After dash cam footage of three youths who died after driving a stolen car into a river and drowning was revealed, their relatives questioned officials’ efforts to save them.
The three Tampa, Florida, teens — ages 15 and 16 — reportedly stole a Honda Accord and were chased by police until the car ended up in a marshy pond at the Royal Palm cemetery. The girls ultimately drowned and died, and their families claimed that officers who were on the scene did nothing to try and save them.
After the police department released the officers’ dash camera footage, the parents became even more furious. They are evaluating everything, the teen’s lawyer, Will Anderson, stated. This, in his view, has been a hasty decision. This, in his judgment, has been a smear campaign.
“We are in the process of reviewing everything,” the teens’ lawyer, Will Anderson, told ABC News. “In my opinion, this has been a rush to judgment. In my opinion, this has been a smear campaign.”
Nevertheless, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri defended his officer’s conduct, claiming they did all correctly. He is not going to stand by and allow these guys to spread lies, he stated. They’re aiming high and want to be spin masters.
“I’m not going to stand by and let these people cast a false narrative,” he said. “They’re reaching, and they want to be spin masters.”
Gualtieri described the pond as “heavy with muck” and hard for the cops to enter.
Michele Whitfield, a lawyer for two of the girls, said the dashcam footage was also suspect and demonstrated that “there are additional concerns that need to be resolved.”
She simply feels like the Sheriff is providing the illusion of openness at this time, she said. She is still waiting on a few pieces of paperwork.
A couple of officers are seen chatting about the car after it was driven into the river in a clip released from dash cam footage that did not show the complete event.
It’s all the way down. It’s nearly completely flooded, one deputy says in the video.
They’re finished. They’re finished. Another individual responded They’re sig seven, bro, alluding to the radio code meaning “dead person.”
Regardless of the video, the Sheriff’s office stated that their deputies did everything possible to save the teenagers and that just because it’s not on camera doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
Watch the video report below:
Source: AWM