Stepped-up searches at ferry docks rankle civil libertarians

Washington State Patrol troopers using bomb-sniffing dogs will begin a series of stepped-up checks of vehicles for explosives Saturday to satisfy federal authorities.

But civil libertarians will be on hand, too, handing out leaflets condemning the increased security as a violation of rights and calling for a different approach.

The increased searching "has nothing to do with national security and all with creating a climate of fear," said Anthony Vicari, a Whidbey Island resident who plans to circulate protest leaflets at the Mukilteo dock. "I don't want to see this country turn into ... that kind of a country."

The patrol, contacted yesterday about the approaching step-up in car checks, said motorists should begin arriving at docks at least 15 to 20 minutes before each sailing to allow enough time to board the boat if their vehicles are checked.

Late arrivals "can endanger our troopers and the K9 units walking between the vehicles" if they speed across the dock to get in line, patrol Lt. Blaine Gunkel said.

The dogs will be managed by teams of two troopers, one to handle the dock and another serving as a "spotter" who will watch for oncoming vehicles, answer travelers' questions and provide a security backup to the handler.

Gunkel would not say how many of the teams will be working which docks but said "they could be anywhere at any time."

The increased checking responds to a Coast Guard order requiring more screening for explosives or other terrorists paraphernalia on passenger ferries nationwide. The order was issued as part of a more stringent federal marine safety act, enacted by Congress after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Also as part of the act, security screenings can be increased as national terrorist-threat levels are raised. One state official has said that there could be random screenings of perhaps every fourth or fifth vehicle using the teams of officers and their dogs, but Gunkel wouldn't be specific.

The Washington office of the American Civil Liberties Union plans to post a critique form on its Web site asking riders to describe the circumstances under which searches are conducted, whether they're conducted "evenhandedly" and whether they amount to "profiling," ACLU spokesman Doug Honig said. The form also will suggest that riders protest the searches.

Vicari said he'll be at the Mukilteo dock handing out fliers listing the name, address and complaint line of the ACLU, which has opposed the car checks as "warrantless searchers" banned by the state and federal constitutions. The leaflets also will discuss the current laws and question whether the screenings and searches will be effective.

On Whidbey Island, where he lives, "the town rolls up at 8 o'clock at night ... they need to focus on the Port of Seattle, where all the containers are. This (the screenings) is absolute nonsense," Vicari said.

He said he's also concerned about what standards will be used for searches.

"Will they single people out? Arab Americans? What are the criteria?"

Andrew Schwarz, an attorney who commutes to his Seattle office from Vashon Island, said he'll also circulate fliers suggesting how riders might respond when asked to let troopers search their cars.

Schwarz said the patrol teams may get "false positive" readings from vehicles that have carried legal fireworks in the past, even if they're not carrying explosives on a ferry trip. That may trigger a search, but "that's not legal. That's segregating people based on legal activity and saying they have to open themselves up to more searches and more detention."

Gunkel said for security reasons, he could not discuss what standards state troopers will use to conduct searches. For the same reasons, he said he could not say whether the troopers will routinely search walk-on ferry passengers. He said drivers who refuse to allow searches won't be allowed to board the ferries.

Assistant State Attorney General Steve Reinmuth said the searches are legal because the state has been given a federal order to increase ferry security. He said Congress gave the Coast Guard authority to pre-empt state law in security matters.

This report includes information from The Associated Press.

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