US

Update: Experts Claim Authorities Who Didn‘t Help Drowning Man ’Made the Right Choice’

SAN FRANCISCO (The Blaze/AP) — If Dolores Berry had been younger, she would have gone after her adult son as he waded into San Francisco Bay to take his life.

Instead, the 84-year-old said she watched along with firefighters and police from the shore as he stood in the frigid, neck-deep water for about an hour before his body went limp.

“I can’t even walk. I am too old,” Berry told the Oakland Tribune, recounting her stepson Raymond Zack’s death on Monday in the waters off Alameda. “But if I could, I would have tried to help him myself.”

Berry and witnesses who watched Zack, 52, from the shore have criticized police and firefighters for not intervening to prevent his death. The Blaze covered this story earlier today.

But experts in water rescues say those officials made the right choice.

“Emergency responders are being made to look like wimps for failing to intervene in an emergency,” said B. Chris Brewster, former Lifeguard Chief for the City of San Diego and president of the United States Lifesaving Association. “But I think that’s unfair because they lacked the training and equipment.”

Brewster said he has heard numerous stories of people who have died while attempting a water rescue.

Would-be-rescuers have to be strong swimmers. They also need equipment such as a buoy that victims can grab instead of trying to climb onto the rescuer. And then there are techniques to get free in case victims start pulling rescuers under or cutting off their air supply.

Alameda fire and police officials have said their crews lacked that training.

Budget cuts forced the Fire Department to discontinue water rescue training and stop maintaining wetsuits and other rescue gear, Interim Alameda Fire Chief Mike D’Orazi has said. That led to a policy forbidding firefighters from attempting water rescues.

D’Orazi has since ordered staff to reverse that rule and plans to train at least some firefighters in water rescues.

“For public safety personnel, one of the biggest causes of death and injury is going outside of your scope of training,” Brewster said.

The water that Zack, who weighed about 280 pounds, waded into off Crown Memorial State Beach was approximately 54 degrees. It was too shallow for a boat to enter, according to the Coast Guard. A Coast Guard helicopter was not immediately available.

The beach also did not have lifeguards or rescue equipment, according to park officials.

A lifeguard would have been able to rescue Zack, experts said.

But in those water conditions, even a trained rescuer would need a cold water suit, said B.J. Fisher, health and safety director for the American Lifeguard Association.

“Anything under 80 degrees can put you in a situation that is going to bring your core temperature down,” he said.

Fisher said approaching Zack in another type of rescue craft may also have been problematic, as it could have been toppled in the water.

But Berry is convinced her son did not have to die.

“There were kids playing and police and firefighters standing around,” she told the Tribune. “Nobody did a thing.”

Zack suffered from depression and had been hospitalized at a psychiatric facility last year, Berry told the Tribune. He paced the beach before entering the water and refused Berry’s pleas to come home, she said.

“There was something that happened to him,” she said. “He wanted to go into the water. God knows why.”

Comments (147)

1 2 3 4
  • 82DJMPMSTR
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 10:05pm

    Everyone who stood by to watch should be fired! Not even an attempt to get into the water by any of them. Of course the unions will not let that happen. Those people should all feel ashamed! At least one beach-goer went into the water..too bad it was too late.

    They should quit there jobs and look for another source of income. They are not welcome in the Military and certainly not welcome in any public servant job.

    I feel very sad for the mother, to have to stand there and watch her child commit suicide. I can’t imagine the pain.

    Report Post » 82DJMPMSTR  
  • Cherynn
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:39pm

    Thats quality UNION training for ya. Good thing they make the big bucks. How many tax dollars were spent watching this man die? If actually saving a life is an option for the emregency rescue guys, why do we bother calling them when we need help? Can we at least get the number for Aquaman since this seems to be a bother to you?????

    Report Post » Cherynn  
  • chips1
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:32pm

    Only 34-37% of the emergency personel are there because it’s a calling. The rest are there to get a pay check. It’s changed so much in the last 40 years. They hire people to fill a position and a true desire for the job is no longer a requirement. So sad.

