I dont blame anyone for not jumping in. But they could have been sympathetic, tried to talk to him to help him figure out how to escape, WHILE ALSO CALLING 911.
There is no excuse for mocking him and laughing as he died. That is disgusting and I wish they could be charged for being so hateful.
Yes! Forgetting the video, the mocking, the possible fear of getting hurt in trying to save the man, to me the real issue is that a call to 911 would have brought help and maybe the man wouldn't have died.
Unfortunately there don't seem to be any Florida laws regarding doing nothing when another person needs medical attention. Well, at least in this case; plenty of parents and caregivers have been charged for failing to provide medical attention to injured children. I think the distinction lies in the responsibility a caregiver has to insure the well being of his/her charge versus acting on behalf of a stranger.
So what does that leave? I guess the misdemeanor charges brought against these teens. However, under civil law (versus criminal law) there's more leeway in proving culpable negligence - in theory anyway.
An argument could be made that the teens diregarded the safety of the drowning man by not calling 911. IOW, did they fail to act in
a reasonable way? IMO, making a video and sharing it online is evidence of reckless disregard. But then I'm not a lawyer.
CULPABLE NEGLIGENCE VS. CIVIL NEGLIGENCE
Culpable negligence differs from conventional negligence (as used in Florida civil cases) in the degree of disregard a person must exhibit for the safety, rights, or welfare of others. In the civil context, negligence is established merely by showing a breach of duty to exercise reasonable care on behalf of others. If a person fails to act reasonably in regard to a duty they have towards others, then civil liability may be imposed.
With culpable negligence, the accused must not only act unreasonably with respect to his or her duty, but he or she must also exhibit gross recklessness, or wanton disregard for others.
http://www.husseinandwebber.com/crimes/violent-crimes/culpable-negligence/
I understand that bringing a lawsuit is problematic but IMO the man's family
might be found to have standing and if so then they may prevail. Unfortunately, the teens are likely judgment proof so a lawsuit would only be helpful in terms of bringing the lack of law for this kind of incident to the public's attention. Laws don't change until someone challenges them.
I guess what I'm saying is that IMO I believe the teens should have called for help and furthermore there should be punishment under criminal law that demands that a person has a responsibility to act in a reasonable way when they see a person in need of help.
It doesn't require special training or expertise. All it requires is that when a person recognizes that someone is in danger they should call 911. Not rocket science. Have we, as a society, gotten so dumbed down that we don't expect our fellow humans to act in a reasonable way?