Summerville officers impeded by community gate while responding to child drowning

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – Summerville officers say they were impeded by a community gate while responding to reports of a juvenile drowning over the weekend.

Officers responded to Central Commons off Hemingway Circle on Saturday evening for reports that a child was face down in the pond behind a residence.

“We were having difficulties getting the gate to the community open. The code to the gate from dispatch was not working, nor was the gate opening from our vehicle audible system,” an officer said in their report.

Law enforcement quickly scoured the area looking for another point of entry. Once inside, officers said they could see a small body floating in the water at the opposite end of the pond.

While officers rushed towards the child, they observed “residents standing on their back patios looking at the child in the water, not making any effort to get him out of the water,” the report said.

At least three officers entered the pond and began swimming toward the victim. The child was brought back to shore where officers immediately began administering CPR.

The child was moved to a stable area where Summerville Fire Rescue crews began performing life-saving measures until EMS arrived on the scene. Officers had to hold the gate open for EMS to enter and take the child to a local hospital.

Dorchester County Coroner Paul Brouthers said the child, 2, died at the hospital. He will undergo an autopsy at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) on Wednesday morning.

The Summerville Police Department, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and the Dorchester County Coroner’s Office are investigating.