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Outrage over Florida lifeguard fired for attempting to save drowning man
Published on Thursday July 05, 2012
The fact that Tomas Lopez, working for a private company contracted to the City of Hallandale Beach, was canned has touched off a storm of protest resulting in an investigation into exactly what happened. Two fellow lifeguards quit immediately in protest.
“It has always been the city’s policy that if there is an actual emergency either inside the protected area or outside the protected area that the lifeguard should go,” Peter Dobens, a spokesperson for the city, told the Star Thursday.
Hallandale, a vacation spot located on Florida’s east coast in Broward County, is sometimes referred to in jest as the “southernmost Canadian city” because of its popularity with snowbirds.
Lopez told Florida media that he could not stand by and watch a person drown regardless of the rules, and added that he would do it again.
“It was a long run, but someone needed my help. I wasn't going to say no,” he said.
“It was the moral thing to do,” Lopez said. “I would never pick a job over my morals.”
Lifeguards in Hallandale Beach work for Orlando area company Jeff Ellis Management, which has the contract to supply lifeguard services for the city's beaches and pools. The contract expires in September.
Ellis told the Star his company was conducting an investigation into the matter and would be reporting as early as Friday morning whether Lopez is to be reinstated.
“I am sure that his intentions were certainly in the best interest of doing what he was trained to do. I don’t think anybody desputes that. The question is did those actions also put other people at risk or cause other problems as to not follow the protocol that are in place,” he said, adding that up to eight lifeguards may have now left the job over this incident.
Ellis said those protocols include calling emergency services when a person is struggling in the water outside a patrol area.
Dobens said Lopez responded to a man struggling in the water about 1,500 feet from his lifeguard stand and “we were told by the company that the beach was still covered when he left.”
By the time Lopez arrived, several witnesses had already pulled the unidentified man out of the water and that an off-duty nurse attended to the man until the city's paramedics arrived. The unidentified man was reported to be in intensive care.
o brother!
Published on Thursday July 05, 2012
The fact that Tomas Lopez, working for a private company contracted to the City of Hallandale Beach, was canned has touched off a storm of protest resulting in an investigation into exactly what happened. Two fellow lifeguards quit immediately in protest.
“It has always been the city’s policy that if there is an actual emergency either inside the protected area or outside the protected area that the lifeguard should go,” Peter Dobens, a spokesperson for the city, told the Star Thursday.
Hallandale, a vacation spot located on Florida’s east coast in Broward County, is sometimes referred to in jest as the “southernmost Canadian city” because of its popularity with snowbirds.
Lopez told Florida media that he could not stand by and watch a person drown regardless of the rules, and added that he would do it again.
“It was a long run, but someone needed my help. I wasn't going to say no,” he said.
“It was the moral thing to do,” Lopez said. “I would never pick a job over my morals.”
Lifeguards in Hallandale Beach work for Orlando area company Jeff Ellis Management, which has the contract to supply lifeguard services for the city's beaches and pools. The contract expires in September.
Ellis told the Star his company was conducting an investigation into the matter and would be reporting as early as Friday morning whether Lopez is to be reinstated.
“I am sure that his intentions were certainly in the best interest of doing what he was trained to do. I don’t think anybody desputes that. The question is did those actions also put other people at risk or cause other problems as to not follow the protocol that are in place,” he said, adding that up to eight lifeguards may have now left the job over this incident.
Ellis said those protocols include calling emergency services when a person is struggling in the water outside a patrol area.
Dobens said Lopez responded to a man struggling in the water about 1,500 feet from his lifeguard stand and “we were told by the company that the beach was still covered when he left.”
By the time Lopez arrived, several witnesses had already pulled the unidentified man out of the water and that an off-duty nurse attended to the man until the city's paramedics arrived. The unidentified man was reported to be in intensive care.
o brother!
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