Should DNR have helped me

[churchmouse]

Some folks just seem to be full of the milk of human kindness. Would I expect a P.O. to pull me in if I ran out of gas in my car. No I would not. On the other hand, I think I would hope that he would offer a suggestion or two if I didnÂ’t know where the nearest gas station was. Poor analogy but as good as yours.

If I had a flat tire on my car and the spare turned out to be flat I wouldnÂ’t expect police officer to go get me another tire. But I might ask him about the nearest service station and he might offer a suggestion or two about how to get assistance.

Had boats for years.
Had a few incidents were things broke/just stopped and folks always came along to help. Lost count of how many folks we towed in. It is the code or it used to be anyway. Glad you got some help.

 

[Cameramonkey]

You are a bone head for running out of gas. (May I suggest a reserve tank?)

But I also agree he was out of line and copped out on the "If I help you I am obligated to take you all the way and I cant drop you and go help somebody that needs me more if that were to pop up." . That feels to me like an excuse so he doesnt have to do a part of his job he doesnt like. Would the trolling motor get you there? Maybe. Maybe not. But if he gave you a tow and got you a mile closer before getting a "real" call, you are more likely to be able to get home and not be totally stranded. That just strikes me as "I see you are out here in the middle of the lake swimming to shore. You appear to be swimming strongly, so I wont pick you up because somebody else might start drowning while I am helping your sorry ass. But if you start to drown, dont hesitate to flag me down and THEN I will come and drop my ladder. "

And I know the feeling. Borrowed the boss' ski boat for a date down at Monroe many years ago late one nite. After skinny dipping in a cove we decided to head back. Engine wouldnt crank. I had running lights, but no starter. I started to paddle my butt back the half mile + to the marina and after 10 minutes decided I REALLY needed to try harder to troubleshoot because it would take hours to get "home". (ski boat, no troller) Luckily it was just a loose battery cable and I got the engine started. That would have sucked hard.

 

[Ark]

COs are frequently the ONLY person available for an entire county worth of potential emergencies. He's not wrong, his emergency response will be hindered if he has you under tow, and he is NOT on that reservoir to provide a courtesy service to people who have failed to maintain their own boats or equipment. If there was one state trooper on duty for your entire county, would you expect him to pick you up at the side of the road and drive you to the gas station and back?

It's one thing if they have staff redundancy and can afford to be unavailable for a little while to help you out and be nice, but my understanding of the CO staffing situation in Indiana is that they rarely have that luxury. Last time I had a boat break down, I paddled it toward the stream of people heading back to the boat launch and found somebody to do a quick tow. Look for the boats that have girls on board. Their guys will be eager to demonstrate their helpfulness and towing prowess.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

You are a bone head for running out of gas. (May I suggest a reserve tank?)

But I also agree he was out of line and copped out on the "If I help you I am obligated to take you all the way and I cant drop you and go help somebody that needs me more if that were to pop up." . That feels to me like an excuse so he doesnt have to do a part of his job he doesnt like.

Except liability. He tows you part way then cuts you loose, you die of heat stroke, your family sues him and the department. I can't find it now, but I recall an officer getting sued for giving someone a ride part way home, putting them out in a parking lot for an emergency call, then getting sued when the guy tried to walk the rest of the way home and got hit by a car.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Except liability. He tows you part way then cuts you loose, you die of heat stroke, your family sues him and the department. I can't find it now, but I recall an officer getting sued for giving someone a ride part way home, putting them out in a parking lot for an emergency call, then getting sued when the guy tried to walk the rest of the way home and got hit by a car.

Yes, but this isnt quite the same as its more equivalent to you hooking your cruiser up to pull a car that the torque converter has died and wont leave 1st gear. You wont be leaving him on the side as a pedestrian, but are instead getting his slow vehicle closer to limp home.

But I see your point. People like that ruin it for people like Amboy.

 

[bwframe]

I can see both sides of the issue...

For sure though, people as a whole aren't what they once were. Certainly some exceptions, but in 2018 folks overall are much more self-centered than ever before.

 

[patience0830]

Are you this pleasant in person?

I'd have towed him home if I was unwise enough to have purchased a hole in the water you throw money in, Fargo.
Just sick to death of people being mad about having to deal with their own fork ups. He won't forget the gas next time. CO saw he was ok and could make it back, albeit slowly.
I have been known on occasion to whine. Please call me on it when you catch me.

 

[Expat]

Except liability. He tows you part way then cuts you loose, you die of heat stroke, your family sues him and the department. I can't find it now, but I recall an officer getting sued for giving someone a ride part way home, putting them out in a parking lot for an emergency call, then getting sued when the guy tried to walk the rest of the way home and got hit by a car.

You have the liability issues. You also have businesses that lose revenue complaining to people like the County Commissioners. I know that was part of the issue with lock outs up here. The local locksmiths complained that the police were taking money out of their pockets by assisting locked out motorists.

 

[avboiler11]

...and we wonder why society seems less polite and civil today...

CO’s responsibility? No, but as a public servant ostensibly responsible for regulation enforcement and public safety, he definitely should have done more than described to help someone on the water who clearly was in need of assistance.

In the event he got a call he had to immediately respond to (what are the odds?), how hard is it /long does it take to disconnect a tow?

