Hamptons Police Submarine Unit Arrests Kiteboard Daredevil
The Hamptons Police Department Submarine Unit (HPDSU) made its first arrest of 2016 well ahead of schedule this week after a gutsy kiteboarder attempted to jump over its deck during a pre-summer training and practice trip.
According to Hampton Police Department representative Larry Hirsch, the HPDSU recently began running short trips on the decommissioned Virginia Class submarine—which the department acquired as part of a military surplus program last year—in order to prepare it and the crew for another season patrolling local waters.
“This kiteboarder must have been watching us for some time, tracking our movements and schedule, because he knew exactly where and when to make his jump,” Hirsch said, explaining that the daredevil, Murdock Mattsen, wore a GoPro helmet cam and had friends filming from a nearby boat. “He clearly wanted to make himself some sort of YouTube video star, but that won’t be happening,” Hirsch added. “We’ve confiscated all the recordings, and they’ll never see the light of day.”
For the purposes of their press release, Hamptons PD did release one screengrab from the footage (above), which shows Mattsen about to make his jump as the submarine, Jaws VIII, passes–its tower and deck well above the ocean’s surface.
RELATED: Graffiti Gang Targets Hamptons Police Submarine
Hirsch refused to say whether Mattsen’s jump was successful, but he acknowledged that several HPDSU officers were topside and saw the whole event as it unfolded before them. “They were shocked, but our guys quickly sprung into action and managed to subdue the suspect with a long-range taser, so I’d say he was pretty shocked too,” Hirsch said, noting that officers fished Mattsen out of the water and isolated him in the sub’s brig while they completed the day’s training.
Following this arrest, Hirsch said the HPDSU still won’t begin active duty patrols before Memorial Day weekend. “While the military essentially gave us the submarine, she’s not cheap to run, so we’re not about to start altering our very specific schedule—I doubt the taxpayers would appreciate that,” he explained. “That said, Jaws VIII is running beautifully and we expect to have her keeping our waters safe from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend.”
Mattsen has since been arraigned and released on $500 bail. He is expected to do community service and pay a fine.