And Don't Do It Again!

Q: What's the going reward for saving a drowning man in modern America?

A: Jail time.

At this point, I might go off on an anti-cop bender, but I won't. While I'll be the first to admit there are more than a few arrogant, power-drunk street cops out there, I don't see that being the case here. It's not really the cops who are at fault in this situation, though it may seem that way at first glance. No, the root of the evil which made them scared to deviate from procedure, and made them more concerned over the erstwhile rescuer than the drowning man, was fear of lawsuits.

In brief, the problem is tort lawyers. Or, as I prefer to call them, the Hideous Spawn of Satan Made Manifest in Flesh. The policemen's first thoughts were not that the man might be (and evidently was) a more qualified rescue swimmer. No, they were only concerned that the rescuer might drown, thus prompting a lawsuit against the city in the surviving family's name, and the policemen would lose their badges for "allowing" him to drown--never mind that he acted of his own volition.

That's what the safety of our citizens really comes down to: greedy tort lawyers.

Aren't we lucky.

Tort reform now.