San Diego judge sentenced a paddleboarder, who was found guilty of assaulting a surfer and causing permanent brain damage last month, to five years in prison on Thursday, according to reports.In April, 34-year-old Paul Taylor Konen was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon over an incident that occurred in June of 2018 in which Konen allegedly struck 56-year-old surfer Kevin Eslinger with his carbon fiber paddle, causing permanent brain damage.According to an April Fox 5 report, the prosecution alleged in its suit that Konen nearly ran over Eslinger in the lineup at Sunset Cliffs, and the two exchanged words. Then, says Eslinger, Konen ran into his wife and Eslinger confronted him a second time. That's when Konen allegedly smacked Eslinger over the head with his paddle.On Thursday, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Robert Trentacosta sentenced Konen to five years in prison for his crime.
You have more info here:
www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,34674.0.html
www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,34798.0.html
The guy was apparently a well know Kolossal a**hole, whatever gear he was on. SUP is not really the point there, and the sentence seems deserved.
Select to expand quotecolas said..
You have more info here:
www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,34674.0.html
www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,34798.0.html
The guy was apparently a well know Kolossal a**hole, whatever gear he was on. SUP is not really the point there, and the sentence seems deserved.
Yeah, SUPs and the paddle he was using is just a tool. It's the same with guns where the media blows up crimes perpetrated with guns as being more criminal than using another object to commit the same crime and suddenly legal gun owners are the problem. 
This is sure to add to SUPers getting a bad name.
Select to expand quoteWCC said..
media blows up crimes perpetrated with guns as being more criminal than using another object to commit the same crime and suddenly legal gun owners are the problem.
Whoa, that escalated quickly!
This is not a relevant comparison, guns in the US kills a insanely huge number of people compared to the stats in civilized countries. If SUPers were killing thousands of people and prone surfers only tens, SUP should be either banned or drastically controlled.
If this "Paul Taylor Konen" had a gun readily available (or a knife or harpoon or any weapon more lethal than a paddle), he would probably has killed the surfer and his wife in his fit of surf rage. Preventing everybody to have lethal weapons at their disposal is a basic safety measure, as you have mental health issues in any population.
The more dangerous your surf craft is, the more it should be regulated. You should have more controls in place for using a jet ski than a bodyboard. And surfing hard boards are banned in swimmer zones, etc...
Select to expand quotecolas said..
You have more info here:
www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,34674.0.html
www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,34798.0.html
The guy was apparently a well know Kolossal a**hole, whatever gear he was on. SUP is not really the point there, and the sentence seems deserved.
So you really believe 5 years for giving another human brain damage is fitting? Soft sentence imo.
Select to expand quotecolas said..WCC said..
media blows up crimes perpetrated with guns as being more criminal than using another object to commit the same crime and suddenly legal gun owners are the problem.
Whoa, that escalated quickly!
This is not a relevant comparison, guns in the US kills a insanely huge number of people compared to the stats in civilized countries. If SUPers were killing thousands of people and prone surfers only tens, SUP should be either banned or drastically controlled.
If this "Paul Taylor Konen" had a gun readily available (or a knife or harpoon or any weapon more lethal than a paddle), he would probably has killed the surfer and his wife in his fit of surf rage. Preventing everybody to have lethal weapons at their disposal is a basic safety measure, as you have mental health issues in any population.
The more dangerous your surf craft is, the more it should be regulated. You should have more controls in place for using a jet ski than a bodyboard. And surfing hard boards are banned in swimmer zones, etc...
Why would he need a gun, he could have just drove over them in the parking lot. Seriously, you think more regulation stops crimes, then we should pass more draconian laws and we will be crime free. There are more rapes in Australia than the US so one should start chopping off wieners. How did that work out for us since biblical times? We still have prostitution which has been outlawed since then. Incidentally, cars kill more people than guns do, so let's just ban them while we're at it and when more people use paddles, well let's ban SUPing.
