3 Teens Steal Car, Drive into Pond, Drown, and It’s Somehow the Fault of the Police
The families of three Florida teens who drowned in a stolen car are suggesting sheriff’s deputies could have done more to save them, the Miami Herald reports.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has released hours of dashboard footage of the March 30 tragedy, which shows officers taking off clothes and equipment, and trying to rescue the girls. It also shows one deputy watching from the bank of the pond. A necessary precaution as someone needs to be on watch for the safety of those in the water. “We are in the process of reviewing everything,” says the girls’ lawyer, Will Anderson, hired within hours of the incident.
Dominique Battle, 16, Ashaunti Butler, 15, and Laniya Miller, 15, apparently stole a Honda Accord from a Walmart parking lot that night. Deputies followed the girls and saw them plunge into a pond.
The sheriff’s office says their rescue attempts were hampered by darkness and thick mud. “They’re done. They’re done,” a deputy says in one of the clips. “They are 6-7, dude.” Another says, “I thought I heard yelling.” The other responds, “As it was going down. But now, they’re done.”
Anderson also accused the sheriff’s department of conducting a “smear campaign” against the girls for revealing their past records; they had seven felony charges over the previous year for auto theft. Sweethearts they weren’t; criminals they were.
Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri expressed sympathy for the families, but says they shouldn’t “disparage the deputies who were trying to rescue three kids.”
Laniya’s mother, Natasha Winkler, admits her daughter “was not perfect” but says she doesn’t want her remembered as a thief, despite the fact that she was a thief.
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[…] From Michael John Scott at MadMikesAmerica: […]
I certainly understand the grief and it’s sure to be infused with a feeling of parental guilt as well, but I dislike the practice of basing law and due process on passion and emotion.
I hate to sound like a republican but looking for scapegoats every time something goes bad is a dangerous practice. It’s obviously not the car’s fault or the dealer’s or owner of the car’s fault or of the guys who tried to save some lives. That’s obvious here, but why is it different than with a gun manufacturer who sells legally to legal buyers? Sure, it’s very sad, but you steal a car and you’re a car thief not a victim.
I agree and it’s like all those personal injury lawyer adds that look like they’re running a lottery – “we can get you millions!”
This brings a couple of questions to mind:
How many critics would jump into a pond full of quicksand and who knows what else – at night – to save people from a sinking car?
If we can sue a firearms manufacturer is their product is stolen from a legitimate owner and used in a crime, why can’t we sue the car manufacturer for this?
No Glenn, but when a parent loses a child the grief causes them to want someone to blame. It too will pass.
I know about that Bill, and you may be right, but hiring a lawyer within hours of your child dying? Not a lot of grieving going on there methinks.