Bainbridge blotter | Too drunk for the ferry
Published 10:30 am Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Selected reports from the Bainbridge Island Police Department blotter.
SATURDAY, FEB. 2
11:44 p.m. Island police were asked to assist at the downtown Winslow ferry terminal by the state police. The Washington State Patrol had no officers available, and none en-route, so dispatchers asked Bainbridge police to come assist WSF personnel. There was a 45-year-old Seattle man sitting in his car, they said, waiting to board the boat, which WSF personnel didn’t want him to do as he appeared intoxicated, was unable to follow directions and had fallen asleep at the wheel.
Upon arriving at the terminal, the island officer was told by WSF workers that they did not allow the man to board the vessel and he’d driven away. The officer noted the incident and case number, “for information purposes to document Washington State Patrol not responding to a location they are paid to patrol on a Saturday night, before midnight, on a Super Bowl weekend.”
The Bainbridge officer patrolled nearby roads and parking lots, and quickly located the man’s car outside Safeway. He was sitting inside, and told police there was a friend coming from Seattle to pick him up. He apologized for driving and was polite and cooperate in supplying his license, registration and proof of insurance.
The officer spoke by phone with the friend and told her he would take the man to the Clearwater Casino to be picked up, as he didn’t want to leave the man inside his car in case he changed his mind again and began driving. The man was given a courtesy ride to the casino and asked he not have any more alcohol. He agreed. The officer also informed a casino worker that the man should not have any more to drink. They said he would not be served.
