The teenagers who police said did nothing to help a drowning man and instead recorded the incident and mocked him may now face charges, Cocoa police said..
At first, the suspects were not going to be charged in connection with 31-year-old Jamel Dunn’s death.
Investigators were told by the State Attorney’s Office that while there was no moral justification for the July 9 incident at Bracco Pond Park, there wasn’t sufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution under Florida statutes.
Related: Teens recorded video, laughed while man drowned
Dunn’s body wasn’t found until July 14 when a passerby saw his body floating in the pond.
Police announced Friday that they would be able to recommend charges against the teens under a Florida statute saying that a person who witnesses a death must report it to a medical examiner.
Police said it’s a misdemeanor charge that hasn’t been applied in a case like this.
“When we initially reviewed this case it was determined there were no laws broken as the teens were not directly involved with the death,” said Chief Mike Cantaloupe. “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.”
The State Attorney’s Office will decide if a case is filed.
In the video, police said a group of teenage boys can be heard yelling things like, “We’re not going to help you and you never should have gotten in there,” as Dunn screamed for help and struggled in the water.
Police said video evidence showed that Dunn went into the water on his own.
A neighbor’s security camera showed Dunn scaling a fence and intentionally going into the pond, police said.
“Regardless of the circumstances surrounding his decision to enter the water that day, there is absolutely no justification for what the teens did,” Cantaloupe said. “Pursuing criminal charges is a way to hold them accountable for their own actions.”
One of the teenagers mentioned marijuana in the nearly three-minute video.
The identities of the teens have not been released.
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