I had a bad day last month

[9mm]

I understand stress from recovering children. Sometimes this still is on my mind. I will never be able to launch a boat without thinking about this.

http://www.couriernews.com/archivedstory.asp?ID=4646

 

[Snowbear]

Yep - there are some calls that you never forget. I was testifying in a murder/attempted suicide case in CA ~ 10 years ago. The actual incident had happened 2 years prior. This was the 2nd trial as the first (in which I was NOT asked to testify) had ended in a hung jury. After I provided a lot more detail than was good for his client, the defense lawyer asked (paraphrased and abbreviated of course):

Shark: How many EMS calls do you respond to a year?
Me: maybe 2 or 3 thousand.
Shark : How long have you been in EMS?
Me: 6 years (at the time).
Shark: And you write a report for each one? (I had a written patient care report from the incident in front of me for reference).
Me: Yes.
Shark: How do you remember every incident out of so many just by having brief notes in front of you.
Me: I don't.
Shark: How is it that you remember so much about a single incident after 4-6 thousand patients since then?
Me: I explained about the 3 or 4 incidents a year that affect a responder in such a way that the details remain vivid for a lifetime. Looking both him and his client in the eyes, I told them this was such an incident.

The guy ended up convicted of 2nd degree murder.

 

[9mm]

I was taught not to look at the face of the victim. I screwed up and looked at the first recovery I did. That is an image I will remember forever. I can still see that man's face as if it was yesterday.

 

[Gary D.]

I was taught not to look at the face of the victim. I screwed up and looked at the first recovery I did. That is an image I will remember forever. I can still see that man's face as if it was yesterday.

I wish we had that luxury.

Being a LEO team we have to document everything including the look on their faces. Most of the time we are prepared for it and can approach from an angle that lets us gradually bring the face into view. But then there are the times where we are nose to nose with the victim all at once and it’s “O POOP”.

Gary D.

 

[9mm]

We are not a law enforcement team but work hand and hand with them. Around here
we usally are looking for stolen items that have been dumped. 99.9% of all of our dives are blackwater so it is impossible to see in the water. A lot of times we can not even read our pressure gauges. We will recover the body or items and law enforcement will take it from there. We do have cameras that can see a little better than us we can use if needed.