How London Police Stood and Watch a 17yrs old Drown to Death Because They are Not Allowed into Water [photos]

 

Its not only in Nigeria you see this level of irresponsibility from the security forces. Jack Susianta, 17, drowned after jumping in canal while fleeing from police 

The depth is a little more than 6ft. Experts say there is a slight undercurrent, but during long dry spells, such as we are experiencing now, the flow is so slow that if you drop a twig from the King’s Head footbridge, it takes an eternity to float a few yards downstream.

In recent years, several people have fallen into the canal and have been rescued by passers-by, with comparative ease. According to locals, any half-decent swimmer could negotiate this gently winding creek without difficulty.

All of which makes the terrible tragedy that unfolded here several days ago deeply disturbing and incomprehensible.

On a beautiful afternoon, as people sunbathed, played games on the marsh and jogged and cycled along the towpath, a brilliant but troubled young sixth-former jumped from the bridge to escape a group of some eight or nine pursuing police officers after an incident at his home.

By all accounts, 17-year-old Jack Susianta was a competent swimmer but, for reasons not known, he couldn’t or wouldn’t try to save himself. For several agonising minutes, he just bobbed up and down in the muddy water, disappearing for long periods and emerging to gasp and splutter for air.

Incredibly, however, not one of the Met Police officers went to his aid, despite the increasingly desperate entreaties of the large crowd who gathered to watch. Instead, witnesses say, they simply stood on the bridge throwing life-belts and floats, which Jack didn’t even attempt to reach. The police also warned others not to go into the water.

And so, after struggling for a few minutes in plain sight of many people, a much-loved young man with a promising future was allowed to drown.

When one distressed local boat-owner asked a policeman why officers hadn’t jumped in, he got a depressingly predictable reply.

‘Health and safety,’ the officer told him.In recent years, there has been a plethora of similar incidents involving emergency services. Hidebound by pettifogging regulations, police officers have refused to put themselves at risk by trying to rescue youngsters from ponds in Wigan and on Hampstead Heath.

In a jaw-dropping decision last week, the Crown even deemed Strathclyde firefighters within their rights not to descend a disused 50ft mineshaft into which a woman had accidentally fallen, and later died, because their duty was to save people from ‘structures’ such as buildings, and the hole wasn’t classed as a structure!

Even in an age where public service red-tape all too often takes precedence over the basic human instinct to save lives, Jack Susianta’s story has touched a raw nerve.

One pointed out that ‘protection of life and property’ was meant to be a primary objective of the Metropolitan Police, as defined by its founder Sir Richard Mayne in 1829. Another suggested that police chiefs daren’t allow officers to risk injury for fear of being sued for compensation.

The matter is currently under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)

Jack was due to sit his A-levels next summer and was expected to get good grades .

Friends have continued to mourn his passing, dropping flowers at his grave site

 

 

source: mailonline