Our Say: Deer rescuers lucky officer cared for their safety

It is not uncommon for deer to wander onto the ice. Unfortunately, ice is rarely thick enough in this area to hold a hundred-pound animal. Once the deer - a fairly good swimmer - falls through the ice, it struggles to climb back up.

This deer was lucky to have James Hart of Jessup and Khalilalim Abusakran watching. The men grabbed their inflatable boat and attempted to break a path through the ice so that the deer could make landfall. But they did so despite the advice of a NRP officer who had been called to the scene by another bystander. The men did not have personal flotation devices to wear, although they later said there were some in the boat. Once back from their rescue mission, the men were ticketed for not having life jackets and presumably for disobeying the officer.

The reaction from readers was swift. They blamed the officer for being heartless and for exercising the law without applying common sense or, worse, showing any holiday spirit. Wasn't the deer saved and its rescuers unharmed? Shouldn't a successful mission with such consequences be rewarded with certificates for heroism rather than a certificate for failure to obey the law?

Perhaps the men should have been let off with a warning, but we are reluctant to second guess an officer who had to deal with a life-threatening situation. Did the men just ignore the officer's command? What was said? Were there flotation devices in the boat as the men claimed? Were they really in danger if the water was shallow?

Sgt. Brian Albert, a spokesperson for the Natural Resources Police, said, "It's easy to pay a fine. It's hard to tell these gentlemen's family that they didn't make it because they were trying to rescue a deer crossing the ice."

Good point. What would have been the public reaction had the officer silently stood by as the men joined the deer in floundering in the water? Given the temperatures at the time, the men easily could have succumbed to hypothermia. And the officer's supervisors - as well as the men's survivors - would have likely blamed the police for letting the men proceed with their dangerous mission.

But was a ticket the right response? Frankly, we hope the ticket is dismissed but that the men think twice the next time they disobey the advice of a police officer who cares about their safety, as well as the law.