Texting Dispatcher Suspended After 911 Death

Then she allegedly pulled gun on reporter
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 13, 2013 6:01 PM CST

Police in Florida have charged a 911 dispatcher with pointing a gun at the head of a reporter who came to her door for an interview, reports the Orlando Sentinel. But that's only the half of it. The reason the reporter went to the home of Shauna Justice is that the 28-year-old had just been suspended for texting on the job—while a trainee she was supervising sent paramedics to an incorrect address. The victim they were supposed to help, a 53-year-old man who suffered a heart attack, died waiting for help to arrive, reports Click Orlando.

"We messed up," said Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson after the initial incident. "She was very remorseful about what happened, very caring about it. She admitted to what her mistake was." During the 911 call, the caller mistakenly referred to his location as a local rec center, and neither the trainee dispatcher nor the distracted Justice picked up on the discrepancy based on the cross streets he gave them. Paramedics went to an incorrect rec center 15 minutes away, and the victim died before it all got sorted out. Justice was suspended, and now faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. (More 911 call stories.)

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