UF and Emory University Zeta Beta Tau fraternity members who reportedly harassed and spit on veterans at a retreat in Panama City Beach will not face criminal charges.
The Panama City Police Department looked into allegations of simple battery, petit theft, criminal mischief and launching a deadly missile, according to a 22-page report the department released Tuesday after closing its monthlong investigation on Thursday.
Members of the UF or Emory University ZBT chapters were at the Laketown Wharf in Panama City Beach for their spring formal on April 17 and 18, according to the report.
The Warrior Beach Retreat — a nonprofit corporation founded by Linda Cope in 2009 as an outlet for combat soldiers wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — also held one of its biannual retreats at the Laketown Wharf during that time frame, according to the report.
Some of the fraternity members, Cope said in the report, threw objects off a balcony, removed or stole American flags and obstructed access to elevators, among other things.
However, because the department was unable to establish probable cause or positively identify suspects despite talking with witnesses and victims at the scene, no arrests or charges are being made, according to the report.
UF closed its ZBT chapter on April 28 in a joint decision with the national ZBT chapter once reports about the incident surfaced.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 6/4/15]
Pictured is the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house on Fraternity Drive. In late April, UF shut down the local ZBT chapter after launching a misconduct investigation as a result of an incident in Panama City Beach involving members of the fraternity.
