Angler goes through the ice on Coon Lake in East Bethel!

[fishfearme]

This afternoon an angler went through the ice after an Anoka Co. sherrif in an air boat drives by the angler breaking up the ice! The angler saw the boat coming and ran by him breaking up the ice in chunks. He didn't get off before the boat went by and busted up the 2 inches of ice he was standing on. Saw this on Fox 9 news at five.

[kwiggy]

Help me understand... the airboat caused the ice to break near the man on the ice? Or did the guy go through first, then the boat came.

[fishfearme]

The sherrif put him through! He and 2 other anglers were fishing when the sherrif buzzed by them.

[Glenn_S]

The sheriff's were on a call for a dog in the water, flew by the 4 guys fishing and the airboat took the ice from under them. The Sheriff's kept going.

The guys were trying to warn them away, but to no avail. The airboat came through the channel area, so there was no excuse for not seeing these guys.

The Sheriff's only went back after someone called 911 about a person in the water, due to their own negligence. Sounds to me like they should be cited for reckless operation.

[fishfearme]

Better yet arrest the sherrif for fisherman harassment.

[upnorth]

At the very least he should get a ticket for reckless endangerment. Anyone else that pulled a stunt like that would.

[dakotakid31]

yeah the sheriff should have seen them but what the he((-those (Contact Us Please) where "recklessly endangering" there own dang lives fishing on the ice we have now-for Coon lake fish???(Contact Us Please)!!

[vikingmeatwad]

I'm surprised they are fishing already in E Bethel but that is a total bone head move that the cop did this.

[DTro]

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that is a total bone head move that the cop did this.

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Please explain the correct procedure in this case.

[Grant Pearson]

the cop should definitely be cited. if he was a civilian, he definitely would have been. don't get me wrong on this because I love dogs, but to put a few fisherman's lives in danger and put one into the water to help save 1 dog in the water? Does this make sense to anyone?

[cRaPpiEMaN8265]

Heres the link you guys can check it out for yourselves...

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=5033204&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1

Personally i dont think the guy should have gone through the channel, there is nothing illegal about going out on 2 inches of ice is there? the fisherman did everything they could to try to show the officer they were fishing there but he just kept on going... i also believe he should be fined in some way or another. Really a dumb move by the officer, i sure hope he saved the dog after putting four guys lives in danger!IMO

Ryan

[vikingmeatwad]

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that is a total bone head move that the cop did this.

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Please explain the correct procedure in this case.

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Well lets see, how about not endanger the lives of fisherman by driving right by them through a channel?

To save a dog?

[Glenn_S]

At MINIMUM, this falls under the boating laws that state you are responsible for your wake. If I throw a large wake and cause injury, I am responsible for those injuries.

This is no different, as the vehicle the Sheriff was using is registered as a water craft.

Sorry, but the Anoka County Sheriff saying "Ooops" just doesn't cut it.

[iffwalleyes]

No offense here but at this time of year anglers need to use some smarts too. 2" is really pushing it. Alot can go wrong in this situation. I don't disagree the law probably didn't use the best judgement but neither did the anglers in my opinion.

[upnorth]

No doubt 2 inches of ice is not in my comfort zone, but anyway you look at it they were not in any danger until the sheriffs vehicle came by and busted up the ice. How do you miss people standing out on the ice??? Head up the butt syndrome?

Totally irresponsible action!!!

[Surface Tension]

I watched the clip.

It was said that the sheriff thought all the fishermen made it to shore.

I guess the right thing to do would be slow down before they got to these guys. We weren't there and the clip tells one side of the story. Air boats don't handle turns well and they don't stop on a dime either. You get pointed in the right direction and need to use a combination of throttle and rudder, craft will slide into turns Add ice breaking underneath you and turns become difficult, catching an edge in those conditions is a great concern. Its the type deal once you get going you need to keep going. Theres a big learning curve to operate them. There was a dog in the water and a chance to use that airboat in a rescue. Here we go flying down the lake busting up ice as we go, Cool! Ooops, theres some guys out there fishing, surly they can see we're on mission and will get out of the way.

I believe that an individual should have a sense of awareness at all time. Recognizing hazardous situations ahead of time and reacting before a accident happens is just what I do. At an icy intersection I'll make sure theres not a car sliding though a red light before I proceed. An air boat rounding the corner busting ice. Stand your ground or get to shore.

In the end if I slide though a red light and hit someone its my fault, even though that other driver didn't recognize the situation, I didn't plan ahead and give myself enough time to stop on ice. Either one of us could have changed the outcome.

