, please. No, absolutely not. Bit later, EMS arrives on scene and determines that Adam's vital signs were normal and Adam refuses transport to the hospital. We got a hold of your mom. What'd she say? Going to

start crying again. I'm not going to tell you. We're going to take you back to Marathon to their station right there, and we're going to ask you to give us a sample of your breath. If you calm down and you're cooperative and you do what you're supposed to do, we're going to let you go with your mom. Adam was given a breath test. His first sample concluded that his breath alcohol concentration was 0.71, and his second sample was 0.81. Adam was given several citations and then released to the custody of his mother. Just going to warn you, you know, if this would happen two months down the road when you're 18, it doesn't work out this way. Adam was charged with operating a vessel while normal faculties impaired and received several citations. At the time of making this video, it appears that Adam's case is still ongoing, but in the notes, it says transferred to CJ, which I'll be honest with you guys, I haven't a clue what that means. So if you know, I'd love for you to tell me in the

comments, and if you guys like today's video, be sure to like and subscribe if you haven't already. And be sure to check out some of my other videos on my channel because I feel like they're equally as good, and you might be missing out.

When Police Breakup Your Boat Party, And Make You Cry For Mommy

Donny Rapture

Officer Given from the FWC observed a 20-ft vessel with 12 occupants and multiple alcoholic beverage containers floating in the water near Duck Key.

The operator, Adam, and several occupants showed signs of intoxication.

Officer Given conducted a safety inspection and expressed concern about possible impairment, leading to the suspicion of boating under the influence (BUI).

The officer's contact with the captain marked the start of the sobriety test, focusing on five key violations.

The captain's struggles with providing identification and locating vessel registration raised red flags for the officer.

The presence of empty alcoholic beverage containers in the coolers and the captain's apparent signs of impairment justified the officer's decision to continue the investigation.

Struggling with YouTube's Algorithm and Channel Identity

The creator is shortening videos to fit the YouTube algorithm, but it's causing frustration by cutting out interesting segments.

They express a dislike for faceless channels using AI-generated voiceovers and plan to start using their avatar, which has been successful on another channel.

The video also features a police interaction regarding a boat docking and a passenger's alcohol use, leading to a request for ID and a sobriety check.

Seated SFST and Its Importance in DUI Investigations

The lady who drove the boat in also drove it back, but she didn't have her ID on her.

The operator mentioned having dyslexia, ADHD, and slight autism, which could affect his performance in the SFST.

The seated SFST is used to evaluate cognitive function rather than balance, as being at sea can disrupt a person's equilibrium.

The test involves touching the tip of the index finger to the tip of the nose, with instructions to alternate between left and right.

The second task, called Palm Hat, requires placing hands palm to palm and counting out loud while turning the top hand over.

The final task involves making a fist, counting from one to four, clapping hands, and then moving the fists in reverse order while memorizing the position.

A 17-year-old was stopped for operating a boat without life jackets on board and showing signs of being over the legal drinking limit.

The officer's enforcement of underage drinking laws seemed inconsistent, as another vessel's owner, also smelling of alcohol, was not cited.

The officer's patrol strategy and use of binoculars raised questions about their ability to identify the boat's operator, leading to potential BUI charges for individuals who were not driving the boat.

Adam, a 17-year-old, is being transported to the Key West jail by Officer Edge due to the absence of a Juvenile Detention Center.

He expresses distress and desperation to contact his mother, who is not present, and becomes increasingly upset during the ride.

The officers take a break to address Adam's respiratory distress and call for EMS, while he pleads to be taken to his mother instead of going to jail.

Adam was involved in an incident where he refused transport to the hospital and was uncooperative with authorities.

He was given a breath test, revealing a blood alcohol concentration of 0.

Adam was charged with operating a vessel while impaired and released to his mother's custody, with his case still ongoing.