One of the first marine searches on Long Island Sound by members of the Westport Police Department occurred back in February 1933 when several members of the Department boarded the fishing boat Saugatuck (captained by Westporter John Mulhaley) searching for a missing youth.

After a harrowing 48 hours on a disabled vessel, in heavy seas and in bitterly cold weather (and well after the missing youth was found alive and well on Cockenoe Island by other searchers!), the search party aboard the Saugatuck was located by an airplane occupied by Officer Salvatore Fratino and brought safely to shore.

Westport Police Boat with Divers, c.1960s

By the 1960s, the Westport Police Department, operated a donated vessel and patrolled the coastal waters off Westport. The second member of the Department to lose his life in the service of the Westport Police Department, Auxiliary Officer Aldo Santini, was killed while working on marine patrol in 1964.

 Westport Police Department "Marine One" 2014

Currently the Westport Police Marine Division operates three boats which are 18 feet to 33 feet. Approximately 25 officers are currently qualified to work on the police boats, and three officers are assigned to the Marine Division full-time from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. These officers patrol Long Island Sound and the Saugatuck River, enforcing marine laws, shellfish regulations, and conducting safety inspections on hundreds of pleasure craft each season. In 2013, a jet ski was added to the Marine Division and is used for shellfish enforcement and special events.

Usually, Marine One, a 2014 33' NAID, is in mission-ready shape in the water 365 days a year and can be en route to any marine-related emergency within minutes.

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