You are quick to say the paddle did not kill him but the a**hole did but when it comes to guns then suddenly the object is the problem. Society has a moral decay problem but politicians and the media is quick to start labelling objects as the culprit.
His ass should be locked up and the key thrown away and he got off light IMHO; whether he used a paddle or any other object makes no difference to the crime.
God damn it, this is going to make things a lot worse for the sup reputation now. Will be interesting to see all the details unfold properly.
A very vocally angry guy at my local
beAch has an absolute vendetta against sups and said that his mate had received a bad head wound from a rogue sup.
ive been surfing at this beach for 6 years as both prone and sup for the past 2 years. I'm extremely cautious and never had any run-ins with anyone, often compliments on the sup.
however this dude has had a very verbal and aggressive go at me 3 times now literally for nothing aside from being on a sup. He said his mission was to clear the beach of sups and to make people not feel welcome at that beach anymore.
its so toxic, he's now getting other proners on to the same mind set and this article just makes it all so much worse!
Select to expand quotecolas said..WCC said..
media blows up crimes perpetrated with guns as being more criminal than using another object to commit the same crime and suddenly legal gun owners are the problem.
Whoa, that escalated quickly!
This is not a relevant comparison, guns in the US kills a insanely huge number of people compared to the stats in civilized countries. If SUPers were killing thousands of people and prone surfers only tens, SUP should be either banned or drastically controlled.
If this "Paul Taylor Konen" had a gun readily available (or a knife or harpoon or any weapon more lethal than a paddle), he would probably has killed the surfer and his wife in his fit of surf rage. Preventing everybody to have lethal weapons at their disposal is a basic safety measure, as you have mental health issues in any population.
The more dangerous your surf craft is, the more it should be regulated. You should have more controls in place for using a jet ski than a bodyboard. And surfing hard boards are banned in swimmer zones, etc...
Oh please, I really don't think a Frenchman is in the drivers seat of claiming a civilized country.
In fact not really convinced the word is relevant in the current world.
And to say guns are the culprit is ridiculous and naive , guns don't run around looking to shoot people its the mentally deranged people pulling the trigger and I guess it has nothing to do with how society has degraded over the last 30 years or so with us being desensitized with ultra violent movies, pornography and incredibly the computer games we let our kids use ( I use the term "our kids" loosely as thankfully mine are all adults and were never allowed such crap as kids )
I really don't care if you agree or not that's how it is.
Select to expand quoteWCC said..colas said..WCC said..
media blows up crimes perpetrated with guns as being more criminal than using another object to commit the same crime and suddenly legal gun owners are the problem.
Whoa, that escalated quickly!
This is not a relevant comparison, guns in the US kills a insanely huge number of people compared to the stats in civilized countries. If SUPers were killing thousands of people and prone surfers only tens, SUP should be either banned or drastically controlled.
If this "Paul Taylor Konen" had a gun readily available (or a knife or harpoon or any weapon more lethal than a paddle), he would probably has killed the surfer and his wife in his fit of surf rage. Preventing everybody to have lethal weapons at their disposal is a basic safety measure, as you have mental health issues in any population.
The more dangerous your surf craft is, the more it should be regulated. You should have more controls in place for using a jet ski than a bodyboard. And surfing hard boards are banned in swimmer zones, etc...
Why would he need a gun, he could have just drove over them in the parking lot. Seriously, you think more regulation stops crimes, then we should pass more draconian laws and we will be crime free. There are more rapes in Australia than the US so one should start chopping off wieners. How did that work out for us since biblical times? We still have prostitution which has been outlawed since then. Incidentally, cars kill more people than guns do, so let's just ban them while we're at it and when more people use paddles, well let's ban SUPing.
You are quick to say the paddle did not kill him but the a**hole did but when it comes to guns then suddenly the object is the problem. Society has a moral decay problem but politicians and the media is quick to start labelling objects as the culprit.
