Owen Lei / KING 5 News - August 15, 2009
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EVERETT, Wash. - Rucker Hill gives you one of the oldest and most scenic views of the Everett waterfront, but it's not a personal driving range, said officials from the Port of Everett.
The port has filed a police report against whoever is hitting golf balls -- 30 to 50 of them over the past few months, almost 20 in the past two days alone - down towards shipping containers below.
So far, no one has been injured, said post communications administrator Lisa Lefeber, but a golf ball did damage one longshoreman's truck.
Neighbors we spoke with say they don't know who the mystery golfer is, but what he or she is doing is not a smart idea.
"We have disagreements with the port," said homeowner David Mascarenas. "But we would never do that, to injure anybody, particularly any of our longshoremen."
"A golf ball flying that far and hitting somebody down at the port would certainly be a deadly affair," said neighbor Win Miller. "And something needs to be done."
The problem is, these homeowners don't like what's being done either.
Port security is invoking a privilege granted originally for anti-terrorist reasons after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, said Lefeber. When faced with a potential threat, they can point the port's normally-fixed surveillance cameras to look for the source of the threat. In this case, that means up towards the homes.
"They don't have the right to spy on us, they don't have the right to do any of that without telling us," said Mascarenas, who added that the port has since informed them of their intentions. " Giving up my rights for a bunch of containers? It's not right."
Port officials say they're only moving the cameras after a golf ball incident happens, and after 24 hours, they're repositioning the cameras to point back towards the terminal. They add that they understand the residents' concerns, and that they have no plans to do anything with archived footage that is irrelevant to the case.
Everett police say they are investigating the incidents. Depending on the severity of the damage, charges could range from Malicious Mischief to Reckless Endangerment to Assault, though nothing that severe has happened yet, said Sergeant Robert Goetz.
Adds Mascarenas: "Hey whoever's doing it, please stop! Go out to a driving range somewhere."