    Report Post »  
  • ripple effect
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:28pm

    I remember the plane that crashed into the Potomac river. Seeing the people on the bank jump into freezing water to save the poor soul who could no longer hold on to the buoy. I do not remember anyone checking credentials as they leaped in to save the lives of other human beings. I am afraid the poor firefighters were worried about their pensions being cut short if they got hurt.

    Report Post »  
  • mibble
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:27pm

    …only in California.

    Report Post » mibble  
  • ripple effect
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:23pm

    Evil wins when good men fail to act. That beach was obviously missing good men.

    Report Post »  
  • usmc1063
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:20pm

    F*&^8 Cowards! I don’t know how any of them can look at themselves in a mirror. I spent many years as a Volunteer Firefighter Paramedic and would done something ill regardless of some stupid city officals rulings. The sad part is they call themselves first responders. A better term would be last responders. Another reason you’ll never find me in Frisco.

    Report Post » usmc1063  
  • freedomcatcher
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:17pm

    Don,t know how many rescue personnel, or even members of the general public, were present and available to attempt this rescue but I would imagine it was alot more than just 2,3,or 4. Regardless of training or certification surely at least some of them could swim and attempt a rescue. Also the nurse who swm out and retrived the body,well doesn’t seem like she froze to death did she ?

    Report Post »  
  • retriever
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:12pm

    Remind me not to drown in San Franscisco!

    Report Post »  
  • kirkc18
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:07pm

    Ive been an EMT for years. Number one thought is scene safety and partner safety no matter the situation. You can help more people alive than dead. This man is trying to kill himself and drowning. This makes him twice as risky to rescue. They did make the correct decision. I have followed those rules and still have nearly died multiple times.

    Report Post »  
    • chips1
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:43pm

      What happened? Did you choke on a donut? You sound like you should work for the death panel.

      Report Post »  
    • rtk
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 11:15pm

      Water temp 61 degF (50 deg water = death in 1 hour), no wet suits, no floating water rescue rope, suicide, = problematic. My heavy rescue truck carried full water rescue gear and an inflatable boat (10 hp motor) that could float on wet grass. We drilled for that kind of response and it is not easy even with an compliant victim.

      However it does it does seem strange that the incident commander just stopped trying to find a solution during an hour long evolution. This is not failure of the troops it is a failure of leadership. The brothers and sisters in Alameda deserve better leadership.

      You need the tools to do the job.

      Everybody comes home, you have only 1@.

      Report Post »  
    • TheGreyPiper
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 12:12am

      You aint no James T. Kirk, are you? He was in neck-deep water for an hour — you don’t even need to swim! How long does it take to walk out that far? I sure as ffkk hope you don’t work in my town.

      Report Post » TheGreyPiper  
    • kirkc18
      Posted on June 4, 2011 at 1:46am

      @chips- I have been shot at, ran over, and hit with random objects by junkies. Have you ever tried to save someone who doesn’t want saved? Have you even tried to save a drowning victim who does want saved? My suspicion is no you’re speaking from true ignorance. These people had not equipment to do anything. Granted they shouldve at least offered a rope. But I stand by they made the right decision not going in after him.

      @RTK- You’re absolutely correct. There should’ve been better leadership but lets face it. It was still a very dangerous situation. A suicidal man in frigid water means at minimum 2 threats. Hypothermia, drowning from the man not wanting help.

      @Greypiper- Nope I have 2 kids and a wife that need more than some idiot who wants to kill himself. Especially when it is my depts standpoint that at no point should we attempt any water rescue without proper equipment as it is an extremely dangerous situation. It seems as though you too are speaking from true ignorance(lack of knowledge not meant in a derogatory fashion).
      http://www.emsvillage.com/articles/article.cfm?id=1062 read on tx options. Since these people didnt have the gear it could’ve cost them multiple lives or injuries to save one man who wanted to kill himself. There is a time and place for heroics. A mentally instable suicidal man neck deep in water is not the place. Besides with those temps with recovery he could still be viable for quite some time. Not dead till you’re warm and dead.

