Which is why I put the blame on the other leaders who should have been watching. This guy did not operate in a vacuum. Youth Protection has been employed in our Counsel for at least 11 years. The troop I was involved in did have not only young leader but older men who no longer had boys in the troop but the leadership structure and adhered to Youth Protection rules made it not only a fun troop but a safe one. But then our Committee Chair was Secret Service.
Many times I see articles here about Troops that leave me wondering about the leadership of those troops. One was the article about the boy getting a knife stuck in his head. Just what was that leader doing raking leaves in the dark with an open blade anyway?
I'm no longer on my Council's Risk Management Committee, but I think I will eventually find out the true story about the Scout in Utah who had a knife stuck between his eyes. I simply do not believe that a Scoutmaster with an open knife "tossed" it away to catch a falling Scout.
First, you would have to throw a knife at high speed to have it penetrate a skull.
Second, the knife on those Leatherman Micras do not have a sharp point, nor do I think they can be honed to a truly sharp edge. I've tried; the metal is just not a high enough quality steel to sharpen well.
Third, I cannot imagine the odd shape and weight distribution of an open Micra resulting in a rotating object that would stick straight in as it did.
I'm certain there's more to the story. I think the knife was in someone's hand when it entered the skull.
Even if it happened as explained, the Scoutmaster who "tossed" the knife doesn't need to be carrying one.
I'd agree that I shake my head at the actions of some adult leaders. My Council had a Troop that insisted on doing its own rock climbing, before the BSA had the rock climbing merit badge or the "Climb On Safely" program. On one outing, they had an Assistant Scoutmaster critically injured as a result of (depending on who you listend to, and I was on the Risk Management Committee) poorly maintained equipment or incorrect use of climbing knots and equipment. Within two years, they had a Scout fall to his death on a climbing trip. Despite requests from the Council, they insisted on "top roping" their own climbs, without assistance from qualified instructors.