Canoeists Pull Suicide Victim To Shore, Get Ticketed For No Life Jackets

This brings new meaning to the old adage, "No good deed will go unpunished".

TWIN FALLS — Dennis Bohrn paddled hard across the Snake River to get a suicide victim’s body to land.
When he and three others paddling canoes Sunday morning dragged the woman’s body, they were stunned and crying — had she jumped? Had she been pushed? Had she slipped? And they were even more stunned when at the shore a deputy cited them twice for not carrying life vests in either canoe.

“The body was right there,” said Bohrn, 58, of Twin Falls. “A girl deputy was trying to console everybody. Then a sergeant walked up. He said, ’I see you don’t have any life jackets so I am going to give you a citation’. It seemed a little cold.”

The fine for each citation is $85.

www.idahostatesman.com...

Some cops realy get under my skin. Some are decent and use thier brain others are on a major athority ego trip.

If only that sergeant could get it up without a gun maybe he wouldnt be so anal retentave.

I read the article, but I'm not quite clear on this, did they know she was
committing suicide?

Was she dead already and they were going to retrieve the body?


Anyways, in my own opinion, if they knew she was committing suicide,
well I'd charge them with interfering with the womans freedom, it's her
life, if she wants to end it, well no one has the right to say otherwise.

uh...ok.
interfering with someones rights by trying to save their life?

An office Saw her jump, that why it was called a suicide.

As for the ticketing officer. He was within the law to do so.
But he certainly wasn't promoting any sort of goodwill.

Originally posted by spacedoubt
uh...ok.
interfering with someones rights by trying to save their life?

If it's clear that they are committing suicide, than trying to save there life
is interfering with their right to take there own life.


I'm still not sure if they knew she was committing suicide or not though,
the article was'nt very clear.

Originally posted by spacedoubt
uh...ok.
interfering with someones rights by trying to save their life?

Yes I agree with you that no one should whine about getting a ticket for not wearing their life vests, but there is a time and place for certain things. That was not the time and it was not the place.

Originally posted by iori_komei
I read the article, but I'm not quite clear on this, did they know she was
committing suicide?

Was she dead already and they were going to retrieve the body?


Anyways, in my own opinion, if they knew she was committing suicide,
well I'd charge them with interfering with the womans freedom, it's her
life, if she wants to end it, well no one has the right to say otherwise.

People ultimately have a right to maintain order in their society, and as citizens, are asked to shoulder the responsibility for that order...to a point. That point is where you don't interfere with anyone else's rights. It's where civility meets criminal.

In this instance, if I were to come upon a victim (somone who had sucessfully killed themselves) then I'd do nothing so as not to disturb the scene and allow the police a chance to determine through forensics and investigative technique what happened.

If the person was in the middle of committing suicide, what can somebody do without getting involved? The minute you've observed anything, seen anything, you are part of it. I don't understand the increasing opinions of people who use the internet thinking that the world is better when we all disconnect from each other...get me away from what that other person is doing, I have my "life" and as long as I'm taking care of my own, then so should everyone else.

To me, that philosophy is morally neutral and therefore detrimental to a society. Yes, to do too much in a situation can also be just as much of a problem, but wouldn't anyone here rather challenge their morality and sense of what's supposed to be right in the world by offering help where you could?

Guess that's a tough one...