A Most Delicate Balance
Today an inquest was held into the tragic death of a young boy who was drowned while trying to save his sister who was in a lake; an old gravel pit. This tragic accident is the mirror image of so many similar tragedies when young children are playing by water that is deep and unsafe. But, this case also highlights another aspect – the need of people, especially when the death of a child is involved, to find someone to blame.
In this case it is two Police community support officers (PCSO) who were called to the scene but were too late to do anything; The lad had already disappeared beneath the water and there was no sign of him. The officers followed their training and called for other emergency services trained to deal with such an incident. The step father and more police arrived on the scene and the body was recovered but they could not manage to resuscitate him. The coroner later would state that it is likely he had already been dead when the PCSOs arrived. The mother is understandably aggrieved and angry, not least with herself. She believes the community support officers could well have saved her son if they had only dived into the unknown, dark waters of the gravel pit. And then the papers have got hold of it. She wants them named, shamed and sacked.
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The Sun reports: Cops ’stood by’ As Boy Drowned (the use of quote marks removes their responsibility for the inaccuracy.
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T he BBC covered this heavily too , again leaning on the idea that these two Community police officers just stood by while the boy thrashed around in the water and took his final gasp of life. Though this stance has now been changed.
Except, it didn’t happen that way.
By this afternoon, Assistant Chief Constable Dave Thompson of the Greater Manchester Police was forced to make a statement on the matter, an event most unusual in such a tragic case where normally the police would keep their thoughts to them selves.
He pointed out that the boy was no longer visible when the PCSOs arrived on the scene. He pointed out that they immediately called for more back up and, because this lake is terribly difficult to find, one went to direct the emergency services. In fact the Officers had had difficulty finding the spot them selves as this lake is confusingly known by several different names locally. Which leads one to believe that they were not on the scene quite as fast as the Sun would have you believe.
He pointed out that not just PCSOs, but ALL police officers are recommended not to try rescues in this type of situation (rescues which are always pointless in reality, but pose severe risk to the people involved.) He also had to explain that the reason why the officers were unnamed and had not given evidence at the enquiry was because the Coroner, who’s decision this is, felt there was no reason to interview them. And through all this you could see that the Assistant Chief Constable was trying to tell the press that the reports were so very far from the truth without saying that it was the mother who was getting it all to wrong – after all, it is her who has lost a son. What a terrible balance he had to try and achieve. And yet why were the police put in this situation? Why was it that it is only AFTER all the reporting that the facts were brought out? Did anyone actually sit in on the enquiry? The mother is baying for blood – in her grief she is desperate for someone to blame. And she cannot be criticised for that. The Police are not to blame, nor is anyone else. The kids played by the lake and fell in. It is terrible accident, and that is all.
{mosimage} But there is one nasty little addendum to this case. Paul Kelly, chairman of the Police Federation in Manchester, and well known hater of the idea of PSCO, has taken the opportunity to say that they should get rid of PSCOs – this incident proves it. Well, of course he is unbiased – he recommended that PSCOs should not be allowed to become members of the Police Federation in a vote.
The training of PCSOs may be an issue, but not in this case. If someone has gone below the surface for more than a minute or two, especially if they are in a panic, then it is already too late. The Assistant Police Constable was careful enough not to mention that, but that is why they have the rules about underwater rescues that apply to all officers. Paul Kelly should be ashamed to use this incident for his cause!
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