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Suffolk County police officer saves injured fisherman in Atlantic

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Published  July 4, 2024 7:17pm EDT
Long Island
FOX 5 NY

Suffolk cop saves man at sea

A Suffolk County police officer is being hailed as a hero for saving a 66-year-old man who was bleeding at sea.

LONG ISLAND - A Long Island man is lucky to be alive after being rescued at sea by an off-duty Suffolk County police officer.

According to officials, Officer William Parmenter was fishing in the Atlantic Ocean, around 80 miles southeast of the Shinnecock Inlet, when a mayday call regarding an injured person came over the marine radio at approximately 2 p.m. on July 3.

Parmenter, a paramedic, contacted the victim's boat via radio and offered assistance.

The victim, Norman Orsinger, 66, of East Patchogue, was bleeding from both legs after he was punctured by a fishhook while attempting to catch a yellowfin tuna.

Parmenter located and boarded the victim's boat with a trauma kit, and applied tourniquets to both of Parmenter's legs before contacting the United States Coast Guard and the Suffolk County Police Department Aviation Section.

A Coast Guard helicopter met the boat in the Atlantic Ocean, roughly 20 miles south of Hampton Bays, and airlifted Orsinger to Long Island MacArthur Airport, where he was then taken to Stony
Brook University Hospital where he was treated and released.