Man drowns in San Francisco Bay as rescue workers watch

This is absolutely appalling. I’ve compiled details from several news sources in an attempt to figure out what really happened. I wish that someone could have interviewed the actual first responders to hear their thoughts first-hand, but all I’m finding are statements by the people in command of the Fire and Police Departments. What drives rescue personnel to value policy and rules (not laws!) above a human life? And what makes 75 bystanders simply stand by? (3)

What happened:

On Memorial Day, 52-year-old Raymond Zack waded into the bay in the City of Alameda. (2)

Witnesses said the Alameda man paced back and forth for several minutes, then walked out into the waves around 11:30 a.m., raising his arms in the air in chest-deep water for nearly an hour. (6)

Police and firefighters said they arrived within minutes of receiving the 911 call that Zack was attempting to commit suicide at the beach. (3)

The U.S. Coast Guard launched a 25-foot response boat from Yerba Buena Island and a helicopter from Air Station San Francisco. The boat could not reach Zack because the water was too shallow, Coast Guard Petty Officer Erik Swanson said. The helicopter was initially delayed because it needed to refuel. (3)

Police and firefighters who had responded to a 911 call about the suicide attempt stood onshore watching and making no attempt to rescue or even contact Zack. (7)

Along with police and firefighters, wind surfers and joggers paused to watch as the coldness of the bay slowly weakened the 300-pound, 6-foot-3 Alameda resident. (9) The water temperature was about 55 degrees. (3)

By the time [the helicopter] hovered over the scene, another swimmer was bringing the man onto shore. (4)

For nearly an hour, Zack stood in the neck-deep water — sometimes raising his arms above the surface — before he eventually floated away. (3, 6)

At least two bystanders, including a kite surfer, tried to get to the man. The woman who swam out when the man was about 50 yards away and pulled him to shore told witnesses she was a nurse trained in water rescue. (6)

[The victim’s stepmother] Dolores Berry, 84, said, “I watched them put him in the ambulance,” Berry said. “I know he was still alive because he was shaking all over. I think it was hypothermia.” (9)

“He was out there very far,” said Alameda police Lt. Jill Ottaviano. “Conditions were very cold and choppy. It was a situation where you could see him bobbing up out of the water, then going under. Ultimately, he may have suffered from hypothermia. It was a very unfortunate situation.” (6)

Rescue workers didn’t try to save him because:

• they did not possess the proper certifications for water rescue required to legally do so. Had the workers attempted a rescue without the legal certifications, they could have faced lawsuits leading to massive fines and career ending rulings. In fact, because of certifications and laws, rescue workers could not even legally enter the water to retrieve the body after the man had died. The police asked an onlooker to do it for them. (1)
• Fire officials say a policy strictly forbade them from engaging in water rescues. Police have said officers didn’t have the gear for the cold water and couldn’t risk being pulled under. (2)
• Firefighters did not enter the water because they are not trained in land/water rescue, while police said they did not immediately step in because Zack was suicidal and possibly violent. …. The fire department’s water rescue program was shelved in March 2009 due to cuts. The loss of overtime also led to fewer training hours for firefighters. As a result, department policy prevented firefighters from entering the water to help Zack. (3)
• Police Lt. Sean Lynch said the day after the death, “It was a very tragic event, but he was engaged in a deliberate act of taking his own life. We did not know whether he was violent, whether drugs were involved. It’s not a situation of a typical rescue.” (5)
• Alameda Interim Fire Chief Mike D’Orazi said that while some fire personnel on scene may have had training enough in the past to effect a rescue, “it’s been a couple of years since that program has really gotten the attention it deserves.” Plus, he reiterated, policy dictated that no water rescue attempt be made. (4)
• D’Orazi also said, “Previously we had a very highly trained water-rescue program that we could use for both shore-based and boat-and-surf water rescue. But unfortunately, over the course of several years based on what I gather on budget issues, they pretty much decertified the program.” (7)
• According to a statement released by the police Monday evening, “(the) Alameda Fire Department does not currently have, and is not certified, in land-based water rescues. The city of Alameda primarily relies on the United States Coast Guard for these types of events.” (6)

On Tuesday, interim fire Chief Mike D’Orazi said he was instituting an immediate policy change that would allow a senior firefighter discretion on how best to respond to an emergency in the water. (3)

Some who witnessed the incident said they were surprised the firefighters didn’t attempt to rescue the man. “We expected to see at some point that there would be a concern for him,” another witness, Gary Barlo, told KGO-TV. (8)

 

It “couldn’t be further from the truth” that emergency workers did nothing as Zack drowned. “That’s simply not the case. Every circumstance is different and there are protocols that need to be followed.” (3)

“We are absolutely going to do an investigation,” Mayor Marie Gilmore told the San Jose Mercury News. “And we are planning to do it in as transparent a way as possible.”

Incidentally, the City of Alameda is an island. (5)

Sources:

1. http://pajamasmedia.com/tatler/2011/06/01/california-rescue-workers-watch-man-drown-for-an-hour-because-they-lacked-water-rescue-certification/

2. http://www.stltoday.com/news/article_f4a2fe18-afb8-5283-a681-7378e633e6d0.html

3. http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_18177424

4. http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2011/06/01/interview-city-of-alameda-fire-chief-on-why-personnel-didnt-attempt-rescue-of-drowning-man/

5. http://www.insidebayarea.com/opinion/ci_18183837

6. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_18172320?source=rss&nclick_check=1

7. http://www.npr.org/2011/06/01/136864398/after-suicide-calif-town-reviews-emergency-policies

8. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/06/outrage-after-fire-police-officials-watched-man-drown-himself-in-san-francisco-bay.html

9. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18186732?nclick_check=1