DNR Officer who died not wearing life preserver?

MN Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officer Eugene Wynn Jr. died on April 19.  He and another officer were were responding to a call of something suspicious in the water on a lake near Pine City.

KNSI: DNR Officer May Not Have Been Wearing Life Jacket.

Emergency dispatch audio shows an officer on shore asking if 43 year old Eugene Wynn Jr. had a life jacket. A response a short time later said, "I don't believe he had it on."
[.]
Friday evening, Wynn and another officer from the Pine County Sheriff's Office were responding to a call of something suspicious in the water on a lake near Pine City. Within a minute of launching a boat to get a better look, the pair were thrown into the water.

The deputy was rescued by nearby boaters, but Wynn slipped under the surface and never came back up. His body was recovered around 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

The object in the water which sparked the original call was never found.

Officer.com: Conservation Officer dies after being thrown from boat.

“The original call was about a body in the water, a potential body in the water,” said Joe Albert, a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) spokesman. “Like any law enforcement people, [they] [sic] jumped on it and got out there as quick as possible.”

Details after that point are scant, Albert said. About 7:45 p.m., Wynn and a Pine County sheriff’s deputy got into a boat to check on the floating object [.]

The Sheriff’s Office and DNR declined to say whether Wynn was wearing a life jacket.

Page 15 of the 2019 Minnesota State Boating Guide:

Had this same situation happened to John or Jane Q. Pubic, I can only imagine the overkill campaign of hyperacuity undertaken by the DNR, the MN Nanny State in general, and the media in an endless stream of Public Service Announcements (PSA) and "Awareness Campaigns" telling us how important it is to always wear a life preserver when boating.

It's only a matter of time until some group, (the DNR?), seeks billions of dollars of additional taxpayer money investments for a promotional and wide-ranging campaign making us "aware" that life preservers need to be worn when boating, swimming, bathing, running through a water sprinkler, drinking a glass of water - or other liquids.

The DNR declines to confirm that Officer Wynn wasn't wearing a life preserver.  Had the officer been wearing a life preserver, it would have already been confirmed and stated as such. We can reasonable presume he wasn't and are again treated to another chapter of hypocrisy and double standards in a Nanny State where, "do as we say, not as we do" is The Mantra.

It never surprises me when I'm on the road and make it point in noticing how many police driving in their squad cars aren't wearing their seat/shoulder belt. I've noticed the same behavior by those in law enforcement, in their vehicles during rain without their squad car headlights turned on - which is law in The Peoples' Republic of Minnesota (TPRoM). 

TPRoM just passed the Distracted Driving law, which goes into effect August 1, 2019. I can only imagine the magnitude and massive amount of PSA's and "Awareness Campaigns" that will bombard us under the guise of "educating the public on the dangers of Distracted Driving." Surely there must be a need for millions and millions of taxpayer money investments needed by TPRoM for funding this "Awareness Campaign" because none of us know that distracted driving can cause deathly consequences.

Signage is needed. Cutesy radio jingles and television ads are compulsory. Time and money must be spent for "free" community events informing us that distracted driving is dangerous. New, mandatory government websites will be created. All of these mass "Awareness Campaigns" will, of course, be powered by renewable energy.

The funny part about TPRoM's Distracted Driving law is that it is an offense for a driver to be holding a cell phone or electronic device. How is "holding" (not using) a cell phone any different from someone driving while holding a mug of coffee, a can of soda or worse - those who drive while eating burgers, fries and/or tacos?

It's probably a good idea that we all wear a life preserver all the time, even if we have no intention of being near a body of water. We never know when one of those Noah-age floods might rain down upon us without notice.

Our condolences to the family and friends of Officer Wynn. This is not a post that is critical of him or his service. This is about hypocrisy within the institutional and governmental bureaucracies where equal standards are not applied for political optics and selective enforcement is...well...selective.

What caused the boat to lurch remains under investigation. It will be interesting to find the answer.