Pinellas teacher commits suicide in face of rumors

Teacher Danny Cole shoots himself as authorities look into talk of a relationship with a student.

By ROBERT FARLEY and RICHARD DANIELSON
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 9, 2002

A high school educator for 30 years, Danny L. Cole was the kind of teacher who came early, stayed late and even made time for student study groups on weekends.

Cole, who taught social studies in the rigorous International Baccalaureate program at Palm Harbor University High School, was respected by peers and popular with students.

But in January, rumors began to spread that Cole, 51, was having an improper relationship with a female student.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office opened an investigation. On Wednesday, investigators interviewed Cole. After school that day, Cole was told he was being put on paid administrative leave pending completion of the investigation.

On Thursday, a transient heard a shot from a restroom at Crest Lake Park in Clearwater. Cole had committed suicide, police said.

The tragedy left the school in shock Friday.

"He was an excellent teacher who truly cared about the success of his students," principal Alec Liem said. "Whenever someone needed assistance, he would always say, "I'll help out.' He was well-liked by everyone."

A graduate of Clearwater High School and Georgetown College in Kentucky, Cole joined the Pinellas County School District in 1972.

Cole first taught at Dunedin High School, where he eventually became the social studies department chairman. He came to Palm Harbor the year after it opened in 1996.

Cole distinguished himself as a teacher through his mock trials of historical figures, study groups on weekends at local libraries, and the lectures, skits and plays he would orchestrate in the classroom.

That he was teaching in the IB program "is indicative of the quality of his teaching," said district spokesman Ron Stone. "It was outstanding what he was doing with the history program up there."

Yearly performance evaluations said he exceeded expectations.

"Mr. Cole continues to set a standard for academic excellence," reads an evaluation in 1997.

That's part of what makes the allegations so surprising, Stone said.

Cole was being investigated for having an "improper relationship with a female student," Pinellas County sheriff's spokesman Cal Dennie said. The investigation began Jan. 30 in response to "rumors around the school," Dennie said.

"Our (school resource officer) did a report and referred it to the crimes against children unit," Dennie said.

Cole was interviewed on Wednesday as a part of the investigation, officials said. Dennie would not say whether he denied the allegation. Nor would he comment on the nature of the relationship, how long it lasted or whether detectives had planned to file charges against Cole.

Based on the interview, the Sheriff's Office indicated to school administrators "they were okay with us putting him on administrative leave," said Jackie Spoto Bircher, an attorney for the school district.

Jim Barker of the district's Office of Professional Standards broke that news to Cole after school Wednesday, Bircher said.

Barker would not discuss his conversation with Cole, but Cole was apparently so distraught that Barker warned deputies of his condition. In response, the Sheriff's Office sent two deputies by his home in Clearwater to check on his welfare, Dennie said.

"He appeared to be upset, but he said he wasn't going to hurt himself or anyone around him," Dennie said.

The deputies urged Cole to call the School District's employee assistance program for counseling "if he became overwhelmed with coping with life" and told him about additional resources the Sheriff's Office has for helping people who are despondent, Dennie said.

Dennie did not know whether Cole's wife or two children were at home when the deputies were there.

At about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, a transient at Crest Lake Park in Clearwater heard a shot from a park restroom and asked someone to call 911, according to Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor. Cole had shot himself with a handgun.

Cole left behind a suicide note, but Shelor said police would not release any details about its contents because the investigation is still open while toxicology tests are being done.

Although Cole is dead, Dennie said the investigation was still open Friday so detectives could "see if there was an inappropriate relationship with anyone else."

School officials would not discuss the allegations, saying that was the business of the Sheriff's Office.

"We are presently focused on supporting each other," Liem said. "It is a time of loss for us all."

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