Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
We’ve read several times on this blog about police reluctance to help drowning victims and even to prohibit family members from leaping into the water to save their loved ones (here) when authorities refuse to help. Seems the policy is now international. Scottish police stood idly by, keeping back onlookers, as a 37 year-old woman thrashed about in the water near Glasgow’s Albert Bridge and repeatedly called for help.
At that moment, three Glasgow University students, Graham McGrath, Rosie Lucey and Rhys Black were walking along the River Clyde and heard the pleas for help. Eschewing official policy, McCGarth and Lucey leapt into the river and pulled out the unidentified drowning woman. Black then waded in to the water and helped pull all three to safety. The three performed CPR until the woman was revived — all without the aid of local Strathclyde Police officers who gave more priority to crowd control.
Before the students arrived, onlookers had tried to throw floatation devices in the river, but to no avail. Moments before the rescue, the near-victim had slipped beneath the water. The actions of the three quick-thinking students clearly saved her life. Said McGrath, “There was a woman in the water shouting for help. There was somebody throwing lifebelts to her, but she couldn’t get to them …nobody was doing anything else ” Lucey added, “‘We realised we were watching someone drown.”
Particularly galling were the words of a police spokesman who sniffed, “‘It is not the responsibility of the police to go into the water – it’s the fire and rescue service.”
One wonders about the police officers responsibilities as human beings.
Source: Mail Online
~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
“(The caveats to this are fairly obvious — e.g., non-swimmers (in this case), wouldn’t be expected to assist…)” (anon nurse)
And that would be me for I have a terrific fear of the water … I forced myself to get my Red Cross Lifeguard Badge in hopes of overcoming that fear but it didn’t work … I love to watch the water, be on the water, but the force that lies within a body of water scares the hell out of me. I’ll save you my dear, but once we reach shore you will have to save me!
The funny thing about that fear … I have always lived within sight of a large body of water. Go figure.
Threaten me with water-boarding and I’ll tell you everything.
@ rafflow
I was just going by Professor Turley’s bio
Professor Turley’s articles on legal and policy issues appear regularly in national publications with over 750 articles in such newspapers as the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal. … His award-winning blog is ranked in the ten most popular legal blogs by AVVO.
http://jonathanturley.org/about/
Let me know if I am missing something please.
ed. banks of that river (sigh)
Kay, thanks for explaining to me the purpose of Professor Turley’s blog.
In Steamboat Springs CO they don’t enforce permit regulations. Therefore a David Engle died.
http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2008/jun/17/fire_death_questions_linger/
People have been telling me that tourists shouldn’t go to Steamboat Springs and people shouldn’t buy property there because the laws are knowingly and intentionally not enforced.
People have been telling me that even though DOJ has decided not to arrest for some federal crimes in Steamboat Springs CO that the public should boycott.
The Feds have prosecuted permit fraud in other areas.
Scott Peterson is an example of a man who murdered his wife rather than divorcing her to save money on alimony. It sounds like it would be easy for a man who wanted to get rid of his wife to take her on a romantic walk through Glasgow and push her off the bridge with the result that she would drown. It could even be a defense to a murder charge that the police could have saved her but chose not to. Maybe women who suspect their husbands might have a motivation to divorce them should vow not to go on vacation to Scotland.
Two words: Golden Rule
(The caveats to this are fairly obvious — e.g., non-swimmers (in this case), wouldn’t be expected to assist…)
Police manuals aside Kay, while its interesting to read this, the ” human ” factor seems or should come first and foremost above all else, the woman was drowning, I still sit here and shake my head in utter disbelief of this story as what it tells me that there was not a man in that group brave enough to say screw the manual, there’s a life at stake here. Remind me never to set foot in balmy Scotland
@ rafflaw
This is supposed to be a law blog, not a hero’s recognition website.
I googled on “police manual” and found
http://www.denvergov.org/DenverPoliceDepartmentOperationsManual/tabid/392273/Default.aspx
“The nature of police service is such that it is impossible to develop a procedure or plan for every situation that might arise….Basic Tasks of Patrol Division …. To perform miscellaneous services for the public as needed and permitted by proper authority. .. to protect life and property…. drownings, or any emergency situation requiring the employment of a large number of officers shall be considered major emergencies….
General Responsibilities of the Denver Police Department …. Assist and coordinate with other participating agencies involved in the disaster to minimize its impact to the safety and welfare of the public …. Police Response …. The rescue of endangered innocent citizens or officers is a priority …. It is the policy of the Denver Police Department to offer assistance to persons who become stranded, whether because of vehicular problems, law enforcement intervention or other circumstances beyond their immediate control, and when there are no other means of transportation or assistance available….Whenever a privately owned or commercial aircraft crashes anywhere within the city limits of Denver, officers of this department will respond to the scene.”
