10 year old boy drowns while 2 community Police officers watch.

"Do you think they should have jumped in to save the boy without training possibly drowning themselves?" Well SOMEONE should have flipping jumped in!! If you can swim, you can at least attempt to help IMO NOT TO MENTNION..THE DEPTH WAS ONLY 6FT!! give me a fkin break!! Even if the cops were only 5'7" they could have saved his life for crying out loud! "Or do you think they should have risked their lives to save the boy?" How would they be risking their lives??? Thats what I dont get..its only 6ft deep water! how could they possibly have been risking their lives? seriously...

I think they should of at least tried. I personally would've just jumped in without hesitation. In my opinion police officers need proper training for different scenarios where their assistance is needed. As far as their hesitation goes, maybe they did not know how to swim themselves.

They did the best they ‘could’ in a dire situation, I don’t agree with the mothers response that they should be named (and effectively shamed). I’m sure the two officers in question have lived this moment over and over again in their mind. The story has rarely been reported properly, and people have lived off ‘headlines’. These officers helped massively, they were first directed to the wrong place, the lake is known by several different names, upon realising this they went to the right location informing the emergency services on route and one stayed by the road to direct them in the right direction. At this point however the boy had already been submerged under the water (he wasn't just struggling in the water), yes perhaps in hindsight a dive into the lake and a rummage under water would have looked ‘good’ but the likely hood of anyone finding the boy let alone finding the boy alive without specialist equipment would be very slim and unfortunately yes, more of a risk to those entering. It may have only been six feet of water but there is no accounting for what actually is under foot, I’ve known great swimmers to have trouble not because of strength, depth, because their feet have become trapped in the various objects that gets thrown into these lakes. Very sad for all those involved. It sounded like there was a lot of people around considering we've heard reports that before the PCSO's arrived he was struggling with the weight of his sister, shouldn't someone else have also dived in? I think we're unfairly picking on the PCSO's who are only 'police' by branding and no different from you or I.

As sad as it is that they didn't at least attempt to help - the police officers were right in that the community officers did what they were suppose to do. You are never suppose to risk your life to try and save someone else if you are in danger of becoming a victim yourself. I believe though I would have at least TRIED! But that's just me. My heart goes out to that family.

I weould say that the police volunterrs were only following orders or guidelines. Any orgabnisation like this has very strict rules. The blame, if any, should go to the emergency services going to the wrong location. Very sad indeed.

maybe what we should discuss is that why such sad thing happened, why the community police officers are not properly trained, why they even didn't have a try? and there are 2 fishermen, why didn't they rescue the boy, they did't have that responsibility, or they did't know how to rescue or how to swim? personally, i think it is impossible.

What were they doing near the pond in the first place? They shouldn't be anywhere near water if they are not trained or cannot swim! To be honest human instinct does take over when you see a child drowing most would jump in without a thought of their own life whether they could swim or not! I know it could be two lives wasted but if you see a child in trouble, wouldn't your gut reaction be to save that child, surely? The fact that they were there and watching would cause the controversy especially as the child drown.

oh...that is a sad story. but i don't know, it was a tough call. if i were in their place, i wouldn't know what to do either. sometimes it is easy to make judgments based on what we see, but sometimes there is more to it than meets the eye. but still, that event is so sad.

If they would have jumped in chances are it could have made the situation a lot worse - since they couldn't swim, who ever came to rescue them would have had to try to get them out too.

I read this story in the newspaper this morning. I think most people would assume that anyone (whether Police or not) would have an automatic reaction to jump in and do what they could to save a child. It's quite a basic human reaction. However, unless you have ever been in that situation yourself, no one really knows how you would react under pressure and on the spur of the moment....maybe these people couldn't swim? Or had young children of their own at home and didn't want to risk themselves? Fact is, these "Plastic Police" as we call them, should not be so heavily relied upon on this country - if we had more proper Police personnel, they would not be needed, and would not be put in such a predicament. I feel desparately sorry for the bereaved parents and understand their bitterness, but I'm not sure I can criticise here.

Hi nancyrowina! The situation was a critical one. That news is a very sad one considering the fact that he tried to save his sister and he falled victim of it. I won't put much blame on the policemen because they too were afraid of the water. They thought there was nothing they could do to help. But on the other way, I think they are not patriotic. If they were, they would have done anything they can even sacrificing their lives. Thanks and have a great day.

The police would of been critisied what ever they did. If they had jumped they would of been suspended for putting their own lives in danger and we dont even know whether they could swim. The UK emergency services are the best in the world. The police are there to fight crime we have a fire and resuce service for these types of emergencies. If our house was on fire we wouldnt critise Ambulance men for not going in. It is exactly the same thing Police are not trained for water rescue because its not their job. If it was a fire fighter who did not go in the get the little boy then yes you could expect some trouble. Sadly this little boy lost his life and the natural thing for his mother is to look for a reason the easy option is to blame the police The hardest option would be for her to take some responsibility herself. From a very young age at school children in the UK are told about the dangers of playing in and around water and train tracks. He should not of been there in the first place

Very sad. I'm glad the sister survived but we lost the boy. Sounds like a good person and its a sad loss for the community. I would be a bit critical of the police though since they are supposed to be defending lives. I'm even more critical on the other emergency services going to the wrong place.

In my opinion, common sense should've been screaming to throw something--a rope, a lifeline, anything--to the boy to facilittate a succesfull rescue. Also, if these men were community police, one would think they would tote some form of a flotation device--citing the likeliness of these types of events in such an environment. My heart goes out to the boy's family, and this is an example of the disadvantages of having police in label only. Is it any wonder police receive a bad rap?

I'm not even a police officer of any sort, and yet I've risked my life to save others. I can't imagine anyone who would not do such a thing to be honest. Especially a child! This kind of thing actually makes me feel very sad about the nature of human beings. Even if they weren't trained in rescue, I would say most adults would have a better chance of surviving in such an endeavor than not doing so, especially if the water wasn't that deep (they said it was only six feet!) The other really sad thing is that this child jumped into the water to save his sister, and yet adults weren't willing to jump in to save him. I agree that this doesn't say much about these people as human beings let alone "community police officers". If I lived in this community, I think I would be throwing rocks at these guys if I saw them.

How can you just watch while a child drowns??!! They should have jumped in and delt with the concequences later!! Now that poor boy is gone.

I would think they should have at least made an attempt, thrown a life line or a rubber tire. It always appears that boys are in greater danger from dying because everyone is all so eager to save the girls. Because I really believe if it were the girl who jumped in to save her brother, they would have been all too eager even if their lives were in danger. I think it was a bad judgment call, and one of them, anyway, could have made the effort. I do think they should have gotten rudimentary training on rescuing people, though.

They should have jumped in. Six feet of water? They would have been fine. That poor baby boy is a hero. I am from the states and this brings tears to my eyes. A little boy had more courage then two grown men, cops or not