Patrolman Ken Hilland is a one-man operation for the Treasure Island Police Department’s marine patrol.
TREASURE ISLAND – While the rest of us are enjoying the Memorial Day weekend, Treasure Island Police patrolman Ken Hilland will be busy in his 24-foot Boston Whaler watching for boating violations.
Hilland, 50, has been spending his Memorial Day weekend the same way for 16 years targeting potential boating under the influence violators but rarely nails boaters unless their actions warrant it.
“I’ve had none this year,” said Hilland. “Last year I think I had three for the whole season. I’m here to educate you and enforce the law if necessary.”
He explained that he has the authority to stop any boat just to inspect equipment and that’s generally where most boaters receive citations.
Those requirements include having one life jacket per occupant on board, a fire extinguisher, a horn or whistle, a throw cushion with two handles or a life ring, boat registration and safety flares that are in date if boaters travel out into the Gulf of Mexico.
Moving violations, such as an inadequate number of life jackets on board, are $68 and non-moving violations, such as no horn or no registration, are $62. He also can force boaters to terminate their voyage if he determines the craft is unsafe.
“Boaters don’t know all the rules and I don’t expect them to,” Hilland said. “I want to save their families. Things can happen in a milli-second and then it’s too late.”
For example, most people aren’t aware that it’s illegal to waterski or pull someone on an inner tube in a marked channel, Hilland said. The reason? Boat traffic. Sometimes the channels are so crowded, a person in the water could get run over by a nearby boat that either can’t stop in time or doesn’t see a person in the water.
“Also, jet skiers like to jump over other boats’ wakes and that’s illegal,” said Hilland.
When those times occur, Hilland is prepared to offer emergency assistance as a first responder. His boat is equipped with a defibrillator, a back board, neck brace and a first-aid kit. In the event of a boating accident, he can provide assistance but in the event of a boating fatality a marine homicide investigator must be called in from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Hilland, who has worked for the Treasure Island Police Department since 1985 and survived a heart attack while on duty, has seen his share of eye-opening things on the water.
Among the highlights was a woman in the Gulf who lost her bathing suit top while swimming, the rescue of two adults attempting to swim against the current into John’s Pass, rescuing a guy’s wife who slipped off the back of a Jet Ski without her husband knowing it and, sadly enough, fishing two youngsters out of the Gulf after they drowned.
Although the economy has slowed down boat use in the last year or so, Hilland said the Memorial Day weekend is always busy in Pinellas waters and warns boaters to be careful.
“It’s always a busy weekend and we don’t want to ruin anybody’s weekend,” he said. “But we want you to operate safely and know the rules of the water. Nobody wants a ticket, but I have a job to do.”
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