      Report Post »  
  • Wolf
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:02pm

    But, gosh- the pros didn’t have the right equipment or motivation- the bux just weren’t there… yet some by stander with even less equipment, training and motivation jumped in to help.
    What a bunch of losers.

    Report Post »  
  • Eblaze44
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:01pm

    Yes, God knows why.

    Report Post » Eblaze44  
  • hazmat2010
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:58pm

    Hello? Alameda is an island!! So why no cold water suits? Why no training? So does that mean if some kid decides to go for a swim he’s and starts struggling, he’s out of luck? What’s with an affluent “island city” as they call themselves, that’s too cheap to train their first responders?

    Report Post »  
    • Mil Mom
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:59pm

      I’ve got an idea, if they can’t afford to train their rescue personnel, why not auction off their rescue equipment, so the citizens can buy it, take some private training courses, and perhaps the next time someone gets depressed, or swept into the water, some caring person in the crowd can do the job, the overpaid union workers are paid not to do!

      Report Post » Mil Mom  
    • afflicted
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 2:19am

      Thats a great point and really goes to the heart of it. Think about it people ! Those worthless jack@*%#$ are saying that no matter WHO was drowning out there….THEY WERE’NT GOING IN !!!! EFFING DISGRACEFULL !!!!

      Report Post » afflicted  
    • Gump
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 7:00am

      MIL MOM has it exactly correct. Please look at her comment.

      Report Post »  
  • alcostotle
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:51pm

    Sorry, dude wanted to kill himself. Screw ‘im. I swear to God, those of you who piss and moan about the “police state” and criticize the police for not “protecting and serving” are complete morons. For the police to “protect” you they would have to be everywhere all the time, and have infinite power, a true police state. Get over that speeding ticket, and take a breath.

    Report Post »  
    • Talmid of Yeshua
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:58pm

      So.. if your wife, brother, or son was going to kill themselves, you’d just sit back and watch the show. No trying to talk them out of it; no trying to save them?

      I do agree… the guy wanted to kill himself, and is most likely a moron for wanting do such an idiotic thing…
      … however… that doesn’t mean you just grab a bucket of popcorn and watch it happen.

      I’m against a police state, but trying to compare this with someone not wanting a police state is like comparing apples and oranges. I understand what you mean, I just politely disagree with your assessment.

      Report Post » Talmid of Yeshua  
    • Gump
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:00pm

      Count me with the morons. I agree the guy wanted to kill himself, but your definition of a police state is different from anything I have ever heard. Then again I am a moron.

      Report Post »  
    • Mike_Dugas
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 10:56pm

      They were THERE at THAT time. I know that knowing how to swim I couldn’t sit there and watch a person drown themselves and not help. That lack of empathy for a fellow human being is just another symptom of a sick society.

      Report Post »  
  • Talmid of Yeshua
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:47pm

    Excuses are like ***** and they all stink. Bottom line, even if this moron was trying to kill himself, the police and rescue workers should be held accountable for doing nothing.

    Take the Samaritan in Scripture who stopped to help the injured Jew on the side of the road. The other Jews wouldn’t stop to help there fellow Jew, because they were on their way to the Temple, and if they touched blood, they would become ritually unclean, and would not be able to enter the Temple with out a mikveh (baptism).

    The Samaritans and Jews did not get along with each other at all. But here comes this Samaritan that cares more for a Jew than the Jews’ own brother.

    Yeah… it’s too bad these people care more about budge cuts, their union propaganda, etc. than one of their fellow Americans. It’s too bad there were no Samaritans there to save this man.

    Report Post » Talmid of Yeshua  
  • RightPolitically
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:46pm

    Excuses, excuses. Has anyone ever heard of that fabulous rescue invention, with hoist attached, called a HELICOPTER? My belief is that many individuals drawn to fire-rescue or other emergency services go there primarily for the good pay and unending benefits packages, as well as early retirements. That does not automatically mean that every such person is dedicated to saving lives.

