A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officer, Jared Stiltner, has become the subject of online mockery after a wrongful arrest made during a boating stop.
In August of this year, Stiltner, part of the FWC’s Impairment Task Force, stopped a man suspected of boating under the influence while he was out with his family on the Loxahatchee River. Despite conducting a field sobriety test and finding no evidence of impairment, Stiltner proceeded with the arrest, which turned out to be erroneous.
This led to the man’s wrongful and unlawful arrest in front of his pregnant wife, children, and family friends, prompting the victim to pledge to challenge the officers legally for the public humiliation he endured.
The incident’s bodycam footage was uploaded to the Donny Rapture YouTube channel, accompanied by excerpts from Stiltner’s official report which detail the initial observation of the vessel’s operation outside the channel in a Slow Speed Minimum Wake Zone. The report begins, “At approximately 17:18, on 8/21/2024, Officer Stiltner of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), along with Officer Gilmore, also of FWC, were on water-based patrol in the Loxahatchee River in Palm Beach County, FL. A vessel bearing Florida Registration Number ***** was observed operating westbound outside the channel in the Loxahatchee River, approaching a shoal in a Slow Speed Minimum Wake Zone… The owner and operator of the vessel was identified by name and date of birth during the stop.”
Watch the video of the encounter below…
