Child neglect charges considered following recent drownings
MIAMI - Florida officials are thinking about charging the parents of children who have drowned.
They are specifically looking at five drownings that recently happened in the Panama City Beach area.
Police say in all the cases parents allowed their children to swim in the Gulf of Mexico despite double red flag warnings.
The parents were fined $500, but now, they could also face child neglect charges.
"To me, it's no different than having a fire inside of a house, and allowing a kid to go over there that doesn't know any danger to that fire and letting them go over there and get their cell burned or leaving them home alone with a fire going and something bad happened," said Bay County Sheriff's Office Capt. Jason Daffin.
"You know, it is the adults, it's the adult's responsibility to protect their children."
Authorities said they don't generally resort to such measures.
Drownings have been such a problem in the area.
They want to get the word out about how dangerous the water can be.
