After making a phone attempt and getting no reply, yesterday I sent the following email to the quarry owner:
(Owner of Quarry - name deleted),
Did any of your Instructors mention an incident between themselves and one of our students on Sunday?
Here is the report I got from both the student and (name deleted). Im hoping you can look into it. I dont know if it was one of your Instructors or another group that was present at the quarry.
(name deleted) was leading two of his students back from diving and was coming back by the first platform (from the deep side). Upon approaching the platform he saw an Instructor working with a student on the platform and a couple others hovering off of it so he lead his students around the platform. One of his two students however became disoriented in the vis and decided to stop on the platform on the opposite side from where the Instructor was working with the student. Apparently our student saw the people on the platform, realized it was not (his group) and turned around to look behind himself all the while (name deleted) could see him from the side of the platform and (name deleted) also saw what happened next.
While our student had his back turned, the Instructor swam over to our student and pushed him in the back causing him to lose his balance. (name deleted) saw this happen and pulled our diver off the platform and out of harms way.
Id like to believe this was not one of your Instructors - who would swim over and push someone else in the back but to our knowledge, no one else was in the water at the time.
Im sure that from one professional to another, you would agree that pushing someone in the back underwater is completely unprofessional and even if it were perceived that he (our student) had impolitely intruded on a platform where a class was taking place, the more appropriate action would have been to tap him on the shoulder and ask him to move on not to shove him in the back in an attempt to push him off the platform.
I very respectfully ask you to look into the matter. (Name deleted) was unable to identify the person underwater as he moved quickly away with our student but Im hopeful you can identify him and take professional corrective action.
I think you know I respect you as a professional and hope you will look into it.
Id really rather not know who it was, I just would like you to look into it and address it.
Respectfully,
Ken Barrick, OWNER
KB Diver Services, Inc. Off the Wall Scuba Inc.
PO Box 24814 3007-A Eastern Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21220 Middle River, MD 21220
(410)-335-4654 (443)-772-0595
(443)-604-1247