    Report Post » RightPolitically  
    • TheGreyPiper
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 12:08am

      Has anyone heard of that remarkable rescue invention called A BOAT???

      Report Post » TheGreyPiper  
  • drftrman
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:30pm

    If he wanted to kill himself then he does not need rescued. To expect someone to risk their lives to save someone who does not want to be saved is BS.

    Report Post »  
    • Rightsofman
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:04pm

      DRFTRMAN – its done all the time in the sane states…. you’ve seen the cops/firemen on window ledges,rooftops, bridges,saving prospective suiciders in the news programs. Its generally assumed that the jumpers are sick and need help. Just sayin.

      Report Post »  
    • Mil Mom
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:50pm

      Except, that’s exactly the kind of bul###t which has made this nation the most wonderful nation on earth since it’s founding! This country has always been the one where we reached out to help and encourage our neighbor, until it became the norm for the government to tax the citizens to pay someone else to do it for us. If this keeps up, we won’t have to worry about Border Security, the Mexican’s and Canadians will be putting the fences up with signs in their own languages, saying, “Will someone please shut out the lights and lock the doors on your way out, these people are to dumb to figure out how to follow us in the dark !”

      Report Post » Mil Mom  
    • TheGreyPiper
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 12:07am

      Rubbish, and in any case, if you read the story you would know he was mentally incompetent. While a case could conceivably be made for allowing suicide, all bets are off when it comes to the mentally ill.

      Report Post » TheGreyPiper  
  • mossbrain
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:25pm

    Maybe they need to hire some of those Newport Beach lifeguards who make $120,000 a year, no wait, those police and firefighter ****** of San Francisco make much more than that, ******.

    Report Post » mossbrain  
  • CM Sackett
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:19pm

    What they ‘lacked’ (and still do)… was BALLS AND CHARACTER.

    Useless cur dogs.
    CM Sackett

    Report Post »  
  • wildbill_b
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:17pm

    Apparently the new motto is “Observe and Neglect”

    Report Post »  
    • the_ancient
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:30pm

      Most police forces have removed the motto’s, They are merely Mindless Enforcement and Control drones

      Report Post » the_ancient  
    • Mil Mom
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:41pm

      And I suppose all the movies of the hero talking the jumper down off the ledge will go the same way, along with the ones of the cop talking the suicidal man/ woman into putting down the gun and coming with them to the hospital. Can you imagine what the new-Post-obama-couldn’t-care- less movies will look like:
      “The tailgate party waiting on the jumper to make the leap, the bookie’s taking bets if he/she actually has a loaded gun; let‘s face it they won’t dare take the poor depressed person to the ER less they have to show someone giving him the # of the Hemlock Society!!!!

      Report Post » Mil Mom  
  • the_ancient
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:16pm

    We have now built a Society where Firefighters stand by and watch a home burn, Citzens are ticketed and threated with arrest when they attempt a water rescue, and now those we the people have paid, and entrusted with preforming these duties stand on the side lines, and that is “acceptable”

    Where ohh Where have the Hero’s gone, When ohh When did the home of the brave fall???

    Report Post » the_ancient  
    • Sheepdog911
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:34pm

      Heros are heros, not stupid. This guy wanted to die, rather like the guy who pulls a gun on the cops. You don’t jump in front of the bullets for him. Tuff.

      Report Post » Sheepdog911  
    • momprayn
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:00pm

      Let’s see..probably began back in the early 1900′s with Woodrow Wilson(D) as the first active Progressive President….anti-Consitution, biblical principles it was based on, etc……then onward to FDR(D) and the New Deal mess and more Progressive non-Constitutional laws passed……then onward to liberal LBJ(D) & welfare state expanded; rebellion in the 1960′s against Christianity, traditional values & morals (Roe v. Wade), prayer removed from schools, divorce rate & abortion rates, STD’s escalated to new highs, Repubs. after Eisenhower began to become “moderates” & more like the Dems…..all that = comments on here that say you shouldn’t bother; he should die bc he was trying (most public suicides like that are really asking for help) – don’t bother to risk sacrifice for another person….me….me…..me….something like that I think. 8-(

      Report Post »  
    • the_ancient
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:02pm

      @SHEEPDOG911,
      So it is your choice who is worthy of your time to save? I sure hope your not a currently employed rescue worker, if you are I feel sorry for the people in your area.