His ass should be locked up and the key thrown away and he got off light IMHO; whether he used a paddle or any other object makes no difference to the crime.
I think what you'll find is that no one's got an issue with legal gun owners; the gun issue is not about ownership but safety, regulations and common sense, i.e. Felons or people with mental disability not allowed to purchase guns legally, loopholes at gun shows, background checks, automatic weapons.
Common sense dictates that no one should be able to purchase weapons of war, or anything without thorough background checks and regulations should be put in place to enforce these rules.
Now, with the current amount of firearms in the US, it is arguably a lost cause and i'd tend to think that the US is lost, will never recover from this epidemic and nothing short of a civil war will change that.
I'm just thankful i do not live there and hope we do not end up taking on the same path in Australia.
Select to expand quotemicksmith said..
And to say guns are the culprit is ridiculous and naive , guns don't run around looking to shoot people its the mentally deranged people pulling the trigger
I would argue that only mentally deranged people would want to possess a war weapon :-)
Seriously, here is some food for thought:
- List of countries by firearm-related death rate. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate you can definitively see the correlations... and France and Switzerland are not even the best ones (France has a lot of hunters).
- As always, Prevention (Education, gun bans) is much more efficient than Repression (punishment after the fact), because most people are not able to ponder the consequences of their acts. The famous "marshmallow experiment" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment is a good example, especially "economic background rather than willpower explained the results" meaning that unequal societies (like the US) are generating a lot of people with behavorial issues and lack of impulse control, which is more the problem than true mental illnesses.
- There are examples of societies where education can produce better people, but it requires a lot of effort and commitment from the parents, not trying to forbid them to do anything: The Inuits. I urge you to read this very interesting article: www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/03/13/685533353/a-playful-way-to-teach-kids-to-control-their-anger I would argue that Inuits are hundred times more civilized that most western countries :-)
And, to conclude on a tongue-in-cheek humorous note on gun regulation:
Hey Benji,
What's the spot?
It's a shame the actions of one super as its so bad for SUP image
As with guns in NZ after the 51 dead in the march 15 attacks, why do you need an assault weapon?
My dad was in the army and used to have guns. My brother and his son's go hunting with rifles and a bow.Farmers need guns. But not semi or automatic!
To me whenever there is a mass shooting in the US it's always the person not the weapon. I understand its a right.
Human nature - there will always be people shooting but with the need to reload the casualties are limited significantly.
Peace out
Hey 515
its Maori bay out west, I've probably surfed there over 500 times and tried to tell the guy it's my local beach and he went off his nut again swearing that I'm not a local and that locals would show me what happens to paddle boarders. I've also paddle-surfed there probably 100times in the past 2 years.
i actually got off my board and tried to have a reasonable discussion and hear him out but it was just a waste of time.
In his view, one had caused his mate a head injury so therefore all paddle
boarders are not capable of controlling their board, 'belong in an estuary', have '10ft long boards with 10ft long leashes and 20ft killing radius's' etc etc.
i said I was on an 8ft board with a 7ft leash and to be fair, my sup would have less mass than a poly 9ft longboard but there was no winning that debate despite how logical any points were.
they seem to have this misconception that sups are super easy, and so therefore if they see me out There then every sup is going to go there.
Theres a reason I'm usually the only sup out west when it's big, it's heavily tidal and takes a lot of skill to even get past the break!
I can just hear their comments bow after seeing this article..
Respect for there. Used to part own a house on Taranaki coast but reef breaks handle the size and being semi circle gives you option to find side to offshore winds.
Have surfed some of the Auckland west coast and beach breaks can close out and then close out set steams through another 200m out. But then you would get some awesome waves!
Your average sup surfer isn't going to get out or get rumbled by set and not come back 
Some people won't discuss if you have different idea. But when was out Mount maunganui recently a dude was getting plenty waves - his board was significantly bigger than my 8'4" surfboard. If you take his rational then you limit people's opinions of having fun.
