SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY—An off-duty officer from Suffolk County Police Second Precinct played a crucial role in rescuing a man who suffered severe injuries from a fishing accident in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday.
Officer William Parmenter, who was fishing approximately 80 miles southeast of Shinnecock Inlet, responded to a mayday call he heard over the marine radio around 2 p.m. on July 3. Parmenter, also a trained paramedic, quickly offered his help and boarded the injured man’s boat with a trauma kit.
The 66-year-old victim was bleeding profusely from both legs due to puncture wounds from a fishhook while fishing for yellowfin tuna. Parmenter applied tourniquets to both legs and coordinated with the United States Coast Guard and the Suffolk County Police Department Aviation Section for immediate evacuation.
A Coast Guard helicopter retrieved the man 20 miles south of Hampton Bays and transported him to Long Island MacArthur Airport. From there, the Suffolk County Police helicopter flew him to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was treated and later released.