Rescuers watch suicidal man kill self in SF Bay
The Golden Gate Bridge is seen in San Francisco Bay Oct. 24, 2008. / AFP/Getty Images
SAN FRANCISCO - Fire crews and police could only watch after a man waded into San Francisco Bay, stood up to his neck and waited. They wanted to do something, but a policy brought about by budget cuts strictly forbade them from trying to save the 50-year-old, officials said.
The apparently suicidal man, identified in the San Jose Mercury News as Raymond Zack, was in the 54-degree water for around an hour.
As a result of the incident, the fire department's policy was changed to prevent future occurrences, but it was a challenging incident for rescuers at the scene.
The events of Memorial Day were "very difficult and very regrettable," Alameda Interim Fire Chief Mike D'Orazi told CNN Wednesday, adding that the firefighters on the beach "were incredibly frustrated by this whole situation. They wanted to get in, they wanted to take action."
One witness, Sharon Brunetti, told the Mercury News that Zack's stepmother asked her to call 911 and said he was threatening to kill himself.
He "gradually inched our farther and farther" from the shore, Brunetti told the paper.
"The next thing he was floating face down," she said.
A witness finally pulled his lifeless body from the water.
D'Orazi said Monday's incident is troubling. He directed staff to write a new policy that would allow water rescues in the city of about 75,000 people across the bay from San Francisco.
The previous policy was implemented after budget cuts forced the department to discontinue water rescue training and stop maintaining wetsuits and other rescue gear, D'Orazi said Tuesday.
"The incident yesterday was deeply regrettable," he said. "But I can also see it from our firefighters' perspective. They're standing there wanting to do something, but they are handcuffed by policy at that point."
A witness, Perry Smith, told a television station the man was visible from the shore of Crown Memorial State Beach and was looking at people.
"We expected to see at some point that there would be a concern for him," another witness, Gary Barlow, told KGO-TV.
The Coast Guard was called to the scene, but the water was too shallow for a boat, Alameda police Lt. Sean Lynch said. Police officers didn't have the gear for the cold water and couldn't risk being pulled under.
"Certainly this was tragic, but police officers are tasked with ensuring public safety, including the safety of personnel who are sent to try to resolve these kinds of situations," Lynch said.
D'Orazi said crews may have decided it was too risky to attempt the rescue, even if they had not been shackled by the restrictions on water rescues.
In addition to the new policy, Alameda fire personnel will receive training in water rescues, and rescue equipment will be inspected to make sure it is not damaged, D'Orazi said.
There are no lifeguards at the beach, said Isa Polt-Jones, a spokeswoman with the East Bay Regional Park District. Signs at the park advise swimmers to enter the water at their own risk.
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Calling 911 is often like calling the dumbest guy in school to help you with your math homework. If anything, they just make the situation worse.
While not exactly applicable in this instance, hundreds drown every year across the US at this time of year when high air temperature seduces them to take a plunge in waters below 70 degrees. Ideal water termperature for swimming is around 85 degrees and in some places that doesn't happen, even in the hottest days of summer.
Perhaps the media can help alert swimmers to either wait for warmer water or tie an identification tag on their toe so the body can be more easily identified.
In Memory of Austin.
Why? Because this tragedy is what happens when ethics conflicts with an employer's policies. We saw it earlier this year when a Best Buy employee tackled and detained a shoplifter. You'd think he'd get at least a pat on the back from his employer, but he was fired. He's STILL fired, even though the incident was a PR fiasco for Best Buy. The reason? If Best Buy sanctioned the action by their failure to have a policy against it, they would open themselves up to liability should employees or customers be injured.
The same mentality applies to this situation. Since the department couldn't afford to continue water rescue training, to protect themselves legally they force employees to refrain from water rescues. If any one of these public safety officers had violated that policy, they would have faced disciplinary action, regardless of the public outcry, because that's what is required to protect the city from lawsuits.
The legislation I propose will protect individuals from disciplinary action taken by their employer where the employee acted to save life, prevent injury, or enforce the law. Because it supersedes company policy, companies still maintain their protection from liability while allowing employees to follow their conscience without jeopardizing their jobs. Liability starts and ends with the employee, who would enjoy the further protection against lawsuits as long as their actions were taken without malice in the absence of better qualified assistance.
One less life, but hey, look at the money we saved. Pitiful it comes to this.
That who dept should be charged in the case for being idiots to simply watch this man die.
BTW, this happened in Alameda Island, which is Oakland, not SF. And yeah, sorry to take a swipe at Oakland, but it often does seem that bureaucratic over there. People do the minimum required and wash their hands.