A demonstration was held in La Cañada Flintridge Monday by friends and family seeking answers in the death of a 19-year-old camp counselor who drowned in a YMCA swimming pool.
The event, outside the YMCA of the Foothills location, was held because the parents of Colin Jacobs say the organization is not being transparent about his death on July 1.
Demonstrators were seen carrying signs that read, “Colin trusted the YMCA,” and “What is the YMCA hiding?”
Jacobs had been swimming with a group of campers when he ended up drowning in the pool, the Pasadena Star-News reported.
His father, Philip Jacobs, would like to know why lifeguards were not able to help him.
“For them not to have his back and have such a disconnect between the supervisors and the lifeguards … they could have prevented his death, and that’s their job,” Philip Jacobs said during Monday’s event.
The YMCA issued a statement about Colin Jacobs’ death indicating that details could not be provided due to a pending investigation.
“We respect the family’s desire to peaceably protest and I can tell you that the YMCA of the Foothills continues to mourn the loss of this beloved employee and is heartbroken for his family, his fellow staff, friends and the community who knew him,” part of the statement read.
Philip Jacobs told the Star-News that his son did have a history of seizures but had been medically cleared to drive and return to work.
Colin Jacobs had been studying business at the University of Southern California, according to the newspaper.