Budget cuts force Calif. police and firemen to watch man drown
Posted on 06.1.11
Police and firemen in Alameda, California watched a man drown on Monday after realizing they did not have proper certifications for water rescue, leaving them open to possible lawsuits if they attempted to save him.
The drowning victim, 53-year-old Raymond Zack, was apparently suicidal, according to a report from the scene. He waded out about 150 yards into cold waters off Crown Beach in Alameda and took about an hour to drown himself.
A crowd of about 75 gathered to watch the bizarre scene, which saw police and firemen just standing at shoreline watching helplessly. After the man had drowned, authorities couldn’t even go into the surf to retrieve the body. They instead recruited a passer-by for the job.
City officials reportedly blamed the incident on budget cuts and said they would have a discussion about why Alameda, an island city, does not have proper authorization to rescue people from the waters surrounding it.
That sounds a bit like the bunch that watched a man’s home burn down because he hadn’t paid the juice they required before putting it out.
Holy cr@p.
Puts all new meaning to the Shakespeare quote from Henry VI, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
Before any budget cuts ever happened....you’d of thought these genius’s would have had some foresight to have a water rescue squad.
first thing I thought of too
Take off your uniforms and go in and save him under the good Samaritan law.