Follow-Up: Deputy Disciplined

A Hernando County (Fla.) sheriff’s deputy who was working in the comm center because of a back injury will receive a written reprimand for his handling of an April EMS incident that ended with a delayed response. Dep. John Ellis mis-entered the incident for the county fire-rescue agency, instead of Spring Hill Fire Rescue. The county dispatcher called out to Ellis about the mistake, but he apparently didn’t hear it. The county fire dispatcher then cancelled the incident, and it was never re-entered for Spring Hill. The victim’s stepson waited 13 minutes and then tried to get his father to a doctor, but the man collapsed and later died. Ellis had previous dispatch experience, the sheriff said, and that deputies aren’t normally assigned to the center.