Shameful failure
A lack of training, equipment and compassion allowed an apparently suicidal man to drown, as firemen and police officers were too ‘handcuffed by policy’ to save him.
According to reports from Associated Press, the stepmother of the 50-year-old man begged for help as he waded into the deep water in San Francisco bay and waited for the tides to come in.
About 75 people watched the incident, and witnessed the man drown in the 54-degree Fahrenheit water.
Fire crews and police wanted to do something, but a policy tied to earlier budget cuts, meaning they did not have the training or cold-water gear, strictly forbade them from trying to save the 50-year-old, officials said.
An unnamed witness finally pulled the apparently suicidal man’s lifeless body from the water.
