Police pursue misdemeanor charges against teens who they say recorded man's drowning

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/police-recommend-misdemeanor-charges-teens-
recorded-mans-drowning/story?id=48769120

Police in Florida are pursuing misdemeanor charges against five teenagers
for failure to report a death after authorities say they recorded video of
a man’s drowning and didn't intervene.

The video, taken earlier this month in Cocoa, Florida, about 45 miles east
of Orlando, shows a person's head bobbing up and down in a pond. The
teenagers, who are between the ages of 14 and 18 and have not been named
by police, are heard laughing and joking in the video, with one of them
appearing to laugh and say, "He just died!"

Cocoa Police Chief Mike Cantaloupe said the department learned of the
recording last weekend and later reviewed it. Police identified and
interviewed the five teens, he said.

Police in conjunction with the State Attorney’s Office determined that
charges of "failure to report a death under Florida Statute 406.12," a
misdemeanor, will be pursued, the Cocoa police said in a statement today.
Police said the charging document, case report and video evidence are
being sent to the State Attorney’s Office for review, and a decision about
whether the charges will be prosecuted.

“When we initially reviewed this case it was determined there were no laws
broken as the teens were not directly involved with the death,” Cantaloupe
said in a statement today. "Further research of the statutes and
consultation with the State Attorney’s Office yielded the decision to move
forward with charges under this statute. It’s our belief that this law has
never been enforced in a scenario like this, but we feel it could be
applicable.”

Cantaloupe added, “Pursuing criminal charges is a way to hold them
accountable for their own actions.”

Earlier, Cocoa police said that the five teenagers were not facing
criminal charges after the State Attorney’s Office was consulted.

“As horrible as this video is the laws in the State of Florida do not
obligate citizens to render aid or call someone to render aid to a person
in distress," Cantaloupe said on Thursday.

The victim, 31-year-old Jamel Dunn of Cocoa, drowned July 9, police said.
He was reported missing July 12 and authorities recovered his body July 14
after a passerby reported a body floating in the pond.

Police said home surveillance video apparently captured Dunn jumping over
a fence and willingly going into the water. "I don't think you can ever
replace a lost life," Cantaloupe told ABC News today.

He added, "I think what we look at is, the hope that what we do from here
going forward, whether it be this charge or some new legislation, that
another family doesn’t have to go through this. And that we work with our
youth ... to instill these morals ... I would’ve never believed that
somebody could watch somebody in distress and not do anything about it."

Of the video recorded by the teenagers, Cantaloupe said in a statement
Thursday, "There are no words to describe how utterly inhumane and cruel
the actions of these juveniles were towards Mr. Dunn. ... I want to
express my deepest condolences to Mr. Dunn’s family and friends."

Cocoa Mayor Henry Parrish III released a statement today regarding the
incident. "It saddens me to the core to watch video shot by a group of
kids watching a man drown and doing nothing to help him. There just are no
words to describe the lack of conscience within these young people," he
said.

"I also would like to extend my deepest condolences to Mr. Dunn’s family
and friends," he added. "My hope is we all come together to make sure this
doesn’t happen to anyone else."

Parrish said of the decision to pursue charges, "While this in no way will
bring justice for what occurred, it is a start."

"In a case like this we struggle to understand how anyone could be so cold
and heartless and then learn that there are no laws in Florida that
obligate someone to render aid or call for someone to render aid for a
person they see in distress," he said. "If this case can be used as an
example to draft new legislation, then I am committed to move forward to
make that happen. More so, may this tragic incident, which has shocked all
of us, cause each of us to examine ourselves and our responsibility to one
another."

"I implore the State Attorney’s Office to follow through and file the
charges presented by the Cocoa Police Department!" he added.

ABC News' Benjamin Stein contributed to this report.


--
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