Who knows.

However it went down a guy got wet because of the actions of someone else. Someone is accountable here.

[Big-Al]

There has always been a certain minority of law enforcement/firefighters/rescue squad/first responders that whenever the pager goes off believe that it is a life and death situation and go into "tunnel vision" mode. I call it "red lights and siren syndrome." Many times it is the responder that is creating the life and death situation. I know that I will get slammed for this one, but I have witnessed it enough times. I have been one of those responders for over 30 years.

[metrojoe]

With out a doubt the sheriff should have stopped and let the fishermen get to shore. The channel is not that wide and the sheriff should have known he'd be putting these fishermen at risk. Whether you agree or disagree on these guys choice to be out on 2 inches of ice shouldn't really matter. They were obviously aware of the condition of the ice and were taking precautions, but how many would really be prepared for an encounter like that?

[Macgyver55]

I'm no cop but I have several friends who are. I am often amazed, and in disbelief when they tell me of their encounters with random stupidity while on duty. They have a tough enough job to do without people second guessing their every move. Sure he could have done this or he could have done that, but when he left the landing how was he to know if some young kid wasn't with the dog, or might not wait for help and try to save his dog himself. Lets go hypothetical here for a minute. If it were a child, or worse yet YOUR child, would you want him to slow down or wait or whatever? The anglers clearly stated that they were staying close enough to shore that they could reach the bottom IN CASE something happened. This clearly tells me that they EXPECTED that something could, and rightly so.

If you are going to assume the risk of going out on 2 inches of ice, part of that risk is assuming that someone else might do something just as silly. You cannot expect someone else to watch out for you if you don't do it yourself.

My point of view is probably in the minority here but the flame retardant is on so go ahead please!

[DTro]

This is just another one of those deals, where there are no winners. Blame is an easy thing to throw around.

From the video, the guys seemed like they knew what they were doing, and not some (Contact Us Please) out there messing around.

However, like stated already, what if that was your dog......ok yes we are talking about a dog, but what about the attached kid that wants to go save it? How many stories have we heard of people getting into trouble trying to save a pet?

I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong here, just a very bad situation that is very hard to place direct blame on.

Let's just be glad everyone is OK.

[Sutty]

I don't think that they need to endanger someone's life to save someone else's (or something in this case). Sounds like addition by subtraction. I also don't think we need to start throwing out hypothetical situations. Lets stick to the facts.

[Shack]

The only question I have is “why did the Sheriff have to cut threw channel”?

Coon Lake has like 3 public accesses and a couple private accesses also. I know both east and west basin have very nice accesses on them. If someone was to call in a dog threw the ice, 9 times out of 10, they would have said “west or east basin” or Sheriff's Dept. would have clarified/asked what basin.

Again, we do not know all the facts. Also when you are on 2" of ice, very good caution has to be in mind site (I.E., life vest, ropes, inner tube, golf shoes or what ever). The Coon channel is a very early ice hot spot. I have known of this for years. Most lakes around here and there, are open basin type lakes. Coon has a nice channel that freezes over and is not subject to the forces from either basin’s main lake area (east or west). Now for the Sheriff to know this, they should. They have helped people out of that area before during this time of year.

All I know is if I am on ice less than 4", the worst thing that’s going to happen is I am getting wet. No matter what happens.

I would have to say in the end, it’s a lack of judgment on the Sheriffs part.

[Macgyver55]

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Again, we do not know all the facts.

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Lets stick to the facts.

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Ok thats fair, fact is there is no law pertaining to going out on 2 inch ice, but there is a law pertaining to yielding to emergency vehicles. Should the officer have known the ice would break up any more than the anglers?

No matter how you look at it, even if you disagree with that, it boils down to the impossible task of deciding who is more "wrong".

[Shack]

For those of you who do not know about Coon Lake, here is a link to the DNR PDF map of it.

The channel is clearly seen from both basins of the lake, no bends or turns. Again, both basin's have publics on them.

Now, a panic situation, things could have got turned around and the wrong side was called in. I would find this very unlikely though.

Lake Map of Coon Lake, Click here.

Not to bash the Sheriff, because Anoka County has many good guys and gals. I do feel it was get the craft out and learn a few things day and I feel they most likely did not see fisherman, or sad to say, they did not know what their wake could do. That or it was a little kiss from the Anoka County Sheriff, followed up by a slap in the behind of ice sheets to fisherman out on thin ice . Who knows?

[Sutty]

I think they were safe until someone else made it not safe. They tried to get out of the way and were not given enough time.