This has got to be the most disgusting thing I have read in years.

Verdict: accident my ass. Those 2 sat there and watched that kid die.

Verdict: homicide

I assume it was fear of a lawsuit that caused them to sit back and watch the boy drown like they were watching a video from ogrish.com

I assume that they felt that if they attempted to rescue the child and failed, the parents may have sued, blaming the child's death on the duo's lack of training.

I am not saying the parents would have sued. Probably they wouldn't. I am just trying to figure out why 2 people could just stand by and not try to save a child who is in a mere 6ft of water.

Yes, I agree. This is definitely one of the most disgusting things I have ever heard.

This is horrible, and could have most defiantly been prevented. Positive vybes to the family, I can't even begin to imagine the tragic pain of dealing with this situation :(

So, maybe it would have been inappropriate two PCSOs to assist a drowning child, but it would have been perfectly acceptable for two HUMAN BEINGS to rescue a drowning child. Training be damned, this was someone's life.

...Sue for not helping, then?

Someone that can watch a child die in a situation they could have prevented should not be paid as police. They should be locked up as sociopaths.

There is proper training for water rescue, and it can be dangerous to attempt a swimming rescue, but there are MANY ways to rescue a drowning person without entering the water. Not attempting something is a crime, and any competent swimmer could rescue someone from 6 feet of water.

im not even going to start....

Throw, tow, row and go (lifeguard simplified procedures). First you throw something to the person, tow them in, failing that you row out and finally, you go out after them if none of the above are feasible.

Sorry, idiotic and probably criminal to just let someone die like that.

what are the PCSOs? does england have a good samaritan law? it's insane that anyone could just stand there and watch a kid drown.

They didn't stand by and do nothing, it was a fairly large pond, more like a lake, and they didn't know where the boy was, so instead of diving in and randomly searching, risking their own lives, they radioed for help and then ensured that the rescue teams knew where to start looking.

They didn't stand there and literally watch him drowning, they DID act according to their training, anyone that suggests they should be "sued" (how american is that!) is a fool.

2 Anglers had already gone in to save the boys sister and they couldn't find the boy, so what use would the PCSOs have been anyway?

So please all shut the hell up about standing there and watching him drown, that's not what happened. This article is on the mirrors website, tabloid sensationalism at its best. For the real story look elsewhere.

On the subject of PCSOs in general, I agree that they are pointless, as a civilian you are allowed to use reasonable force to restrain a criminal and place them under citizens arrest, but PCSOs aren't allowed to touch anyone, quite literally, if they touch, say, a shoplifter to prevent them from escaping, they would face disciplinary action. Retarded.

I think that the reaction of most of you lot is an excellent example of the power the media has, read it, believe it, no interpretation, no further explanation, just dumb acceptance. Mostly American's I'm guessing?

Letsee, six feet of water. The average height for males in the UK is about 5'10... so oh no, it'd be two inches over their heads. One could've just stood in the pond and lifted the boy out. You don't even need to know how to swim to be in water that is barely over your head.

Oh look another moron, what about weeds, reeds, scum, algae, the fact that they DIDN'T KNOW WHERE HE WAS IN THE POND, any of this getting through?

I don't usually go for lumping entire nations of people into nice pigeon holes but your arrogant a*****ery seems to have you pegged as British I'm guessing.

All training or no training aside..I don't get how any human can stand by and just NOT do something to help. It is not like the pond was filled with quicksand which would likely lead to their demise.

You made some solid points in your post, but you erased any validity with your rampant arrogant bullsh!t. All you had to do was point us to the source. Not knowing a tabloid from a legitimate news site was clearly not intentional. You're right with your statement "excellent example of the power the media has, read it, believe it, no interpretation, no further explanation, just dumb acceptance." I agree with you 100% there.

But your condescending attitude is the real bullocks. I sincerely hope that this is not how you act in real life, because I'm certain you would get beat up a lot. Wanker.

By the way, thanks for linking us to a legitemate news source so that we can read the real story. f**ktard.

Keep posting crap like this and you'll find yourself starting a new account. Perhaps you would feel more comfortable on another site where you can have flame wars with other immature strong-headed blow hards.

As I recall, this isn't the first time the site has been pissed with you and your inability to remain civil. This is a warning from me. Be civil or suffer the consequences.

You aren't going to get anywhere calling people morons and idiots. I, for one, am American and also retired Coast Guard. You cannot tell me than NOBODY, even the PCSO's dont know how to swim. Regardless of how big the pond was or where the boy was you could have taken an educated guess on where they were and safely tried to rescue him. Following the PCSO rulebook doesn't mean they will not be held accountable. We are all human and I am sure the British are just as "idiotic and moronic" to try and save a drowning boy. I sure hope you aren't on the shore if I decide to drown.

And I wonder what Sencerd would have to say had it been his own child in that pond.

Sencerd does this from time to time, makes a few inflamatory posts and disappears for a few weeks. This is the third time I can recall. The first time he flipped out because someone said "Thank God", and the second in a thread about God where he called anyone who subscribed to religeon 'brain washed'. I think it's deliberate, he's trying to get a rise out of people.

I vote we downvote him to level -1, personally.