# Want to be a river cop



## Big Wave (6 mo ago)

Maybe this post needs a different title. How about who wants to pistol whip a scumbag kayaker. 
Well 500 people looked at it. I hope whoever gets the job is into protecting the resource and not into hassling people for petty bullshit like smoking weed or getting naked at Elves Chasm.


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

Where are you seeing this? Its not on the GCNP jobs page or USAJOBS. If it is a LEO job then one likely needs to go through the LEO Ranger program. DId they already fill the position?

For the most part... my experience has only been with the put-in rangers from a law enforcement standpoint and I got the general vibe that they were mostly just enforcing what they are asked to enforce and its usually legitimate grievances. Usually....

I went on a trip with the TL from the group that had half the LEOs in the park and some drug sniffing dogs descend on them after his scorned ex-girlfriend called in and said that she was reporting his group had a large amount of meth and cocaine that they were planning on selling to other river trips.... in January. They didn't find any Meth or Cocaine (as far as I know) but enough weed to cause him to get arrested. 

Supposedly he had made friends with Peggy after that incident, but not enough for her to not arrest him at the put in for another offence on my trip in 2020. On another occasion, on another trip he held the permit for, someone got caught flying a drone and they wrote him up as well since he was the TL. Fucked up thing was... he had a mandatory court appearance for it, but they couldn't tell him what the date was when they gave him the ticket and said they'd let him know which they did... via a call to his cell a few days into the trip... and the court date was before they were due to take off the river. Needless to say, he missed his court date and instead of dealing with it he just went home to Alaska and forgot about it. 

Move forward a few years and he gets on my trip and turns out the local law enforcement HAD NOT forgotten and the cruel bastards made him sit through the boater orientation talk before arresting him for "Failure to appear". His boat was all set up, his girlfriend was on the trip, and he had no idea how the whole court appearance thing was gonna work but luckily this time we had text message devices so we kept it touch. Took them like 4 or 5 days to release him. Someone else on the trip rowed his boat, GF did some boat swapping, and he ended up hiking down to Nankoweap and joining the trip there after they let him out.

So yeah... I like to think they are reasonable people... but forgiving and willing to compromise are not words I would use to describe LEO Rangers. I agree that I hope a reasonable human being gets that position. I'm sure there will still be drug and alcohol tickets given out though.


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## griz (Sep 19, 2005)

sooooo, bottom line, your friend is an idiot, mayhem?


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## Big Wave (6 mo ago)

griz said:


> sooooo, bottom line, your friend is an idiot, mayhem?


You would be amazed how many idiots get arrested at South Rim for warrants. Simple traffic stop and boom your off to Flagstaff and the Coconino County Jail.
I heard about your friends group and the drug sniffing dogs definitely an anomaly never saw anything like that all the times I was there.
The job announcement came across the Grand Canyon River Guides email that I get. They probably realize that the river running skills part of the job are the hardest to find and those are a priority. They can worry about teaching them how to pistol whip kayakers and 3 time drone flying, dope smoking,outstanding warrant losers later.


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## richp (Feb 27, 2005)

If you're going to carry a gun along with their badge, you are not going to get by with just a few weeks extra training.

I know fellow who went from a BLM non-sworn ranger job to an NPS sworn officer's position in Canyonlands. He had to go to a multi-month long training program somewhere in the southeast.

My bet is this job announcement is most likely to be productive by attracting somebody from another Park who's already a sworn officer and has some river background.


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## Pinchecharlie (Jul 27, 2017)

I’ll do it!


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

griz said:


> sooooo, bottom line, your friend is an idiot, mayhem?


haha....yeah... in many ways. Generally a smart guy.... but has a certain level of disdain for authority figures... at least from the several weeks I spent with him on that trip. I guess I'd say he's the kind of guy that militantly goes to the beat of his own drum.


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## Big Wave (6 mo ago)

richp said:


> If you're going to carry a gun along with their badge, you are not going to get by with just a few weeks extra training.
> 
> I know fellow who went from a BLM non-sworn ranger job to an NPS sworn officer's position in Canyonlands. He had to go to a multi-month long training program somewhere in the southeast.
> 
> My bet is this job announcement is most likely to be productive by attracting somebody from another Park who's already a sworn officer and has some river background.


You are correct that eventually the winning candidate has to go to Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco Georgia.
I’m hoping their intention is to hire someone from the Grand Canyon boating community rather than someone from another park with “some boating experience.”
It will be better for the NPS, the commercial guides and outfitters and the private boating community to hire someone from that community that has knowledge of how those groups interact, rather than an outsider. 
Protecting the resource down there is a job that requires cooperation from all 3 of these groups and the wrong attitude from an outsider who doesn’t understand that could set the Park back even further. 
As far as I know since the NPS River program was shut down because of the sexual harassment issues. They have had to hire outfitters to haul LEO’s down the river to do their patrols. It’s not a good look that the guy or gal coming into you camp to evaluate your compliance can’t even row or motor themselves down.
I think it’s a good sign that they are trying to resurrect a fully functioning river patrol. They choice of personnel for that mission will be critical to its long term success. 
I hope they are listening.


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## sarahkonamojo (May 20, 2004)

Electric-Mayhem said:


> haha....yeah... in many ways. Generally a smart guy.... but has a certain level of disdain for authority figures... at least from the several weeks I spent with him on that trip. I guess I'd say he's the kind of guy that militantly goes to the beat of his own drum.


Know him and been on a couple of trips with him, but mostly before incident number 1. Shaved part of his head at Ledges, maybe. 3 Grand trips,1 Snake, 1 Cat trip, 1 Westwater trip and 1 MF trip. Wow, more than I thought. And there might be some other trips. Some also know him as "The Naked Stranger." He is the subject of many a story. But.


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## Dangerfield (May 28, 2021)

sarahkonamojo said:


> Know him and been on a couple of trips with him, but mostly before incident number 1. *Shaved part of his head at Ledges, maybe*. ...............But.


I would say the partial head shave deserves an explanation. Please.


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## sarahkonamojo (May 20, 2004)

Dangerfield said:


> I would say the partial head shave deserves an explanation. Please.


He wasn't cutting his hair, Samson like, for a year plus. We just helped him clean up. Not really. He eventually shaved it all off.


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