when garrett couples climbs up from the shore, the crowd gives him and steven lloyd a round of applause for the choices they made that day. but while the onlookers are impressed by what garrett couples did do, he can only think about the fact that a man lost his life and wonders what else could have been done. i think it came down to lack of training, no protocol, and no plan of action. i don t think i ll ever truly accept the fact that i did everything i could, because i m always going to look back on it and say, you know, was there something different i could have done. coming up a routine traffic stop. escalates fast. you re going to tase a 72-year-old woman. a shocking incident. get on the ground! and a convenience store owner
his hand. and now we are taking you back to caught on camera. welcome back to caught on camera. i m contessa brewer. would you risk your life to save a stranger who seemingly wants to die? it s a question few people ever have to contemplate, but in our next story strangers is spending a relaxing day in the park were facing that very situation and they ll have to make a decision in an instant. a man perched at the end of a bridge contemplates life or death. oh, man. but as minutes tick by, the question soon becomes one for witnesses on the ground. what should they do? we re skating across the bridge here. tara johnson is roller-blading through fairmont park in philadelphia with her boyfriend, garrett couples, on may 6, 2000, when their leisurely saturday afternoon takes a turn.
bridge. howard gillam works for a local cable station and just happens to be driving by when he notices some commotion. so i m, like, hey, i ve got the camera in my car. let s get out and videotape it. gillam estimates by the time he starts taking this dramatic video, the man, matthew buford, has already been on the bridge for ten minutes, maybe more. the leg up. buford lets go with one hand, leaning out over the water. don t jump! police and firefighters are lining the bridge, but strangely, there s no rescue boat in the water. a mile down the river. but so far nearly 20 minutes have passed and no rescue boat has been able to make it there yet. whoa. the situation appears to be getting worse. oh, come on, buddy. don t jump. if buford does jump, he might survive the 50-foot fall. but no one knows if he can swim. garrett said to me, the guy s
struggling for almost two minutes in the middle of a 500-foot-wide river. come on, man. matthew buford is losing strength. for the first time his head slips under the water. there seems to be no official rescue response. what would you do? what would the bystanders do? should they risk their lives for someone who might not want to be saved? and then all of a sudden he went under and i turned around to look and garrett was gone. there s somebody out there coming. garrett couples, the lifeguard with a perfect record, is in the water, swimming from the opposite shore. buford s head pops back up, but it s clear there isn t much time. at that point i just freestyling as fast as i could. he s got a long way to go. couples know that when a victim goes under he has only a small window, about four minutes, to save someone from drowning. he goes under one more time, that s it. 50 yards left to swim and
choices they made that day. but while the onlookers are impressed by what garrett couples did do, he can only think about the fact that a man lost his life and wonders what else could have been done. i think it came down to lack of training, no protocol, and no plan of action. i don t think i ll ever truly accept the fact that i did everything i could, because i m always going to look back on it and say, you know, was there something different i could have done. coming up a routine traffic stop. escalates fast. you re going to taze a 72-year-old woman? a shocking incident. get on the ground! and a convenience store owner has a surprise in store for this would-be robber. i take the gun and i just chop off.