Teenagers Recorded a Drowning Man and Laughed
“In the state of Florida, there is no law in place
that requires a person to render aid or call to render aid to a victim in distress,” Yvonne Martinez, a spokeswoman for the Cocoa Police Department, said on Friday.
The man, Jamel Dunn, 31, drowned July 9, and his body was found five days later when the police received a report
that it was floating near the edge of the pond in a park in Cocoa, a town with 18,000 people near Orlando.
In the statement, the prosecutor’s office said it was nonetheless “deeply saddened
and shocked” by how Mr. Dunn died and the failure of the teenagers to help him in any way.
The five teenagers did nothing to help him, not even call 911,
but after examining the video, the authorities said this week that they did not break the law.
Later in the day, they said that they believed a different Florida law requires any person who is aware of a death to report it.