The Hero Canoeists & The Ridiculous Ticket
Posted May 2, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Sometimes the stories featured here are funny.
Sometimes they’re simply incredible.
But this item might best be described as one that makes you stop and declare your outrage.
We all know that cops can be zealous when writing tickets. And most believe they have a quota that no force will ever admit to.
But what happened in the town of Twin Falls, Idaho is especially hard to take.
A group of canoeists were paddling up the Snake River when they saw something that shocked them – a woman, who jumped off a bridge directly in front of them, splashing loudly into the dark depths below.
Without any thought, the water enthusiasts turned their two vessels around and paddled with all their might straight towards the victim. They managed to reach her and get her to shore. But it was too late. The woman had already succumbed to her injuries.
And that’s where this already bizarre tale takes yet another surprising turn.
As they were comforting each other over the incident and their courageous rescue attempt, a police officer walked up to the assembled heroes and began writing them a ticket.
And you won’t believe the reason why.
“The body was right there,” a stunned Dennis Bohrn told a local newspaper. “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.”
Despite the incredible rescue and the spirit of being Good Samaritans, the local sheriff’s office stands by the officer who took out his little yellow pad, admitting only that he could have used more ‘discretion’.
The 58-year-old Bohrn intends to challenge the fine in court.
“They should use common sense,” he concludes. “Maybe his superiors could tell him, ‘Next time, wait until they get to the dock and the girls aren’t crying.'”
And remember that old phrase about justice being tempered with mercy.