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Had boats for years.
Had a few incidents were things broke/just stopped and folks always came along to help. Lost count of how many folks we towed in. It is the code or it used to be anyway. Glad you got some help.

^^^Same here.^^^ I just figure it builds up good joo-joo to help someone out. Needed help myself before and always managed to find it, so I always pay it forward.

I would have towed the OP if I were the CO.

 

[halfmileharry]

CO may have left you on your own so you learn from your mistakes.
I'd like to hear from the CO on his views of the situation

 

[Fargo]

COs are frequently the ONLY person available for an entire county worth of potential emergencies. He's not wrong, his emergency response will be hindered if he has you under tow, and he is NOT on that reservoir to provide a courtesy service to people who have failed to maintain their own boats or equipment. If there was one state trooper on duty for your entire county, would you expect him to pick you up at the side of the road and drive you to the gas station and back?

It's one thing if they have staff redundancy and can afford to be unavailable for a little while to help you out and be nice, but my understanding of the CO staffing situation in Indiana is that they rarely have that luxury. Last time I had a boat break down, I paddled it toward the stream of people heading back to the boat launch and found somebody to do a quick tow. Look for the boats that have girls on board. Their guys will be eager to demonstrate their helpfulness and towing prowess.

Are you really suggesting that one conservation offer is the only emergency responder in Hamilton County, much less the only one with a boat?

DNR is responsible for virtually zero of the water rescue in my county, Yet their gear budget is just freaking enormous. We also have a fish and wildlife area, so my county has more COs than normal.

The county sheriffs department is who normally does the vast majority of this stuff.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Are you really suggesting that one conservation offer is the only emergency responder in Hamilton County, much less the only one with a boat?

DNR is responsible for virtually zero of the water rescue in my county, Yet their gear budget is just freaking enormous. We also have a fish and wildlife area, so my county has more COs than normal.

The county sheriffs department is who normally does the vast majority of this stuff.

He’s the only one with a boat that writes tickets. Revenue ain’t gonna generate itself!

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Are you this pleasant in person?

LOL. That's just funny!

As to the o.p.
No, I dont think the C.O. had any obligation, beyond common decency, to help you.

That said, sounds like the individual is somewhat lacking in common decency.

That is only concerning in that we hope and expect our LEO's to be better than the average bear in this department.

 

[halfmileharry]

^^^Same here.^^^ I just figure it builds up good joo-joo to help someone out. Needed help myself before and always managed to find it, so I always pay it forward.

I would have towed the OP if I were the CO.

I would have gladly helped and towed the OP as well and I have towed numerous boats from trouble including 2 sinking boats. One at Geist and one at Dogwood.
The one at Geist was a sailboat that started taking on water very fast I got towed to shallow water to save the boat, passengers, and contents.
Geist is a very small lake and it's pretty easy to get someone towed in tothe docks, safe water, or at least to shore.
In a perfect world the CO would have towed you in.

 

[JimH]

^^^Same here.^^^ I just figure it builds up good joo-joo to help someone out. Needed help myself before and always managed to find it, so I always pay it forward.

I would have towed the OP if I were the CO.

This pretty well says it-I have needed help and given help.Wonder why he didn't check your licence,number of fish,life jackets etc.?What was he doing on the lake?

 

[amboy49]

This pretty well says it-I have needed help and given help.Wonder why he didn't check your licence,number of fish,life jackets etc.?What was he doing on the lake?

Truth be be told when I saw him and flagged him down the thought occurred to me that he would want to check us for any infractions he could cite.

I felt pretty confident he would find none. We had/have:

Adequate number of approved life jackets
Paddle ( in my opinion worthless - ever try to paddle a 16’ v bottom boat - especially with a breeze present ? )
Charge and operational fire extinguisher
Lifetime fishing license(s) - one each for my wife and myself
Fish caught ? Now that right there IS funny ! . NONE !
Boat registration - current and up to date through 2019. Boat numbers/letters properly affixed to the hull
Proof of insurance
Alcohol consumed and/or onboard the boat - none.

Not sure why a question from the CO about what I was doing on the lake would be a relevant or appropriate question. Is this a question commonly asked of boaters by a CO ?

At that point I think I was hoping he would check me.

 

[JimH]

Truth be be told when I saw him and flagged him down the thought occurred to me that he would want to check us for any infractions he could cite.

I felt pretty confident he would find none. We had/have:

Adequate number of approved life jackets
Paddle ( in my opinion worthless - ever try to paddle a 16’ v bottom boat - especially with a breeze present ? )
Charge and operational fire extinguisher
Lifetime fishing license(s) - one each for my wife and myself
Fish caught ? Now that right there IS funny ! . NONE !
Boat registration - current and up to date through 2019. Boat numbers/letters properly affixed to the hull
Proof of insurance
Alcohol consumed and/or onboard the boat - none.

Not sure why a question from the CO about what I was doing on the lake would be a relevant or appropriate question. Is this a question commonly asked of boaters by a CO ?

At that point I think I was hoping he would check me.

I would think that would be his main reason for being on the water...

 

[amboy49]

CO may have left you on your own so you learn from your mistakes.
I'd like to hear from the CO on his views of the situation

Somehow I didn’t get the feeling he was using the incident as a “teachable moment.”

 

[halfmileharry]

Somehow I didn’t get the feeling he was using the incident as a “teachable moment.”

Sounding more like he just plain didn't give a ****.