If Chad Dickerson knew that two boys were in danger of drowning as he sat nearby in his air-conditioned police vehicle at Lake Tapps last summer, his failure to act would be an outrage.

But that’s a big if. Dickerson insists he saw no signs of a struggle or that onlookers were mounting rescue attempt.

In transcripts of his interviews with Pierce County Sheriff’s internal affairs investigators, Dickerson repeatedly says he saw two boys swimming slowly toward shore and a woman he believed to be their mother calling them in.

His statements might be believed if for no other reason than Dickerson has proved he isn’t good at hiding the truth. His interviews with investigators are revealing, showing him to be as tactless and cavalier as Charlene Sain of Auburn described him being on that summer day at Lake Tapps.

On July 12, Sain watched several women form a human chain to rescue two struggling young boys at the Lake Tapps swimming area. She had seen Dickerson’s sport utility vehicle parked nearby and later went to ask him why he didn’t help.

Dickerson seemed unconcerned to hear that two boys had almost drowned. He told Sain that his life was more important than the boys’ and that the most he would do for a drowning victim was to mark the spot where he or she went underwater.

When investigators confronted him, Dickerson defended his response as “brutally honest.” Brutal, for sure. But honest? Let’s hope not.

Sheriff’s deputies shouldn’t be expected to be lifeguards, but there’s a lot that they can do to help a drowning victim short of jumping in the lake after them. Like get out of the car. Walk over to the scene. Throw out rope and flotation devices like those Dickerson had in his vehicle.

Taking Dickerson at his word — that he didn’t see anyone in need of saving — his conduct was still an embarrassment to the sheriff’s department.

Dickerson’s biggest problem was his attitude. This wasn’t a high-pressure situation where an officer responded under duress; it was literally a day at the lake. Asked by an investigator how he would handle a similar situation in the future, Dickerson replied, “Not work at Lake Tapps?” He clearly was unhappy about being stuck policing picnickers, and he turned his annoyance on the public.

Sheriff’s administrators also bear some blame. The department’s policy of assigning all school resource officers to Lake Tapps over the summer begs reconsideration. A deputy who, by his own admission, swims “like a rock” probably shouldn’t be pulling duty at Pierce County’s biggest lake.

The department should send a stronger message that it won’t tolerate such crude disrespect for the public. Dickerson’s verbal reprimand for discourtesy was little more than a slap on the wrist. Deputies who cast doubt on their duty to preserve public safety give the entire department a black eye.