Sec. 15-140o. Seizure of vessel.
Sec. 15-140o. Seizure of vessel. (a) Any peace officer authorized to enforce the
provisions of sections 15-129, 15-133, 15-133b, 15-133c, 15-140e to 15-140u, inclusive,
15-154 and 15-156 who arrests an operator for a violation of subsection (d) of section
15-133 or section 15-140k, 15-140l, 15-140m or 15-140n may take the vessel operated
in such violation into such peace officer's custody and shall cause the same to be taken
to and stored in a suitable place. There shall be no liability attached to such peace officer
for any damages to such vessel while in such peace officer's custody. All charges necessarily incurred by such peace officer in the performance of such duty shall be a lien
upon such vessel. The owner or keeper of any marina or other place where such vessel
is stored shall have a lien upon the same for the storage charges and if such vessel has
been stored for a period of not less than sixty days, such owner or keeper may sell the
same for storage charges owed thereon, provided a notice of intent to sell shall be sent
to the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, and the owner of such vessel, if known, five days before the sale of such vessel.
If the owner is unknown, such sale shall be advertised by such marina owner or keeper
in a newspaper published or having a circulation in the town where such marina or other
place is located three times, commencing at least five days before the sale. The proceeds
of such sale, after deducting the amount due such marina owner or keeper and all expenses of the peace officer who placed such vessel in storage, shall be paid to the owner
of such vessel or such owner's legal representatives, if claimed by such owner or owners
at any time within one year from the date of such sale. If such balance is not claimed
within said period, it shall escheat to the state.
(b) Any vessel that is operated by a person who is arrested for a violation of section
15-140n, in connection with such operation, or for a violation of section 15-140l, after
being involved in a boating accident, may be impounded for a minimum of forty-eight
hours after the arrest. Any vessel involved in a boating accident that results in death,
serious physical injury, a missing person or property damage in excess of two thousand
dollars may be seized for the collection of evidence and held until the investigation of
the boating accident or any related court proceedings are concluded. Any trailer utilized
by the operator to transport such vessel may also be impounded to facilitate transport
and handling of such vessel.
(P.A. 89-388, S. 15, 27; P.A. 91-408, S. 7; P.A. 03-244, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 91-408 amended Subsec. (a) to include a violation of "subsection (d) of section 15-133"; P.A. 03-244
amended Subsec. (a) to include references to peace officer and make technical changes and amended Subsec. (b) to provide
for the seizure of a vessel for a minimum of 48 hours, to include such seizure when the operator is arrested for operating
the vessel while intoxicated, to add provisions re seizure if the vessel is involved in an accident resulting in death, serious
physical injury, missing person or property damage in excess of $2,000 and re impounding of trailer and to make conforming
and technical changes.