Reading the headline, you might think it’s a set-up for a really bad joke, but it isn’t. It might contain some humor if it were only a joke.
A Florida woman dialed 911 on March 13 complaining that she was having difficulty talking and needed assistance. She was later found in her driveway, unconscious.
Standard policy in Lee County, Florida, is for the 911 dispatcher to call for the nearest deputy to respond. On March 13 that deputy was Yvan Fernandez. And Deputy Fernandez was busy scoffing down the goodies at Raider’s Pizza and Wings on Palm Beach Boulevard. You don’t expect a hungry dude to forego his lunch to help some needy citizen, do you?
Another deputy showed up at the restaurant and Fernandez asked him to respond to the emergency call. After all, he still had some serious chowing down to do.
When the second deputy arrived at the woman’s house, he found her lying in the driveway, passed out and, according to neighbors, “covered in ants.”
Yeah, but did Deputy Fernandez ever get full? He did indeed, and he even showed up over an hour after the call was first made. Well done, Deputy!
Now, more than a month later, the Lee County Sheriff’s office has finally fired Deputy Fernandez for his actions on that day in March. Sheriff Mike Scott said after announcing Deputy Fernandez’s termination:
“He made a decision at that moment of time that his lunch and what he had on his personal plate, pun intended I suppose, was more important than that 911 call. Could we have saved this lady? I’ll never be able to answer that question. Would getting there quicker have hurt anything? Of course not.”
What he had on his plate! Ha, I get it! That’s a good one, Sheriff. Oh, you weren’t trying to be funny? Oh. Then…you know, never mind.
In defense of himself, Fernandez claims to have attempted to call the woman several times and gotten no response.
Maybe because she was having trouble talking, was passed out, and was covered with ants, you idiot!
But hey, at least Fernandez managed to have an enjoyable lunch without anyone rushing him.
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.