By Kristin J. Bender
Oakland Tribune
ALAMEDA, Calif. — The mayor has tapped a retired state fire marshal to review water rescue policies and the ineffective response by public safety crews that led to the death of a 52-year-old man on Crown Beach on Memorial Day.
Ruben Grijalva is a former state fire marshal and former director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He quit working for the state in 2009 and founded FireChiefs.com , which offers consulting services to public safety agencies nationwide.
“The city has promised me full access to all their documents and employees. I intent to be fair but frank in my report,’' Grijalva said. “At the end of this process, Alamedans can decide for themselves which steps should be taken to rebuild public confidence in their public safety officers.”
Mayor Marie Gilmore said the city has asked Grijalva “to go wherever the trail takes him in his review of what happened on Memorial Day.” Planning, finances, operations, standards and training, human resources and past incidents will be reviewed. A report should be completed in late September and presented to the City Council in an open meeting.
“The people of Alameda have a right to know what actually took place, how we got there, and how to insure that we don’t have any repeat of such a tragedy,’' Gilmore said.
On the morning of May 30, Raymond Zack of Alameda walked fully clothed into the bay at Robert Crown Memorial State Beach to take his own life. He had attempted suicide before and had been hospitalized in a psychiatric ward last year.
In the hour that Zack was in the water, at least 10 firefighters and police officers did not attempt to go into the water to talk to Zack or pull him from the 55-degree bay waters. A U.S. Coast Guard boat could not get close enough to the 280-pound man because of the shallow water. A young woman ultimately swam in and pulled his motionless body to the shore. He was transported to Alameda Hospital, where he died. An autopsy was inconclusive but there has been speculation from his mother hat he died from hypothermia.
Police said they declined to enter the water because they did not know if Zack was violent, armed or had drugs in his system. Toxicology reports ordered by the Alameda County Coroner’s office have been returned, but have yet to be reviewed by a doctor, a spokesman said.
Firefighters say they could not enter the water because budget cuts two years ago did not allow the department to recertify them in land-based water rescues. A rescue attempt would have opened the city to liability. It turned out the city did have the money, but training was never launched.
Grijalva will review the water rescue policy leading up to Zack’s death, the current water rescue policies and make recommendations for changes or improvements. Following the death, at least three firefighters completed the recertification and entered the water several weeks later to help the Coast Guard rescue a stranded boater.
Alameda firefighters and police have been under scrutiny since the incident. Last week the city released the fire department’s timeline, audiotapes and a recording transcript. At the end of the tape, a firefighter called the situation “pandemonium” and then added, “He (Zack) had the ability to make a bad decision and he did.”
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