Officers patrolling to maintain safe lakes

LAKE NORMAN, N.C. — Whether it's taking out the boat, paddling in a kayak or going for a swim, more people than usual will be spending Memorial Day weekend on local lakes.

Local authorities from multiple law enforcement agencies are patrolling lakes across the area trying to prevent anyone from getting hurt.

Channel 9 rode along with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Lake Enforcement as they looked for overloaded boats, reckless boating, young kids not wearing a life jacket or something else.

“We issue citations on anything we deem someone could get hurt,” officer Randy Echerd said.

Police distribute boating safety pamphlets to anyone they stop.

“It's got a thumbnail version of the boating laws on the inside,” Echert said.

Police say the worst cases they encounter are boating accidents and drownings, most of which,  are alcohol-related.

“You have to watch out for other people on the lake because a lot of these people don't know where they're going,” boater Don Dobrzynsky said.

Cox Media Group