      When a Civilian Nurse can retrieve the body, there should have been no reason someone somewhere could not have at least attempted a rescue.

      No Excuse. NONE, ZERO, ZIP, ZILCH….

      Every able bodied person that stood on that shore and did nothing should be ashamed of themselves and my god have mercy on their souls because they are terrible human beings

      Report Post » the_ancient  
    • Tusker
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 11:14pm

      I agree with sheepdog. Had someone gone in after this guy without proper training there very well possibly could have been more than one death. If you’ve ever taken water rescue courses (which I have YEARS ago, one of the first things they teach you is that your ‘rescuee’ will most likely fight you) Sad situation though. You have to be in a very bad way to want to commit suicide. I feel for his stepmother.

      Report Post » Tusker  
  • Goohuman
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:16pm

    Experts?! In what? Death?

    Report Post » Goohuman  
    • SmokinBugsy
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 10:57am

      Water Rescue. Time we take responsibility for our actions and when we do something wrong quit blaming others! HE decided to do this, NOT the police or firemen! You would rather have one of these police/firemen go into an unsafe situation and die, so his family can suffer because some jerk decided to take his own life?

      Report Post »  
  • Untameable-kate
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:12pm

    At 280 I don’t think I would have gone in after him either. He was a big boy, someone could have really been hurt.

    Report Post » Untameable-kate  
  • Dustyluv
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:12pm

    Exoert what? Murderer???

    Report Post »  
  • mhanderson1234
    Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:11pm

    obamacare at its best!!!!

    Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:28pm

      Oh my God .. that poor mother … as for the so called “public SERVANTS” they should be ashamed of themselves… I don”t care what the powers that be in CA say;

      Report Post »  
    • Sheepdog911
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:29pm

      Let’s get this straight. Suicide, cold water, etc. Whose fault? It was a suicide …. nuff said? If he wanted to die, anything that stems from that is his problem. Nobody owes him any effort that involves risk to their own life. TS.

      Report Post » Sheepdog911  
    • CatB
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:30pm

      I have seen people jump into freezing water when someone has fallen through the ice and rescue them .. too cold?

      Report Post »  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:34pm

      This is one of the sadest cases of loss I have ever heard of happening; the mother has to see her own son die while people who are suppose to help stand by and do absolutly nothing due to orders from policial figures who just do not care what happens to people. It took an off duty nurse to go in and recover his body while everyone looked on.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • jhaydeng
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:42pm

      Unspeakable!

      Report Post »  
    • Untameable-kate
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 8:44pm

      I feel sorry for the mother. Suicide is a terrible choice to make, especially in front of your loved ones. He chose his path, no one needed to get hurt or killed trying to save him from himself, I‘m sure they didn’t know he had been committed, even if they did, the regulations are in place to keep the rescue workers safe. They have families at home too.

      Report Post » Untameable-kate  
    • jb.kibs
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:01pm

      2 or 3 of them couldnt have swam out at once and helped?
      also that one looks fat enough to float a 150lb person on. GG.

      Report Post »  
    • pyron
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:13pm

      Good example of whats wrong with ca. And the nation

      Report Post »  
    • thegrassroots
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:14pm

      Those “emergency responders [aren't] being made to look like wimps for failing to intervene in an emergency,” THEY ARE WIMPS! THEY ARE WORTHLESS LITTLE WIMPS! And, they get to live with their WIMPINESS for the rest of their lives. They get to know for all of their lives How Low They Stooped To Be Politically Correct, Instead Of Stepping Up To Be Correct. I wonder how they’re explaining their WIMPINESS to their kids?

