Why cops and firefighters stood by as a man drowned in San Francisco Bay

by Steven Greenhut

“On Memorial Day, a suicidal man waded into San Francisco Bay outside the city of Alameda and stood there for about an hour, neck-deep in chilly water, as about 75 bystanders watched. Local police and firefighters were called to the scene, but they refused to help. After the man drowned, the assembled “first responders” also refused to wade into the water to retrieve his body; they left that job for a bystander.

The incident sparked widespread outrage in northern California, and the response by the fire department and police only intensified the anger. The firefighters blamed local budget cuts for denying them the training and equipment necessary for cold-water rescues. The police said that they didn’t know if the man was dangerous and therefore couldn’t risk the safety of their officers.

After a local TV news crew asked him whether he would save a drowning child in the bay, Alameda fire chief Ricci Zombeck gave an answer that made him the butt of local talk-show mockery: “Well, if I was off duty, I would know what I would do, but I think you’re asking me my on-duty response, and I would have to stay within our policies and procedures, because that’s what’s required by our department to do.”
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Bruce Graybill responds to this article, which discusses the question of, “Since the economy has gotten worse, why has the crime rate not increased?”:

Crime and the Great Recession

Jobs have fled, lawbreaking hasn’t risen—and criminologists are scratching their heads.

http://www.city-journal.org/2011/21_3_crime-decline.html#.Tlo5zStMrj8.facebook

Graybill says,

“It’s interesting that the author notes the predicted increase in property crime (citing auto thefts, robbery, burglary, etc.), in a recession like today’s, would be worse because the families are weaker and children more independent. But seemed a little puzzled as to why it wasn’t the case.

40 states now have ‘shall issue’ right to carry (concealed) laws, 8 have ‘may issue’ laws, and 2 deny a private citizen’s right to carry a firearm (Illinois and Wisconsin). FBI Uniform Crime Reports verify the states with ‘shall issue’ laws had demonstratively less crime that states that do not have shall issue laws, over the same time periods.

Add to this the 30 or so states that have passed various forms of castle doctrine laws, and you have a pretty simple logical basis for why crime has not increased in this depression.”