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Man Arrested After Rescuing Swimmer

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america never ceases to amaze me

if that was england, the guy, police, and the guy drowning would of all been in the pub having a swift pint and a talking about the day
 
Originally posted by: ironcrotch
HA! after you eat, you should wait at least 30 minutes before swimming 😛
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I was just thinking that after reading the first article, haha
 
"Texas State University police"

Let's not look too deep here, these folks are have the job of glorified rent-a-cops, but have the authority of State trooper.
 
Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
This is truly odd, Texas has a "good samaritan" law that states something along the lines that you can't get in trouble for rendering assistance to someone in need in an emergency situation. 😕 I truly hope this doesn't stand up in court.

I am not entirely clear on the law but I think it applies to this situation.
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Uh, those typically apply when emergency crews are on scene.
 
Originally posted by: crystal
Originally posted by: Mwilding
Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
This is truly odd, Texas has a "good samaritan" law that states something along the lines that you can't get in trouble for rendering assistance to someone in need in an emergency situation. 😕 I truly hope this doesn't stand up in court.

I am not entirely clear on the law but I think it applies to this situation.
Click to expand...

Good Samaritan laws generally protect people from performing acts up to their level of training. A civilian can pull someone from a burning car, but can't perform lifesaving open heart surgery...
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Not if he did stayed in Holiday Inn Express. 😀
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LMAO. Thanks for letting me end my lunch break with laughter.
 
good samaritan applies to anyone supplying emergency first aid. it protects them from being sued for negligence, but not GROSS negligence...encouraging people to stop and help.
 
If it was illegal, it was illegal.

Imagine if his intentional interference had caused this person's death. Not many people would dispute that he was an idiot and should be punished.

The law cannot encourage people to break it. Medical and emergency personal are the best equipped to make life and death decisions, so we should not interfere with that.
 
Originally posted by: Mwilding

Good Samaritan laws generally protect people from performing acts up to their level of training. A civilian can pull someone from a burning car, but can't perform lifesaving open heart surgery...
Click to expand...

I hope no government personnel from Texas ever need help from me, since I won't save them from a fire (I'm not a fireman). I won't try to render aid if he's shot on duty (I'm not a doctor), I won't help him if he's drowning (I'm not a lifeguard), and I won't elect him president (I'm not an idiot).
 
Originally posted by: walla
If it was illegal, it was illegal.

Imagine if his intentional interference had caused this person's death. Not many people would dispute that he was an idiot and should be punished.

The law cannot encourage people to break it. Medical and emergency personal are the best equipped to make life and death decisions, so we should not interfere with that.
Click to expand...

This type of non-thinking is what hurts the country. There are times that you need to break a smaller law in order to enforce a more important law. This type of thinking only attempts to absolve you from personal responsibility. "It's not my job".

Most states have laws that require you to render aid. If you tried to use the "I don't want to break the law" excuse in court, they're not going to hear it. For instance, you are legally prohibited from parking your car on a highway. But if a police officer was shot and needed your help, you can't just drive on by him and say that you didn't want to get a parking violation. It doesn't work that way.

You are also assuming that he was getting in the way of professionals. How do you know that anyone else was even there to help? For all you know, the professional rescue team might have been on their way, 7 miles away.
 
Originally posted by: 91TTZ
Originally posted by: Mwilding

Good Samaritan laws generally protect people from performing acts up to their level of training. A civilian can pull someone from a burning car, but can't perform lifesaving open heart surgery...
Click to expand...

I hope no government personnel from Texas ever need help from me, since I won't save them from a fire (I'm not a fireman). I won't try to render aid if he's shot on duty (I'm not a doctor), I won't help him if he's drowning (I'm not a lifeguard), and I won't elect him president (I'm not an idiot).
Click to expand...
Apparently, you are.

You do not need to be a fireman to put water on a fire, but I wouldn't climb a burning smoke-filled 5 story building to save a stranger without SCBA gear, fire retardant clothing and some fireman training if I were you....

You do not need to be a doctor to apply direct pressure to a wound, lift someone's feet above their head and call 911, but I wouldn't perform emergency battlefield surgery if I were you...

You do not need to be a lifeguard to save a drowning person, but the training does teach you what to do when a panicky person trys to drown the both of you...



 
Originally posted by: Mwilding

You do not need to be a fireman to put water on a fire, but I wouldn't climb a burning smoke-filled 5 story building to save a stranger without SCBA gear, fire retardant clothing and some fireman training if I were you....

You do not need to be a doctor to apply direct pressure to a wound, lift someone's feet above their head and call 911, but I wouldn't perform emergency battlefield surgery if I were you...

You do not need to be a lifeguard to save a drowning person, but the training does teach you what to do when a panicky person trys to drown the both of you...
Click to expand...

Or I can just decide that I'm fed up with the government and keep on driving. Then I won't need to worry about any of that. There are a few people that I would gladly let lay there and I wouldn't bother to render any type of aid. I'll always go out of my way to help nice people, but it's not my duty on Earth to look after people I don't like or treat me in a disrespectful manner. (It's already happened once)
 
Originally posted by: 91TTZ
Originally posted by: walla
If it was illegal, it was illegal.

Imagine if his intentional interference had caused this person's death. Not many people would dispute that he was an idiot and should be punished.