      Report Post »  
    • Dahart
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:38pm

      Hores-****! This was not about budget cuts…..they had a moral resposeablity to do everything they could to save that mans life. Shame on you! There is no excuse for not acting!

      Report Post » Dahart  
    • grandmaof5
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:55pm

      I guess the reporter in Arkansas who waded out to help a woman with a rope around his waist probably learned that at ‘rushing water, auto rescue school’. All that sounds like an excuse.

      Report Post »  
    • joseph Fawcett
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 9:56pm

      This may sound terrible, but I think that if someone is that determined to kill themselves they should be allowed. However, what our responsiblity is, is to tell them about the hope in Jesus and that their life here is not hopeless. People who want to harm themselves tend to have lost a core hope that their life is worth something to someone. They cannot see a projected hope of life getting any better for them. There is nothing you can do to stop someone from killing themself, yes you could prevent an atempt, or repair damage done to the physical body due to an atempt, but if the person really wants to kill themselves they will. As far as what judgement they will recieve from God I will not even go there because I know Jesus to be a completely fair, loving, merciful, God that will demand true justice, and has a requirement that each of us accept His Son, Jesus as thier Lord. Because it is through Jesus’ death and resurrection that any of us are saved. God will send most people who have lived, are living, and will live to Hell because of their rejection of Jesus. Who they are and who will go to heaven and be back on this earth after Jesus’ return is not for me to even venture a guess. I could not even venture an educated guess. I know some people who were godly people and I think and believe I will see them again in Heaven. This man I cannot even venture what was in his heart, and He now is standing before Jesus or in hell. Pray for his mother please

      http://www.josephfawcettart.

      Report Post » joseph Fawcett  
    • restorehope
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 10:32pm

      The photo of those firemen/policemen standing there watching this man die was so very painful to look at. They are as implicit in the man’s death as he is. He, at least, had the excuse of being depressed and likely mentally ill. What is their excuse?

      If “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” applies, then those so-called emergency responders better hope there are actual human beings around if they get into an emergency situation themselves. What they did to this man was inhuman.

      Report Post »  
    • TomFerrari
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 10:33pm

      “COP” OUT!
      This is utterly disgusting and appalling!
      Hiding behind so-called ‘experts’. sheesh!
      The officers and firefighters ON SIGHT said they WOULD HAVE helped, but POLICY FORBID IT.

      ANY human being who came upon a drowning man, NOT EVEN IN UP TO HIS HEAD, would try to help!!!

      DISGUSTING

      Sound off if you would have tried to help him:

      Report Post » TomFerrari  
    • Melvin Spittle
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 10:45pm

      This is the perfect scenario that state and local governments need to justify higher taxes. They create an environment/incubator for crisis and then wait for it to happen. This crisis will end up being a Jerry Brown talking point for higher taxes. Has anyone ever known a democrat not politicize any tragedy?

      Report Post » Melvin Spittle  
    • banjarmon
      Posted on June 2, 2011 at 10:46pm

      Flat bottom john boats and rope would have saved him!

      Report Post » banjarmon  
    • Contrarian51
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 12:30am

      Did you read the story? They lacked the equipment and training to effect a rescue without endangering their own lives, but many of you wanted them to risk it anyway. I guess you’d feel better if a couple firefighters drowned alongside the suicidal head case. Maybe that would leave some kids without fathers and make you feel better still.

      Basic first aid courses start with teaching you to ensure that it’s safe for you to approach a victim before you do anything else. Obviously, it wasn’t safe for the responders to go charging into the water.

      Report Post »  
    • Hippiesstink
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 2:15am

      What if one of your stinking EMO kids that like to cut themselves was in the same predicament? Would they stand by and say “welp we aint gots no trainin looks like another one bites the dust”? No, they would be all over that kid like white on rice so they could make the front page of the Liberal media for being a hero…..Pathetic

      Report Post »  
    • Goldmember
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 7:16am

      What a country, we pick and choose who we will rescue. Death panels in action.

