KCSO defends boat non-response

Emergency dispatchers acted professionally, politely, and within county policy when handling three 911 phone calls made last week regarding stranded boaters on Lake Coeur d’Alene, said Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Stu Miller.

Samantha Krous, a 20-year-old Coeur d’Alene resident, told The Press Friday that 911 offered no assistance when she and eight others were stranded in a broken down boat late Thursday night. However, Miller told The Press Monday that dispatchers provided information on where to get help to the boaters, and that the sheriff’s office — whose three marine teams have jurisdiction over more than 43,000 acres of water in the county — does not offer towing services.

“It’s not a normal service that we provide in a non-perilous situation,” Miller said. “Obviously we understand that it could have been a bigger issue and, if they were in peril, we would have called and sent deputies to come and get them”/ Keith Cousins , Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.