The end of July is a week of being stuck: One guy gets stuck on a hot tar roof in PA while a California guy gets wedged in a manhole supposedly trying to fish out a wallet--the trapped man photographed by Ceres Police in a serious resemblance to the Wicked Witch of the East and those infamous legs.
He was missing those magical ruby slippers.
California cops say the guy was trying to fish out a dropped wallet in July 2011 -- while, it seems, slightly intoxicated. The intoxication factor's less up for debate. But the guy himself is claiming attack by gang members.
It's hard to say whose story is weirder. Reportedly, cops had issued statement that 21-year-old Jared Medeiros -- the guy stuck head first in a manhole when Ceres police saw two legs flailing from the trapped space -- had lost his wallet and tried to fetch it.
But the trapped guy claims he'd been attacked by gang members -- and that he told cops what had happened. He says police snapped pictures instead of helping him.
Whatever happened, it's all weird. And hard to tell whether the 'gang member attack' version is accurate -- or a desperate 'save' in a very embarrassing situation, no matter what the cause.
Perhaps Medeiros should've just said the wallet retrieval was crucial in avoiding a 4-hour visit to the California DMV, to replace that driver's license. People probably wouldn't have even questioned that one. But the gang attack theory doesn't seem to be working so well for him yet.
Police apparently tried to yank Jared Medeiros free but his waist wouldn’t fit back through the manhole tunnel -- proving what goes in does not always come out, without some help.
Firefighters finally had to help out in the 'Wicked Witch of the East' scenario -- about 40 minutes after Ceres police had noticed the legs sticking up out of the pavement on that July evening. Firemen finally had to use special netting equipment to break thge man free from that ugly manhole. Reportedly Medeiros was fine, but had some minor scrapes and bruises.
It seems the guy has one very big bruise -- inflicted upon the ego.
Police had reportedly said Medeiros was slightly intoxicated in the manhole situation -- but not impaired. It sounds kind enough. To many, it sounds fortunate -- especially for an incident that required firefighter assistance without any need for an arrest or bill related to a drunk scenario. But Medeiros is unhappy with the circulation of photographic evidence or reaction from police.
CBS says his wife told the news outlet he was highly intoxicated, a far cry from the police version of 'not impaired' after he got yanked free. Medeiros denies intoxication. If he was drunk to begin with, falling into a manhole is enough to sober up anyone.
As to the guy's 'love' relationship, the conflicting reports from spouses is a bit odd: 'Until death do us part' -- or until one of us is stupid enough to fall into a manhole and have the event photographed.
After being trapped on the street for roughly 40 minutes or so, Medeiros is angry California cops released a photo of his stuck scenario from July 2011, and says police officers have ignored his claim he was attacked by gang members: "I don't understand why Ceres Police would sit there and take pictures," Medeiros told CBS. "That kind of pisses me off."
The Ceres police claim firefighters examined the man at the scene of the manhole incident -- and didn't see signs of injuries from an attack. Of course the 'gang member attack' story sounds very odd -- but the police statement sounds very odd too: If the police department claims it had no idea there was an attack and that officers hadn't been given that info -- like the law enforcement agency claims -- then there's a simple question: How would firefighters know to be examining the man specifically for injuries related to an attack, like the Ceres sergeant is claiming was ruled out by firemen?
CBS says Medeiros told the station he was trying to retrieve his mobile phone from the manhole -- supposedly after gang members assaulted him and threw the cell down the drain. And so the story goes: When he reached for his lost stuff, he couldn't get himself back up. According to the news station, an alleged physical attack (not alcohol) left the man disoriented and without any memory recall of his entrapment by the manhole.
As for Ceres Police Department: Sergeant Jose Berber says the law enforcement agency doesn't release pictures of crime victims -- but claims Medeiros never told cops about an attack. Police say the man refused medical treatment at the scene -- and hasn't filed a police report. The law enforcement agency says it released Medeiros' name and photo because of his adult status -- and because cops didn't know he was a victim of a crime.
The Ceres police department says it wouldn't have released the trapped guy's photo or info if the agency had known he was a crime victim.
Of course, that begs the question as to why the Ceres Police Department took photos -- or even a photo at all -- if there was no crime attached to the scene. It certainly seems weird that someone would snap a still shot for no reason. Unless that reason was for some serious humor.
Manhole accidents happen all over the world. The stuck position is not limited to the United States.There's the humorous story of the guy in Bochum, Germany, who landed himself in a manhole just two years ago -- in July 2009. Like many who awake on a Saturday morning after a long night, the man was a bit hazy on how he'd come to be where he was -- after a few drinks: That would be waist-deep, stuck in a manhole and completely unable to tell cops how he happened to be in that position.
At least the guy in Germany was face up, and vertical, instead of hanging upside-down. No matter how good those windshield wipers may be, they do not work in emergencies. The guy reportedly tried to yank himself up and out by holding on to a back windshield wiper of a parked vehicle nearby. To everyone's amazement, it didn't work.
And if a manhole is't handy, it seems any hole will do. A guy in London -- who was apparently trying to retrieve a lighter -- got himself caught in a hole dug by men. Construction workers had dug a hole to mount a lamppost in the UK during the summer of 2008. It seems the guy from the UK decided to drop into the hole feet-first while trying to fish out the lighter. It must have been one very important 'cigarette' of some kind.
It may have been easier to head into a smoke shop for a book of matches or find a different lighting instrument. The man trying to fetch his lighter had kind of misjudged the size of that hole when he found himself stuck up to his armpits for two hours. Roughly 100 onlookers watched and laughed at (not with) the London guy who tried to break free from that hell hole. Some tried to help, to no avail. Emergency crews using a winch had to get him out. But it could've been worse. At least he wasn't in sewage.
The only thing going for the London guy: Despite those snapped photos, he remained unidentified to the general world -- unlike Jared Medeiros in his July 2011 United States disaster.
The stuck man in a London hole posed for a rather cheery pic, all considered. To his credit, Medeiros didn't really have that option.