A boat captain and the 14 immigrants on board his boat were detained Friday after colliding with another boat off the coast of Florida.
The boat rammed into a boat belonging to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office near the Jupiter Inlet after 9 a.m. after law enforcement attempted contact with the boat.
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Shortly after 9:00 a.m. this morning, our Marine Unit deputy intercepted a vessel near the Jupiter Inlet. When making contact, the boat’s captain rammed our unit, damaging two engines. Our PBSO Helicopter and additional marine unit vessels pursued the suspect vessel. The boat… pic.twitter.com/df6dRaJnaV
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) August 25, 2023
“When making contact, the boat’s captain rammed our unit, damaging two engines. Our PBSO Helicopter and additional marine unit vessels pursued the suspect vessel,” the sheriff’s office wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “The boat captain beached the vessel just north of the Juno pier when he was immediately apprehended by responding road patrol deputies and Jupiter police officers. Currently, 14 immigrants have been detained and will be turned over to Border Patrol.”
Captain Bazaeluis Francois, 30, was also charged with two counts of aggravated battery on a police officer. This is a first-degree felony in Florida and has a minimum sentence of five years.
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According to police, the investigation is ongoing. There weren’t any reported injuries in this case.
Florida has had over 183,000 encounters with immigrants attempting to cross its border so far this year. The figure is already more than the 35,000 encountered in all of 2022.
