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Three Crescent City Harbor District employees have completed the state-mandated training to provide limited law enforcement services to the public.

It’s a first step toward the goal of establishing a “professional Harbor Police Force,” Harbormaster Tim Petrick told commissioners on Tuesday. But its members won’t be “jack-booted thugs running around arresting and shooting people,” he told the Wild Rivers Outpost.

“This is a harbor safety initiative,” Petrick said Wednesday. “The focus of the officers is going to be customer service first, followed by safety and support of our harbor patrons. And then a distant third is enforcement.”

A police force at the Crescent City Harbor is the brainchild of Petrick’s deputy, Mike Rademaker. The endeavor is in its infancy and is intended to fill the gaps the US Coast Guard Cutter Dorado left behind when it was decommissioned in 2021, he told the Outpost.

The Crescent City Harbor District hopes to obtain funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the California Division of Boating and Waterways to purchase a 44-foot patrol boat, Rademaker said.

Goals include providing search and rescue services, sea tows and conducting vessel safety checks. Harbor District police officers can respond to car accidents, address public intoxication, petty theft and crowd and traffic control during community events, Rademaker said. Drawing on his own experience with the National Park Service, Rademaker also envisions educational programs on a remodeled Citizens Dock a'la Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park's campfire presentations.

“If we have a big influx of tourists, we want to be prepared to handle that,” he said. “I think we have to think about what’s unique about the Harbor District. We have a sheriff’s department — what is our area of expertise?”

Rademaker and two other Harbor District employees have satisfied the California Peace Officer Standards and Training requirements necessary to attain peace officer status. Rademaker said he envisions a police force of about a dozen officers.

These requirements include undergoing a psychological evaluation, despite previous law enforcement experience, and a physical examination. A POST investigator also conducted a background check of the officers’ moral character, Rademaker told the Outpost.

The 64-hour PC 832 Arrest and Firearms Training Course Rademaker and his colleagues took provided a “baseline level of instruction” on arrest techniques, defensive and de-escalation tactics and the “measured and appropriate use of force.” It also included instruction on the Constitutional rights of suspects, Rademaker said.

Though the PC 832 course is intended for specialized agencies to provide limited law enforcement functions — Harbor District officers won’t be responding to 911 calls, for example — each member will receive additional training before they’re assigned to patrol the port, Rademaker said.

“Each will receive the same length of training at the same level of rigor as that required for any city police officer or sheriff’s deputy throughout California,” he said. “The distinction is that our officers will receive training with a maritime law enforcement focus. This includes training provided through MLETC (the Maritime Law Enforcement Training Center in Los Angeles) and the Coast Guard.”

Rademaker said he and his colleagues have also had discussions with Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Devon Perry on how to work cooperatively with the DNSO.

“He has been very receptive to the idea of helping us with field training of our probationary officers,” Rademaker said. “In return, the harbor would provide maritime training to a cohort of sheriff’s deputies. Discussions are preliminary and nothing has been formalized yet, but it’s clear that both agencies can benefit from cross training.”

Efforts to form a police force come as the Harbor District prepares to finalize lease agreements with Alex Lemus, CEO of Renewable Energy Capital, who plans to redevelop the district’s two RV parks in order to draw more tourists.

Lemus has pledged roughly $30 million in private investments to the Crescent City Harbor District, according to Rademaker. The district is also pursuing roughly $30 million in potential grants, he said.

Crescent City harbor commissioners had expected to discuss long-term transition plans for the RV parks’ current residents Tuesday as well as agree to end the due diligence period so Lemus could take over the park leases. However, that discussion was tabled.

Rademaker said Lemus still intends to take things over after the first of the year. Lemus is currently working on obtaining a permit to operate the RV parks from the state Department of Housing and Community Development, Rademaker said.

Meanwhile, a Crescent City Harbor District police force is at least a year away still, Rademaker said.

“There’s so much that has to happen in terms of equipment and training,” he said. “We’re really in the exploratory stage, I would say.”

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