Costa Rican Law Officer Brandishes Firearm To Arrest Disobedient Surfers

A couple days ago in Costa Rica, the first major south swell of the season impacted the Pacific Coast. Legally, no one was allowed to surf it, as this Monday the government officially closed all of the country’s beaches. 

That fact didn’t sit well with some.

At Playa Hermosa, a popular surf destination close to Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jose, three surfers were discovered to be illegally frolicking in the waves by local law enforcement (who presumably attempted traditional methods of getting the surfers to the beach—whistles, shouts, stomping their feet, etc.).

What happened next depends on who you ask. Some say that the officer in the photo fired his (flare?)gun into the air or the sand (not directly at the surfers) to capture their undivided attention, while others insist that he simply waved it around to intimidate the surfers and force them into compliance. 

Whatever happened, it was enough to convince the three surfers to return to shore, where they were promptly arrested.  

The perpetrators’ identities are currently unknown, but local sources do not believe them to be Costa Rican or gringo. 

Here’s a take from the original poster of the image, Surfing Republica (the following has been translated, poorly, from Spanish to English):

Today, three people who were surfing in Playa Hermosa were arrested. Without a doubt, this is a very sad situation that is happening in our country and the planet, but we have to do our part so that something unfortunate does not happen. We are ALL dying to get back in the water, we are all going crazy far from the sea, but we have to obey the recommendations of the Ministry of Health. The sooner we do this, the sooner we will be back doing what we love most. All the people who infected others did not know they had the virus. So we must behave as if we have the virus. Each of us could be a carrier and source of infection. Please stay home so this doesn’t get out of control and misfortune happens.

In an equally distressing incident, I had two coconuts thrown at me today. Crazy times we’re living in.