Florida policeman fired for ignoring 911 call to eat lunch

A Florida police officer has been fired and may face criminal charges after he ignored a 911 call for 50 minutes in order to finish having lunch.

Lee County deputy Yvan Fernandez was dispatched to the house of Gwen Minnis, a 47-year-old woman who had just been released from the hospital after suffering a heart attack. Minnis dialed 911 at 1:11 PM on March 13th, but, as she was having a second heart attack, was unable to speak over the telephone. The 911 dispatch sent a police officer to the home to check on the call–but Fernandez, instead of going to Minnis’ home, remained at a pizza and wings parlor for lunch with three other deputies.

Eight minutes passed before Fernandez acknowledged that he had received the call. 30 minutes passed before Fernandez told another deputy to check on the call. And it was 23 minutes after that before the second deputy arrived.

By that point, Minnis was dead. She had been sprawled out on the floor by her front door for the duration of the 53 minutes between her initial call and the second deputy’s arrival.

According to Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott, Fernandez’s actions were “beyond negligent….He acknowledged the call. He received the call.  It’s incumbent on him to respond and take care of business.  He didn’t do so, and he’s out of a job.”

Scott further noted that officers are sometimes on official “meal breaks,” during which they do not have to respond to 911 calls. Fernandez was not on a meal break at the time of Minnis’ call.

Minnis’ family has the police department’s internal report, but has not yet read it. After reading it, the family will determine whether to press charges.

(Photo credits: Pizza and Police via Flickr)