By Paul Walsh
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
MINNEAPOLIS — A hooded man stole a houseboat late Sunday morning near downtown Minneapolis before police nabbed him at shore and tased him not far away, according to authorities and a witness.
The boat was moored off Nicollet Island along the river across from downtown, where it was stolen around 10:30 a.m., according to emergency dispatch audio.
The male onboard is “seizing the boat under maritime law,” the dispatch audio disclosed.
Police officers grabbed the boat a little more than an hour later and brought the man to shore at to the north at Boom Island, said witness Chris Steller.
An officer removed the man’s hood and put him in back of a squad car, said Steller, who took several photos of the urban piracy.
Neither Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction in most water emergencies, has addressed a motive behind the theft. The man’s identity also has yet to be disclosed.
Also yet to be revealed is the owner of the boat, which has “John Deere” and the heavy implement company’s logo displayed on its stern.
©2020 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis)