FROM THE ARCHIVES: Video of properly documented drowning scene WITHOUT interference from town employees…
HN NOTE: On 7/16/2016 HN was blocked from properly and thoroughly documenting a tragic scene at Covell’s Beach in the Town of Barnstable. The First Amendment insures freedom of the press so they may properly document scenes. It is not up to the Town of Barnstable to ever decide or censor what should be documented or not. Those decisions are left up to journalists and publishers. Click here to view the video and initial write up of when Town of Barnstable employees blocked a photojournalist from properly doing his job.
Also note, the archived footage you are about to see was aired on many off-Cape TV news stations. The drowning affected members of the Cape community, as well as visitors from off-Cape. The interviews and footage drive home the importance of safety at our beaches. It also drives home the importance of CPR training.
To this very day, HN receives positive feedback from the witnesses regarding the coverage of that tragic scene.
Also note, when HN documents a scene, there is a lot of raw footage that is not published. That footage basically documents everything else where possible. Much of the raw footage is never viewed by the general public, but has been invaluable to others. HN raw footage has been used in Superior Court. It has been used by first responders. It as been used by the families of the victims for legal purposes.
Nobody has the right to unjustly block or censor the press. Again it is not up to the town to censor the press, EVER.
THE FOLLOWING COVERAGE IS FROM THE ARCHIVES: Initially published on 8/28/2015 – The victim and his family were visiting the Cape from Asia
DENNIS — HN has just learned that the little 4-year-old boy found face down in the water at Corporation Beach this afternoon has passed away…
The following HN video shows the scene and includes two interviews with the two men who tried their best to save the boy, one a 15-year-old young man in training to be an EMT, another a father with three young daughters of his own…
All footage was shot prior to learning the tragic news, but it illustrates the scene and the degree to which strangers rushed to try to save a young life…
The footage also shows Dennis Police Officers comforting and caring for the little boy’s three young sisters… The footage has been edited not to show their faces… The boy’s mother was at the scene and went along with her son in the ambulance to CCH… The little girls remained with officers and were eventually transported to Dennis Police Headquarters.
Please keep this young family in your prayers this evening…
[Press play… Select HD in the settings and enlarge player for best quality…]
The following is the official DPD press statement:
Today, August 28, 2015 at approximately 5:35pm the Dennis Police Department received reports from Corporation Beach (Dennis Village) of a possible drowning. The reports came into the department simultaneously from both a caller on 911 and from Dennis Assistant Animal Control Officer Janet Radziewicz, who was on duty and had been patrolling the beach area when a bystander altered her to a medical emergency. The victim, a four year old boy, had been pulled unresponsive from the water by a bystander at which time ACO Radziewicz and two people who had been at the beach began to administer CPR.
Dennis Fire/Rescue responded to Corporation Beach and transported the victim to Cape Cod Hospital, where he passed away.
Detectives from the Dennis Police Department are investigating the circumstances of the drowning.
Initially published on 8/28/2015
Robert Bastille,
