Government Red Tape Can and Does KILL.

By Tom Rhodes 6/6/11

Here is the Fact - while trained personnel watched, a 53 year old man stood neck deep in the northern California surf until he got hypothermia and drowned. The government fire and police had training in the past, knew what to do, but because of their department policies, stood on shore and watched the man die rather than rescue him.

If you wondering what prevented the government fire and police personnel from rescuing Raymond Zack last week, the answer is easy. Since the government is worried about being open to liability if the attempt failed, the police is to do nothing. It turns out police and firefighters in Alameda, an island city, are no longer certified to government requirements in land-based water rescues. It seems budget constraints prevented recertification. Official policy is that without that paperwork government police and fire are not allowed to help.

The good people of Alameda, who assume that the tax dollars they spend on police, fire fighters and other emergency workers would mean that they are trained to handle this type of situation (they were but certification were allowed to expire) are now left knowing that the government is not there to serve and protect. This is a prime example of more government, more regulation, more bureaucracy, and less self-reliance spelling disaster for society. This is not what ruling elite promise us when they tell us that they must take away our liberties in exchange for being more secure.

Here is what Alameda fire chief Ricci Zombeck said about the situation, "Well, if I was off duty I would know what to 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."

The policy is Alameda is to let people die. This is the caring we can expect from government bureaucracy. Police and firefighters risk their lives daily, but when they are told that if they help beyond their “certifications” they will be fired and are forced to allow people whom they may have been able to save die, we have a serious societal problem. There is some twisted notion that the government is there to solve and take care of every problem, and that only the government can be trusted to protect us and safeguard our welfare. Why didn’t any of the 75 civilian onlookers attempt to do something? Worse yet this is a case where individuals knew what to do to save a dying man, but official procedures prohibited them from acting.

Imagine your local firefighter, EMT, or sheriff deputy, who has the training and will, but must choose between keeping their job, or saving your loved one, because some bureaucrat has determined that heroic effort is against policy.

After Raymond Zack died, the government didn’t even retrieve the body, a 20 year old civilian girl did.

Explain to me again how much better off we are when the government takes care of us? This is a clear sign of a sick society.