gall and gumption

Friday, September 21, 2007

Unintentional Parable

From the Guardian:

The inquest heard Jordon was under the water for between 10 and 30 minutes before he was hauled out.

An air ambulance took him to the Royal Preston hospital where he later died.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, deputy coroner Alan Walsh said: "This is an inquest of utmost tragedy."

In a statement issued after the inquest, DCI Owen said there was initially some confusion about the location of the incident. When the support officers arrived, there was no sign of the boy in the water.

He said: "Having made an assessment of the situation, one of the PCSOs called the GMP control room to give out the correct location and an officer was at the scene within five minutes ... It would have been inappropriate for PCSOs, who are not trained in water rescue, to enter the pond."

There are some 14,000 community support officers in the UK. They have the power to issue fines for antisocial behaviour, public disorder and motoring offences.