Suffolk County police officer honored by lawmakers for rescue of fisherman while off-duty

Suffolk County Police Officer Bill Parmenter was just about done fishing with friends about 80 miles off Hampton Bays when he heard a mayday call on the radio.

A fisherman in a 29-foot Yellowfin, only a few miles from their 34-foot SeaVee, had suffered serious lacerations to both legs from fish hooks that dug into him while reeling in a yellowfin tuna. The radio call said he was losing a lot of blood.

Parmenter's actions that July day saved the man’s life and earned him a proclamation Tuesday from the Suffolk County Legislature.

"You could have turned the radio down. You could have continued your day," Legis. Dominick Thorne told him. "But that speaks to the character of yourself and the Suffolk County Police Department. It speaks to your EMS training that you received at the academy. It speaks to your ability to act under pressure."

It was July 3, a picturesque summer day where the highlights had been calm water, whale watching and catching a 130-pound bluefin tuna. Parmenter and his group of friends had left Long Island at 1 a.m., and had heard the mayday call around 2 p.m.

Parmenter, 35, a former Coast Guard officer who graduated from the police academy in May, explained over the radio that he was a trained paramedic, and the captain of the Yellowfin agreed to accept his assistance. 

Once Parmenter reached the Yellowfin, which he described like a "crime scene" because of the amount of blood on the boat's interior he applied two tourniquets to each of 66-year-old Norman Orsinger’s legs and stopped the bleeding.

Although he was off duty, the Second Precinct officer had brought his own medical kit, which included a tourniquet. The other tourniquet had been in the SeaVee’s medical kit, he said.

Parmenter, of Northport, then contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, alerting them of the situation while the Yellowfin traveled north to reach land.

But Orsinger soon began complaining of leg pain. Parmenter again called the Coast Guard, this time asking for a helicopter. He also reached out to Suffolk police Aviation as backup.

"He was alert, very nervous," Parmenter said of Orsinger, of East Patchogue.

A Coast Guard helicopter flew from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to the boat. A rescue swimmer jumped from the helicopter to the boat, securely wrapped the fisherman, hoisted him up, and flew to Long Island MacArthur Airport. He was then taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he underwent surgery.

After Orsinger was airlifted, Parmenter said the other members of the boat, which consisted of the fisherman’s wife and friends, were anxious.

"I tried to calm everyone down and just take a moment," Parmenter said. He also tried to help clean the blood as best as he could.

Since the accident, Parmenter said he has been in touch with Orsinger, who is doing well and invited him to a party. He hopes to go fishing with the owner of the Yellowfin.

Parmenter said while he had a "phenomenal career" in the Coast Guard, moving every few years became difficult and he wanted to help people at home on Long Island.

Asked to describe the day of the accident, he said: "Started off the morning, caught a few fish, helped a guy out . . . It was a great day all around."