A Flagler County 911 dispatcher is in trouble for how she handled an emergency call. A worried resident had called because he saw someone he didn't think should be behind the wheel.
The resident said Flagler County's dispatch was disappointing and dangerous. He said he believes the dispatcher delayed sending a police officer to city hall, where he thought someone was about to drive drunk.
"I did not want the man to get in the car and pose a risk to somebody. Trying to get police there before he got into his car," the resident, who does not want to be identified, said.
It turns out the person he was calling about was a Bunnell city councilman. In recordings obtained by Channel 9, the dispatcher can be heard asking police to warn the commissioner about the 911 call.
"If you want to give him a heads up. Does he drive a gray Saturn?" the dispatcher said.
Later, as the concerned resident waited for police to respond, the operator can be heard saying some not so nice things about the caller.
"Oh, this guy is getting on my (expletive) nerves," the dispatcher said.
Police said the councilman had a medical condition and they did end up driving him home two blocks away.
"At the very least, wanted the police to investigate it," the resident who called 911 said.
The sheriff's department investigated what was said during the call and in the in-between times. The dispatcher is being disciplined for her behavior and her language.
The concerned resident said he believes the dispatcher lost sight of her job.
"She, right away, assumed some sort of political issues and forgot the fact that it was a public safety issue," he said.
The dispatcher will be orally reprimanded, although no written report will be filed with her disciplinary history.
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