Report: Man who tried to drown himself at Riverside Apartments sues police, lifeguard

Two years ago a man in the midst of a mental health crisis tried to drown himself at the Riverside Apartments in Huntington. Now he’s suing the police who responded to the incident and the lifeguard who pulled him from the bottom of the pool.

Mateusz Fijalkowski has filed a lawsuit against the Fairfax County Police Department and Sean Brooks, the lifeguard who was Fijalkowski’s supervisor at the swimming pool. Fijalkowski contends that the police did not act fast enough to save him, allowing him to “die, clinically, before their eyes,” according to a report in today’s Washington Post.

Parts of the May 30, 2016 incident were captured on cell phone video taken by a bystander outside the pool’s fence. Fijalkowski is seen entering the pool and submerging himself in the deep end. He stays underwater for 2 minutes and 40 seconds before a lifeguard, later identified as Simmons, dove in and pulled the unconscious Fijalkowski to the surface. Two police officers then jumped in the pool to help assist Simmons.

The police performed CPR on Fijalkowski, and eventually revived him. Fijalkowski suffered cardiac and respiratory arrest, was hospitalized at Fairfax Inova’s Heart and Vascular Institute until June 8, according to the Post. After being released he spent time in a psychiatric unit, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. defended his officers’ actions, and expressed disbelief at the lawsuit.

“They saved his life — he did not die,” Roessler told the Post. “You’re going to sue someone for saving your life?”

Read the full story on the lawsuit  on WashingtonPost.com.