So it sounds to me like the Denver Police would have a duty to help a drowning person as recognized in their manual.
Man, talk about a ” cop out ” eh. So much for ” To serve & Protect. “
Tragedy: Six teens drown trying to help each other.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38533071/ns/us_news-life/
Heroism: Arland D. Williams Jr. and Lenny Skutnik. Following an airline crash in DC with only six survivors.
According to the other five survivors, one passenger was pinned to the fuselage of the plane, but continued to help the others reach the rescue ropes being dropped by the hovering helicopter, repeatedly passing the line to others instead of using it himself.
…..
As fatigue set in, one of the survivors was too weak to grab the line again, so another bystander, government office assistant Lenny Skutnik, stripped off his coat and boots, and in short sleeves, dived into the icy water and swam out to assist her. The helicopter then proceeded to where the other had fallen.
….
While the other five were being taken to shore by the helicopter, the tail section of the wrecked Boeing 737 shifted and sank further into the water, dragging Arland D. Williams Jr. under the water with it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arland_D._Williams_Jr
What makes one person hesitate while another acts swiftly without regard to personal danger?
Altruism isn’t limited to the human species. Some of my relatives rescued a sea gull that was entangled in ropes after the gull’s flock first alerted them of the problem, then spent several minutes “thanking” them by flying around joyfully before departing.
Wow! this story about 3 heroes really got twisted quickly. I have to agree with Blouise that this is (or should be) a story about the 3 heroes who risked their lives to save another. Kudos to them and the rescued victim should remember these three for the rest of her life.
Yes the cops were cowards. And maybe there are other facts we don’t know about. Maybe the woman was thrown into the water in a murder attempt and the police refused to intervene.
BBB’s philosophy must be that only:
The woman lived because the three students acted bravely. Period.
The question of cowardice was also standing on the shore of that river …”If confronted with fear, will I stand and fight or will I turn and flee?” The cops are cowards, plain and simple.
@anonymously yours
I THINK that I have a mandate to stand up for my rights and in doing so to stand up for the rights of others.
What do you mean I was a part of “the past”? I have no idea what you are talking about as I did absolutely nothing illegal or unethical. Please be specific if you are going to be insulting.
I can’t get away from what happened in my past except thru suicide. It is impossible. It’s not just a matter of will but it is the facts of my life.
My thought is that the way to “grow” is not to run away but to confront injustice.
I read a blog comment saying that all lawyers are stupid if they intervene against a tyrannical or crazy judge. The comment said it is like slapping a grizzly bear. Why do we have to worry about judges acting like animals?
As far as police rescue of drowning victims, it should just be added to police training. If officers were in the water, they would be stronger than the woman who was drowning and would not have risked their own lives. This is not the same situation at all as when someone falls thru the ice, which is how secondary drownings often happen. Police are expected to risk their own lives to intervene in crimes. More and more police and fire forces are also deployed as Emergency Medical Technicians.
I don’t see a big difference between police not intervening in a drowning and police not intervening in a crime in progress especially as in this case where they are assigned a district that includes a river. Its not like there was a separately funded and deployed river safety squad.
It is actually fairly common that police do not intervene in crimes in progress when they are white collar crimes such as extortion, which is a felony.
BBB,
Your reasoning is sometimes beyond strange. As an LEO, I was trained in many First Responder courses and they never singled out drowning as a Do Not First Respond To /Let Die crisis.
Are you, or were you, an LEO, paramedic, or lawyer?
If the police would have arrested the rescuers, I would have a problem with that, but they didn’t; so where’s the beef?
As far as I know, police officers are not trained to be rescue swimmers (even in the US). If going in after a person who is drowning is beyond the officers capability, they need to stay on dry land. Turning a single-victim drowning into a multiple-victim drowning is not a good idea.
We need to focus on the heroic efforts of the three students. That’s the story that needs to be told.
Kay,
Happy New Year..some things you can do somethings about…others are life experiences that you have no control over…this appears to be a life experience….did you grow or are you still wollering….sometimes its best to get up and take a shower to remove the dirt before the rain comes and makes life murky again….think..maybe people would and could have a more positive reaction to your presence if you were not still condemning the past which most certainly you were a part of…..THINK….
Mespo,
Where is that feel good story….I see it in here some place…but its still a tragic undertaking….I am pleased that the students were not arrested or ticketed for interfering with police business…….oh yeah…they locked themselves in that one…
There are few heros who will help victims of judicial misconduct or intervene in a rape in progress either.