Police have found a statute that they want the State Attorney’s office to charge the teens who laughed and mocked a man while he was crying for help as he drowned.
ABC 7 CHICAGO – Police in Florida are recommending the Brevard County State’s Attorney file charges against a group of teens who taunted a drowning man while filming his death from afar, using an obscure statute.
While the police chief doesn’t think the statute has ever been used before, he also believes it may apply to this case. The core of the statute says that anyone who fails to report a death is guilty of a misdemeanor.
The final decision regarding charges lies with the State’s Attorney’s Office, police said. Police said there are no imminent plans to arrest the teenagers Friday afternoon.
Here’s the statute:
BREAKING: @cocoapolice now charging teens they say recorded, mocked man drowning but didn't help him/report it with this law @news6wkmg pic.twitter.com/Ii07K4sIt2
— James Sparvero (@News6James) July 21, 2017
It’s a shame that this is the only statute they can find to charge these teens with, but as the say in the report:
The state of Florida currently does not have a law where a citizen is obligated to render aid or call for help for anyone in distress.
“If there was (a law like that) we would charge them,” Cocoa Police Department spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez told CNN by phone.
“The family is frustrated … the detectives are frustrated, that we cannot hold anyone accountable for this,” Martinez added. “No one deserves to go like that.”
Well if it’s all they got, I’d take it.
It would just be a misdemeanor though…