A fisherman who was cited by Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office deputies after refusing to turn over a panga boat he discovered off El Capitan Beach lost an appeal on April 24 to have his civil rights lawsuit reconsidered.
Eric Bjorklund sued Santa Barbara County Senior Deputy District Attorney Lee Carter, the Sheriff’s Office, and a handful of deputies in February 2016, alleging that the county had no right to take the boat from him. The lawsuit was later dismissed.
Bjorklund was reportedly fishing for sea urchins one morning in February 2015 when he discovered a 30-foot panga boat partially submerged in the water.
Sheriff’s Office deputies met with Bjorklund at the beach soon after he found the boat, the appellate filing states, and demanded he hand it over for evidence. Bjorklund refused, citing maritime salvage rights.
Panga boats are commonly used by Mexican drug cartels to smuggle bales of marijuana and other drugs into the U.S. The boats are occasionally found, with some occupied by smugglers, along Southern California shores and as far north as Santa Cruz in the past several years.
Unsure of what to do, the deputies were instructed by the District Attorney’s Office to arrest Bjorklund and take possession of the boat, the appellate filing states. Bjorklund was given a citation and released on the spot.
In his second amended complaint, Bjorklund argued that the county was liable for damages because the deputy district attorney was acting as a “policymaker” on behalf of the county when he instructed deputies to arrest him, the filing states.
The appellate court rejected Bjorklund’s claim, writing that the deputy district attorney was acting on behalf of the state when he instructed the deputies.
“In California, district attorneys represent the state, not the counties, when they investigate and prosecute crimes,” appellate judge Martin Tangeman wrote in the April 24 opinion. “That absolves the county of liability.”
The Sun was unable to reach Bjorklund for comment. The Sheriff’s Office didn’t respond to an inquiry before press time.
This article appears in Apr 27 – May 4, 2017.
