Police ‘told not to go into rough sea to save father’
THE widow of an Irish man who was intoxicated and struggling in the sea during a storm asked police at an inquest yesterday why they did not try to save him.
Dublin-born David Dooley, 38, perished off the coast of Brighton, southern England, during Storm Callum on October 13 last year.
Officers were ordered not to go into rough seas to try to save the man, who drifted far out and later drowned, the inquest heard.
His Ukrainian wife Christina asked officers at his inquest: ‘You saw him struggling for about 20 minutes in the water but nobody could help him?’
Sergeant Kerry Bartup replied: ‘I am really sorry.’
Mr Dooley, who has a son called Brendan and lived in Tullamore, Co. Offaly, before moving to London, was swept out to sea when he was on a night out in Brighton.
A postmortem found he died after drowning but ‘serious intoxication’ was a factor. Toxicology reports showed he was almost four times the drink-drive limit and had traces of cocaine in his system, Brighton and Hove Coroner’s Court was also told.
Mr Dooley was spotted ‘waving his arms and making attempts to return to shore’ in the ‘very rough’ sea with ‘high winds and large waves’ before he fell lifeless and his body was seen floating, the inquest heard.
Mrs Dooley left the hearing in tears as Sergeant Bartup told the court officers were ordered not to go into the sea. They had been unable to find any lifebuoys situated at points along the seafront and, because they were on foot patrol, they did not have access to throw lines kept in police cars.
Assistant coroner Gilva Tisshaw adjourned the hearing to investigate ‘matters of concern’, adding: ‘If a lifeline had been available to the officers earlier, would the outcome have been different?’ The hearing is to resume on March 19.