Myrtle Beach lifeguards focus on Hispanics

  MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) – Lifeguards along Myrtle Beach have been told to keep a closer eye on Hispanics as they have no*ticed an increase in Hispan*ics needing to be rescued while swimming in the ocean.
  It’s not racial profiling, the lifeguards say. Instead, Hispanics aren’t used to swimming at the beach and sometimes even go for a cooling summer dip with their work clothes still on.
  “You are trained in water surveillance to pretty much analyze the risk of each swimmer you’re paying at*tention to,” said George Lack who oversees a group of lifeguards in Myrtle B ea ch .
  While the number of His*panics drowning has not in*creased, lifeguards and emergency workers do say they have seen a spike in the number of rescues re*c en t ly.
  Myrtle Beach Sgt. Philip Cain recalls beach patrol of*ficers searching for a lost swimmer last spring were called to two other rescues within 30 minutes. All the calls involved Hispanic swimmers. “I think it’s a lack of judgment about rip currents, and you combine that with alcohol and it’s probably not safe,” said Miriam Rodriguez, an ac*tivist in the local Hispanic c o m m u n i t y.
  Another thing the beach patrols have noticed is an in*crease in the number of His*panic men leaving work and heading straight for the wa*ter on a hot day to cool down. Most are inexperienced swimmers and are often wearing heavy clothing that makes them less buoyant.
  Officers stop the men, warning them of the dan*gers of swimming with clothes on and asking them to get proper swimming at*tire, Cain said.
  Groups also are trying to get information to Hispan*ics before they enter the wa*ter. Spanish-language safety signs will soon start appear*ing near Grand Strand life*guard stands alongside the English ones, Cain said.
  Beach patrol officers have already began distributing business-size cards with swimming safety tips in Spanish for the past two months, he said.
 
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