Teens filmed, mocked drowning man, police say

COCOA, Fla. — Police said a group of teens filmed the dying moments of a 32-year-old man last week, mocking, cursing and laughing as the man drowned in a pond.

The Brevard County (Fla.) State Attorney's office released the video to Florida Today, a member, like USA TODAY, of the USA TODAY Network, and called the incident a "tragedy" and the said the teen's lack of action had "no moral justification."

The minute-long video, which police called "extremely disturbing," found its way to social media and depicts the unidentified teens — ages 14 to 16 — off-camera, laughing as the man screamed for help before going under in the murky water just after noon on July 9. There were no calls to 911 from the teens.

Instead, police later found the badly decomposed body of the man — identified as Jamel Dunn — on July 12. Police said the man drowned and foul play was not suspected.

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"They were telling him they weren't going in after him and that 'you shouldn't have gone in there,' " said Yvonne Martinez, spokeswoman for the Cocoa Police Department.

“He started to struggle and scream for help and they just laughed. They didn’t call the police. They just laughed the whole time. He was just screaming ... for someone to help him.”

WARNING: Disturbing audio below features strong language.

The teens were identified and questioned by detectives but probably will not face charges because they were not directly involved, nor are there any Good Samaritan laws that would be applicable in the case, police said. Police also added that there appeared to be little remorse from the teens.

Detectives noted that one of the teens stared ahead during the questioning, even though his mother sat next to him in tears, distraught at the situation he was involved in, Martinez said.

“There was no remorse, only a smirk,” Martinez said. 

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The case also was reviewed by the State Attorney’s Office but could not find any criminal act on the part of the teens for failing to either call police or help the man another way.  

"While the incident depicted on the recording does not give rise to sufficient evidence to support criminal prosecution under Florida statutes, we can find no moral justification for either the behavior of persons heard on the recording or the deliberate decision not to render aid to Mr. Dunn," the State Attorney's Office said in a statement. "We are deeply saddened and shocked at both the manner in which Mr. Dunn lost his life and the actions of the witnesses to this tragedy."

Police said Dunn turned up at the pond after an argument with his fiancée about 10 to 15 minutes before the incident.

“The kids were at the park that day smoking marijuana and apparently saw him walk into the water. He walked in on his own. They were watching him,” Martinez said.

Dunn waded into the water from the west side as the teens watched from the south side of the pond.

“They just started recording what happened and watched until he died,” Martinez said.

“Everybody is just horrified by this.”

Follow J.D. Gallop on Twitter: @JDGallop