They did call the coast guard. They sent a boat but it couldn’t operate in water that shallow. The fire dept water rescue unit was called off due to the distance.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inalameda/detail?entry_id=90270
If it were me I would have definitely gone in the water and tried to reason with the guy. If nothing else, someone in the water could have kept an eye on him and known when he was weak enough to be dragged back to shore without much of a fight.
someone is getting sued....and they deserve it.