NY Post prints photo of man about to be killed by NYC train

Elfstop wrote in post #15339926
Been a cop for twenty years...trained to save lives...I would drop my camera and try to save his life...outcome would be unsure like running into a burning building...been there done that too...Just saying I believe training would kick in like some on here have said.

As a retired firefighter, I never met a police office who was TRAINED to run into a burning building. Just like I never met a firefighter trained in high speed pursuit. Or hostage negotiations.

Guess there could be a few of them out there. Unfortunately, such a multiple capable professional wasn't on that platform that day. It was just a scared guy with a camera.

mattograph wrote in post #15343644
... Unfortunately, such a multiple capable professional wasn't on that platform that day. It was just a scared guy with a camera.

We dpn't know the professions of the other 18 people who were around except for one. Seems that there was a doctor in the crowd as they assisted after the fact.

I could well be wrong, but even though police officers are not specifically trained to go into burning buildings, or firefighters specifically trained in high speed pursuit, I suspect either--as a byproduct of both their training and their calling--would immediately recognize a personal obligation to any rescue situation and would not spend much time in an OMG moment.

gjl711 wrote in post #15344426
We dpn't know the professions of the other 18 people who were around except for one. Seems that there was a doctor in the crowd as they assisted after the fact.

No we don't know about the others. The implication around the doctor is interesting though. I was recently on a flight from Hong Kong when a passenger began suffering from a coronary event. The flight attendants paged for a doctor, who came forward immediately. He diagnosed the issue and immediately wanted to start an iv with supplies the airline had on board.

But he couldn't. Because we were in turbulance, he couldn't get a vein. He then did something that showed he was truly a smart guy. He had the pilot page a paramedic or combat corpsman. Luck would have that there was a marine returning from Iraq on the plane. He offered to help, and had the iv going in less than a minute. I was about 10 feet away when the doctor told the marine, "you saved his life." You could tell the doc was relieved because he wasn't trained to start an iv in the field, and it was outside his skill set. But imagine th newspaper article " man dies because dr can't start iv."

How many people would jump to the drs defense?

RDKirk wrote in post #15344671
I could well be wrong, but even though police officers are not specifically trained to go into burning buildings, or firefighters specifically trained in high speed pursuit, I suspect either--as a byproduct of both their training and their calling--would immediately recognize a personal obligation to any rescue situation and would not spend much time in an OMG moment.

I can only speak to the protocols of the jurisdictions where I worked.

Properly trained response personnel are trained relentlessly to recognize and assess emergency situations, and to help to the limits of their ability , training, and the equipment at hand. Get outside that box, and bad things happen. Always be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

I cannot thing of a time that I responded to a working fire or rescue where the police were not already on the scene. Not once did they ever do anything other then what they were trained to do - control the scene and protect the public from any pending danger. They were trained to let us do our jobs. And they knew that running into burning buildings made them part of the problem -- likely someone else that would have to be rescued, putting us in further danger.

OTOH, I have seen police officers respond appropriately to a couple of drowning situations without being specifically trained as lifeguards.

I'm not making a point that a fireman should take over a bank robbery or that a police officer should handle a burning building. The point I'm making is that people trained to handle any particular type of emergency situation will spend less time frozen in absolute inaction and will more quickly move into an effective "what is possible" frame of mind.

Yes, he might well decide the best thing he can do is make certain to contact "real help," provide a clear and expert report, and handle the crowd. But that's more than everyone else will be doing.

RDKirk wrote in post #15345060
OTOH, I have seen police officers respond appropriately to a couple of drowning situations without being specifically trained as lifeguards.

I'm not making a point that a fireman should take over a bank robbery or that a police officer should handle a burning building. The point I'm making is that people trained to handle any particular type of emergency situation will spend less time frozen in absolute inaction and will more quickly move into an effective "what is possible" frame of mind.

Yes, he might well decide the best thing he can do is make certain to contact "real help," provide a clear and expert report, and handle the crowd. But that's more than everyone else will be doing.

I can agree with you on this. I argue against the notion that "action for the sake of doing something" is often misguided and dangerous. But I see that wasn't the point that you were making.