No charges for Florida teacher accused of drowning raccoons

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (WKMG/CNN) – Prosecutors say they saw this video. It shows a Forest High School agriculture teacher drowning two raccoons and a possum with some of his students in Marion County, Florida last week.

The video went viral. School board members spoke out about it and the teacher ended up taking early retirement instead of possible termination.

News 6 legal analyst Steven Kramer suspected criminal charges could be a possibility. “This would appear to be something that would fit cruelty to animals,” Kramer commented. “And that is causing and animal to experience a cruel death.”

But according to state attorney Brad King’s decision, there were missing pieces.

He said the cell phone video barely shows the teacher taking part.

He said in order to use that video students would have to authenticate it. And so far he says many parents didn’t want their children involved.
And he concluded with this: “The teacher did not intend to torture or torment these nuisance animals; he was simply attempting to protect his class’s school project in an appropriate manner.”

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