Teens who took video of drowning man let off

NEW YORK: The video was shocking in Florida, where shocking videos seem like a genre. A group of teenagers laughed and watched as a man struggled in the water of a pond. The man drowned, and his body was not found for days.

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.

“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,” said Yvonne Martinez, a spokeswoman for the Cocoa Police Department. But the police said that they were still looking for other laws that might have been violated.

The man, Jamel Dunn, 31, drowned July 9, and his body was found five days later when police received a report that it was floating near the edge of the pond in a local park in Cocoa, a town of 18,000 people near Orlando.

As detectives investigated the death over the weekend, a family member of Dunn’s alerted them to the video, which the teenagers had begun sharing with friends.

One of the teenagers, using an expletive, calls Dunn a junkie. Another tells him not to expect any assistance.

About a minute into the video, the man appears to let out a whimper before submerging, fully, underwater.

“He just died!” a voice can be heard saying, as the others begin to laugh.

Later, one appears to suggest that they call police, only to be rejected by another.

The police identified and met with all five, who ranged in age from 14 to 18, Martinez said. None appeared to show much emotion.

THE FIVE DID NOTHING TO HELP THE MAN, BUT AFTER EXAMINING THE VIDEO, AUTHORITIES SAID THEY DID NOT BREAK THE LAW.