A bonfire party in Florida allegedly turned into a prolonged beating of a disabled teenager, complete with people recording instead of stepping in. Now four young men are in jail without bond, and Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood has some pointed questions about accountability, including what happened to basic decency.
According to Breitbart, the alleged attack happened October 23 at Tiger Bay State Forest in Volusia County. The victim, a 19-year-old with physical disabilities, attended the gathering with a friend but did not know anyone there, Chitwood said.
The suspects were identified as Cody Stripling, 18; Sebastian Bowers, 19; Logan Levesque, 18; and Casey Knight, 19. All four face enhanced felony charges. Those are accusations, not convictions, but the conduct authorities describe is appalling.
Chitwood said the incident lasted approximately 30 to 40 minutes, was recorded, and later circulated online. That is not a fleeting bad decision. It is an alleged episode that raises serious questions about everyone who had an opportunity to intervene.
The footage reportedly showed one young man allegedly punching the victim while he sat on a truck bed, then pulling him to the ground, where others appeared to beat him. At one point, someone asked, “What did you do?” The victim answered, “I didn’t do shit.” Someone was later heard telling others to spit on him.
Warning: The following post contains graphic video.
Authorities said the victim suffered a concussion and minor injuries. The suspects reportedly claimed he had made a comment about a woman in the group. A claimed comment is not a license to attack someone, and certainly not an excuse to turn the encounter into recorded entertainment.
“They’re all looking at felonies, and they’re looking at something that’s going to follow them for the rest of their lives,” Chitwood said, according to WFLA.
The sheriff’s department also released video of the arrests. In that footage, one suspect called out, “Hey, call my Mom!” Apparently, parental assistance suddenly became a priority once authorities arrived.
Chitwood’s frustration extended beyond the alleged attackers to those who stood by.
“How did you raise your kid that this is a good thing and no one trying to stop it, right? Nobody intervenes. They beat him down, they film it and they’re laughing. And then eventually, his friend is able to get him out of there. And then they waited a day before mom calls us.”
The courts will determine criminal responsibility. Meanwhile, the sheriff’s question deserves an answer: How does a gathering reach the point where someone’s suffering becomes something to film and laugh at rather than stop?