The law cannot encourage people to break it. Medical and emergency personal are the best equipped to make life and death decisions, so we should not interfere with that.
Click to expand...

This type of non-thinking is what hurts the country. There are times that you need to break a smaller law in order to enforce a more important law. This type of thinking only attempts to absolve you from personal responsibility. "It's not my job".

Most states have laws that require you to render aid. If you tried to use the "I don't want to break the law" excuse in court, they're not going to hear it. For instance, you are legally prohibited from parking your car on a highway. But if a police officer was shot and needed your help, you can't just drive on by him and say that you didn't want to get a parking violation. It doesn't work that way.

You are also assuming that he was getting in the way of professionals. How do you know that anyone else was even there to help? For all you know, the professional rescue team might have been on their way, 7 miles away.
Click to expand...

It sounds to me like the man was instructed not to interfere by emergency personel who were on the scene. Obviously, those personel would not have told him that if they did not believe they had the best chance to rescue the swimmer.

Of course I would break the law to save a life if that needed to be done. But if there are a team of experts ALREADY ON THE SCENE, trying to save people, you should let them handle it.
 
"experts" ?

How many EMTs and Firemen have you met? I've only met a few but not a single one of them was what I would consider 'bright'.

Just because a person is in a profession doesn't automatically make him/her an expert in that area. Many many many people half-ass or BS their way through their jobs.


Originally posted by: walla
Originally posted by: 91TTZ
Originally posted by: walla
If it was illegal, it was illegal.

Imagine if his intentional interference had caused this person's death. Not many people would dispute that he was an idiot and should be punished.

The law cannot encourage people to break it. Medical and emergency personal are the best equipped to make life and death decisions, so we should not interfere with that.
Click to expand...

This type of non-thinking is what hurts the country. There are times that you need to break a smaller law in order to enforce a more important law. This type of thinking only attempts to absolve you from personal responsibility. "It's not my job".

Most states have laws that require you to render aid. If you tried to use the "I don't want to break the law" excuse in court, they're not going to hear it. For instance, you are legally prohibited from parking your car on a highway. But if a police officer was shot and needed your help, you can't just drive on by him and say that you didn't want to get a parking violation. It doesn't work that way.

You are also assuming that he was getting in the way of professionals. How do you know that anyone else was even there to help? For all you know, the professional rescue team might have been on their way, 7 miles away.
Click to expand...

It sounds to me like the man was instructed not to interfere by emergency personel who were on the scene. Obviously, those personel would not have told him that if they did not believe they had the best chance to rescue the swimmer.

Of course I would break the law to save a life if that needed to be done. But if there are a team of experts ALREADY ON THE SCENE, trying to save people, you should let them handle it.
Click to expand...

 
Originally posted by: Mwilding
Originally posted by: 91TTZ
Originally posted by: Mwilding

Good Samaritan laws generally protect people from performing acts up to their level of training. A civilian can pull someone from a burning car, but can't perform lifesaving open heart surgery...
Click to expand...

I hope no government personnel from Texas ever need help from me, since I won't save them from a fire (I'm not a fireman). I won't try to render aid if he's shot on duty (I'm not a doctor), I won't help him if he's drowning (I'm not a lifeguard), and I won't elect him president (I'm not an idiot).
Click to expand...
Apparently, you are.

You do not need to be a fireman to put water on a fire, but I wouldn't climb a burning smoke-filled 5 story building to save a stranger without SCBA gear, fire retardant clothing and some fireman training if I were you....

You do not need to be a doctor to apply direct pressure to a wound, lift someone's feet above their head and call 911, but I wouldn't perform emergency battlefield surgery if I were you...

You do not need to be a lifeguard to save a drowning person, but the training does teach you what to do when a panicky person trys to drown the both of you...
Click to expand...

His point was that in Texas, you'll be arrested if you do those things without being a professional.
 
Originally posted by: Mwilding
Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
This is truly odd, Texas has a "good samaritan" law that states something along the lines that you can't get in trouble for rendering assistance to someone in need in an emergency situation. 😕 I truly hope this doesn't stand up in court.

I am not entirely clear on the law but I think it applies to this situation.
Click to expand...

Good Samaritan laws generally protect people from performing acts up to their level of training. A civilian can pull someone from a burning car, but can't perform lifesaving open heart surgery...
Click to expand...

Yeah, and it turns out even if you watched a bunch of ER episodes, and tried really hard to do it right and sterilized your pocket knife with a Zippo and everything, you still get in trouble.
 
Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
america never ceases to amaze me

if that was england, the guy, police, and the guy drowning would of all been in the pub having a swift pint and a talking about the day
Click to expand...

:werd:
Some people take their jobs just WAY too seriously here.
 
Originally posted by: DAGTA
"experts" ?

How many EMTs and Firemen have you met? I've only met a few but not a single one of them was what I would consider 'bright'.

Just because a person is in a profession doesn't automatically make him/her an expert in that area. Many many many people half-ass or BS their way through their jobs.
Click to expand...

I trust that EMTs, fireman and police officers are better equiped than an average citizen to diffuse and handle emergency situations. It doesn't imply anything about intelligence - they could be dumb as bricks - but if they wear those uniforms you at least know they've went through training and have access to live saving tools and methods that you would not.

Point is - to interfere with their business is to undermine their purpose. Yeah sometimes it needs to be done - I'm just not sure this was one of those times.
 
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