William Shatner came across as frantic during a call to the emergency 911 hotline shortly after finding his wife at the bottom of his swimming pool, but seemed eager to comply with an order to retrieve her from the water.
In a brief tape released late Tuesday by the Los Angeles Fire Department, Shatner, best known as the Starship Enterprise's Captain Kirk, sounded understandably distraught by the sight of his wife, Nerine, lying naked under the surface of the couple's Studio City pool on the night of August 9. His famous voice delivery was unsteady, even trailing off into unintelligibility at one point during his 30-second conversation with the emergency dispatcher.
Shatner: "Oh, my God!"
Dispatcher: "What's your problem there, sir?"
Shatner: "My wife's at the bottom of the pool!"
Dispatcher: "OK. Did you get her out of the pool yet, sir?"
Shatner: "No, not yet."
Dispatcher: "I want you to take her out of the pool right now."
Shatner: "She's at the very deep end [inaudible]."
Dispatcher: "OK. Sir, if you can, grab something and get her out of the pool. Sir? Sir? Right away, get your wife out of the pool."
Shatner: "OK."
Dispatcher: "Don't hang up the phone. Hello?"
However, Shatner had already hung up the phone to retrieve his wife from the water.
According to first-aid protocol, a person finding a potential drowning victim should call for help -- either by shouting or calling 911 if nobody is in earshot -- before retrieving the victim. This helps minimize the chance of further accidents in rescuing the victim. The dispatcher's insistence on Shatner pulling his wife out of the pool with a tool rather than diving in to get her stems from this same reasoning.
Nerine Shatner, the actor's third wife, was pronounced dead shortly thereafter by emergency workers arriving on the scene. An autopsy found no sign of foul play, but deferred final judgment on her cause of death pending results from a toxicology test "and additional studies." This additional testing could reportedly take as long as four to six weeks to show conclusive results.
Mrs. Shatner was known to be a strong swimmer, but also suffered from alcoholism. She had only recently reconciled with the actor after a separation and motion for divorce in October 1998. They had been married less than two years when she died.
Shatner was reportedly devastated by the event, saying that the victim "meant everything" to him and calling her his "beautiful soulmate." In a letter addressed to his fans, he suggested donations be made to "Friendly House," a fund he had established in her memory to help female drug and alcohol addicts.
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