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Something similar happened in San Francisco:

There was a suicide attempt drowning in the bay within reach of the shore. Fire and paramedics stood and watched as the union rules and saftey guidelines prevented fire/paramedics from effecting a rescue. The water rescue supposedly fell under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard. A bystander entered the water and brought the man to shore where paramedics treated him the suicide attempt. The rescuer was cited and I believe arrested for swimmng in an unauthorized area.

Nice,

I had a similar exerience. on my old property there was a creek, it flooded. Ajacent to my property was a bridge, this was flooded too. Some fool tryed to cross the bridge and his car got stuck. The water was about knee deep at this time and he was in his car when I found him. I got my long tow rope and hooked it my truck and then started to wade out to hook it to his car and pull him in, when the cops showed up. Car was maybe 50 feet away. The cop flipped out and threatened me with arrest and I backed down. We then waited until the fire departement show up. They then waited for the river rescue team to show up. they then debated the way to get him. meanwhile the river kept rising and rushing, he was now sitting on top of his car. finally they took a rope tied it to the firetruck extended the ladder into the the river and climbed on the ladder out to him and brought him back. There must have been 25 people there, a fire truck, river rescue craft. and several cops on both sides of the creek and about an hour after my attempt they finally got him out. Car was totaled.