Cops, firefighters stand by and watch as California man drowns

Hotair ^ | 06/04/2011 | Allahpundit

[cripplecreek]

Not just cops and firefighters, either. Spectators watched too, including his elderly stepmother, who was too frail to dive into the water herself.

The stepmother can be forgiven but the majority of the people on the shore cannot.

[Scotsman will be Free]

Do I understand this story correctly in that the suicide decided to stand in the water until he suffered hypothermia then drowned?

[The KG9 Kid]

"... Weaver assured me that the firefighters who were on the scene feel horrible about what happened."

AND FEELING IS HALF THE BATTLE! (GI Jooeee!)

Thank goodness that I know they feel horrible. Now I can sleep nights again.

[Jim 726]

Kind of harsh statement. Countless stories of people drowning during a rescue attempt.

[GSP.FAN]

Yep and it took him an hour to die..
So the firefighters arguing that they did not have their cold water gear is a lame argument.
Especially when a woman swam out and recovered the body.

[DainBramage]

Tell the whole story....the guy was in waist deep water threatening to drown himself, a suicidal person the most dangerous rescue you can do.

Even people that want to live can drown the rescuer. He swam out and drowned himself.

Would you rescue someone that put a gun to their head without right equipment?

Lots of people on here are brave and courageous commenting on some event but would pee in their pants when actually called on to be a hero.

[cripplecreek]

Kind of harsh statement.

Tough. America will never get better as long as people set on their asses and wonder why someone else doesn't do something. In this case, it meant wading into neck deep water.

[Scotsman will be Free]

I wonder if they thought he’d get tired of freezing his butt off and come out on his own.

[Gondring]

Tell the whole story....the guy was in waist deep water threatening to drown himself, a suicidal person the most dangerous rescue you can do.

Even people that want to live can drown the rescuer. He swam out and drowned himself.

Would you rescue someone that put a gun to their head without right equipment?

Lots of people on here are brave and courageous commenting on some event but would pee in their pants when actually called on to be a hero.

The funniest thing is that we have "conservatives" whining about this, when this is what would have happened "in the old days"...and here we have "conservatives" complaining that the public personnel followed proper risk-management guidelines (like in the old days) and didn't do something stupid (like they claim they would have done).

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I believe that there is a distinct possibility that if anybody had saved him, they would be subject to prosecution for some reason or other.

We're talking San Francisco here.

[Louis Foxwell]

There are times when civil disobedience is the only moral option. Following immoral rules leads to gas chambers. Obviously they did not feel bad enough to do anything to help the man.
Murder charges should be brought against every civil servant who stood by and did nothing and every person who promulgated this murderous policy. Let them justify their actions before a jury. This is civil service that is not worth having.

[bajabaja]

Kind of harsh statement. Countless stories of people drowning during a rescue attempt.

Aren't cops and firefighters supposed to put their life on the line? Isn't that what the physical training and requirements are for?

[GSP.FAN]

His mother reported him as suicidal and had been arrested in the past,they could have got a priest a shrink anyone to try and talk to him.
I used to live in Alameda,it is a island accessible by a tunnel and a couple of bridges,to think that they cut water safety lessons for first responders is obscenely stupid..

[SeeSac]

The stepmother can be forgiven but the majority of the people on the shore cannot.

Would you go in the water to drag a 300# dude out that insists on committing suicide?

[I see my hands]

"Kind of harsh statement. Countless stories of people drowning during a rescue attempt"

There are adjectives that describe your statement.

[Valpal1]

The majority of people on the beach saw the fire and police there and thought they had it handled... until the guy drowned.

If you read the local forums for Alameda, many of the witnesses are really angry because they would have done something if they had known about this no water rescue rule.

Everyone was waiting for the Coast Guard, who simply couldn’t get there in time.

It was a monumental FUBAR starting with the city manager and former fire chief cutting the training program to save a measly $40K.

[PLMerite]

It reminds me of when Air Florida Flight 90 bounced off the 14th Street Bridge into the Potomac in 1982. I was overseas at the time but I remember seeing video on tv of all the DCFD fireman standing there looking at the tail of the plane sticking out of the river while all those people drowned.

I lost a lot of respect for firemen because of that.

[SpaceBar]

Perhaps like Harry Mudd’s androids, they simply are not programmed to respond in that area.

[Gondring]

Tough. America will never get better as long as people set on their asses and wonder why someone else doesn't do something. In this case, it meant wading into neck deep water.

Even the libs have stopped pushing the "someone should have helped him" line in many cases, as they realize that more deaths occur from stupid rescue attempts without proper equipment/training, than occur as original victims.

That's why there are the OSHA rules, and why any officer who went into the water would be leaving his family at risk in case anything happened to him.