      Report Post » Goldmember  
    • SREGN
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 8:47am

      I have swum in the ocean here in NJ without a wetsuit in January. Keep your exposure under 15 minutes or so you’re fine. The suicidal person was standing in waist-deep water. Someone could easily have walked out to him. Wouldn’t even need to swim. It’s May, not January. I lived in SF for a while in the seventies and can tell you from experience that the populace of that city are self-centered miserable wastes of flesh. If I were bleeding in the gutter I’d get more help in NYC than in SF. Remember the NYC guy who jumped onto the subway tracks to save a guy a few years ago? That would never happen in SF. They deserve another big quake. Thanks for listening, I feel better now.

      Report Post »  
    • SREGN
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 8:54am

      Sorry, neck-deep. They still could have walked out to him.

      Report Post »  
    • siebegorman
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 8:57am

      “Experts in water rescues” should be left to a similar fate, what a bunch of morons. I’m no “expert in water rescues” yet I am comfortable enough to have gone into the water and drug this man back to shore with or without his consent. What a group of cowards.

      Report Post » siebegorman  
    • s-n-t
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 9:54am

      New first rule of public service: stay alive, at any cost, and make it to your pension years. And, if you can blame budget cuts, all the better. Too cold to WADE in water in May? C’mon. Was it too hot to rush into the towers?? And, of course, the lifeguard guy said what he said — how else to justify those 200K lifeguard salaries Blaze reported on a few weeks ago. Unbelieveable.

      Report Post »  
    • SmokinBugsy
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 10:37am

      Are you people kidding me? Get off the backs of the police and firemen, this guy wanted to die. And now you call the police and firemen murders! They didn’t have the right equipment or training to save this guy. This would be the same as pulling a 21 year old off the street and dropping him into a war zone and telling him to rescue someone without any weapons or training. For all of you that are saying they didn’t do their job I call BULL***T!

      Report Post »  
    • SREGN
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 11:27am

      Smokinbugsy – I‘m not saying that they didn’t do their job, obviously they did. As directed by their superiors they did the nothing they were told to do. What I think we’re all saying is that there is a standard of human behavior kind of hard-wired into a lot of us that causes us to disregard our own comfort or safety to help a fellow human being in danger. Even if in a weak moment he puts himself there intentionally. I would not have been able to stand idly by and watch someone die like that. I would have walked out and dragged him out of the water whether it meant my job or not. I guess the people like me are just the weirdos of the world. But there‘s a bunch of people walking around scratching today that wouldn’t be if not for weirdos like me.

      Report Post »  
    • thegrassroots
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 12:11pm

      @SREGN
      Thank God For “Weirdos” Like You!

      I just saw Army Staff Sgt Eddie Peoples of Sarasota, FL interviewed on GMA. If you didn’t see the interview, it’s on the GMA site. Sgt Peoples makes Alameda, CA’s “emergency responders” look MORE and MORE like the WIMPS they are. Sgt Peoples didn’t have the “equipment” = Sgt Peoples wasn’t armed with a gun! Yet; Sgt Peoples Stepped Up Anyway.

      God Bless That Man — Army Staff Sgt Eddie Peoples Is A Hero! In The Eyes Of Sgt Peoples’ Two Sons, Sgt Peoples Is A Hero!

      I wonder how Alameda’s “emergency responders” are looking in the eyes their children? Here’s a hint — The Color Is Yellow!

      At the end of the interview, Sgt Peoples said: “Sometimes You Have To Put Your Own Personal Safety Aside For The Greater Good.” Yes You Do! Thank You Sgt Peoples! The “Weirdos” Of The World Thank You!

      Report Post »  
    • Trance
      Posted on June 3, 2011 at 3:20pm

      Meh, I wouldn’t have helped the guy if I had been there either. Would you rather he jumped out a window?

      Now, if it were a person who didn’t want to die, I definately would have risked my life to save them. I’m a strong swimmer, and I know enough about how people panic when they are drowning that I have a plan to deal with it if I ever were in that situation.

      Report Post » Trance  
1 2 3 4

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love