State Patrol begins random searches at ferry docks

State troopers have launched an aggressive campaign to boost security on Washington State Ferries by randomly searching vehicles while their owners wait to board.

The searches are ostensibly voluntary, but motorists who refuse can be denied passage by the captain of the boat.

State Patrol and ferry service officials said the heightened security reflects an increase in funding for inspections, rather than a response to a specific threat.

"It comes down to providing protection for our citizens," Washington State Patrol Capt. Glenn Cramer said yesterday.

But officials of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington immediately expressed outrage at the searches.

"It's a big, big problem," said Jerry Sheehan, legislative director for the state ACLU. "This is an unconstitutional activity on the part of Washington state employees."

(Note: Sheehan's title was given incorrectly when this article was originally published.)

Sheehan said his group, which learned of the searches after being contacted by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, will discuss the issue with the state Attorney General's Office and the State Patrol.

"In the state of Washington, you have a right not to be searched by the government unless the government believes that you are intending to do wrong," he said. "We simply do not allow the government to conduct fishing expeditions."

Troopers concentrated efforts at the Southworth ferry landing, west of Vashon Island, earlier in the week, ferry system spokeswoman Susan Harris said.

Yesterday, clipboard-toting troopers were at the Winslow terminal on Bainbridge Island for the morning commute. They checked every 15th vehicle, asking drivers if they had any explosives or weapons in the car. Drivers were asked to produce identification and a vehicle registration, and then to open the trunk and all other storage areas. License numbers and other information was noted on a form.

The State Patrol is not saying when or where troopers will conducting the random searches.

"If a practice becomes predictable, it can be overcome," Cramer said.

Troopers patrolled ferries and inspected some vehicles after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but did not conduct random searches. The security measures were dropped some months later because of budget constraints.

Cramer said the new level of scrutiny was made possible by a $1.8 million budget increase approved by lawmakers earlier this year. The random inspections follow a recommendation of the Washington State Ferries Security Committee, Cramer said. The committee comprises representatives from the State Patrol, the Coast Guard and state ferry system employees.

In addition to making the preboarding inspections, troopers will be more visible riding aboard ferries, Cramer said.

"The consensus was that we needed an increased presence on the vessels and the terminals," he said.

While the inspections are voluntary, the troopers still have leverage over motorists. Motorists who decline are reported to the ferry captain, who has the authority to stop them from boarding.

Yesterday, ferry Capt. Tim Koivu did just that when a man in line for the 7:50 a.m. sailing of the Wenatchee declined to let troopers look through his car at the Winslow dock.

"I think if I was sitting next to a guy in a car that wouldn't let the police officer search it, I'd be concerned what he's hiding in there," Koivu said later. "Our main concerns are just the safety of the passengers, the vessel itself and all the crew members. We have close to 2,000 passengers on here."

Koivu said he once before declined to take on a passenger who refused to be searched -- it was just after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"We do a lot of things differently than we did prior to Sept. 11," he said.

Some of those measures, he acknowledged, can be inconvenient to passengers, "But everybody's understanding that it's for the good of all concerned," he said.

State Patrol officials said the Attorney General's Office has issued an opinion saying that the searches are legal, which Sheehan said he has not yet seen.

Sheehan said the ACLU hopes to reach people who have been searched, or who have refused to be searched, adding that the fact that a refusal could result in a missed ferry ride makes it hardly voluntary.

"You have the right not to be searched as long as you don't want to travel freely in the state of Washington any longer," he said. "That's not voluntary."

But Cramer said extraordinary times call for unusual measures.

"This is a special-needs time," he said, adding that the searches "will continue as long as we're in this state of heightened awareness."

Cramer said the ferry searches are part of an overall increase in vigilance rather than a response to a specific threat, such as the recent effort by FBI agents who contacted owners of scuba diving shops in the region. The agents asking about people who might have inquired about underwater pilot or demolition training.

In late May, FBI national headquarters issued a warning that "recent information has determined that various terrorist elements have sought to develop scuba diver capability. There is a body of information showing the desire to obtain such capability."

Seattle-based FBI spokesman Ray Lauer said agents have so far contacted about 50 diving shops around the state. He declined to say what exactly agents were asking, or whether they had found any valuable leads.

The owner of one Seattle-area store said two agents stopped by her shop last Friday, asking for a list of everyone who took classes there during the last three years.

The agents also "wanted to know if anyone had been in to make large purchases of gear who had no knowledge of the gear whatsoever," said Dawn Ulrich, manager of the Lighthouse Diving Center in North Seattle.

Ulrich said the agents were particularly curious about anyone who may have paid for such gear with cash.

Having to consider these types of things about her potential scuba customers or students felt odd, Ulrich said. Before Sept. 11, she said, "we never really gave it much thought."

P-I reporter Sam Skolnik contributed to this report. P-I reporter Hector Castro can be reached at 206-448-8126 or hectorcastro@seattlepi.com

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