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A 911 dispatcher in Volusia County, Fla., has been suspended and is under investigation after security footage caught her using her personal cellphone during an emergency call. Due to a series of missteps, it took paramedics 15 minutes to get to a man who had suffered a heart attack and called 911.
Man Dies Waiting for Paramedics After Dispatcher Distracted on Cellphone
Shauna Justice (Source: WKMG-TV)
Bob Hill, 58, died during that time period.
The 911 dispatcher, Shauna Justice, was reportedly training a new employee when the emergency call came through on Sept. 4. Hill suffered a heart attack while playing racquetball with his friends.
In surveillance video obtained by WKMG-TV, Justice can be clearly seen using her cellphone as the new employee she was training entered the wrong location when sending ambulances to the scene.
One of Hill’s friends told the dispatcher that they were at the Nova Community Center in Ormond Beach, but it was incorrectly logged as the “Ormond Rec Center.”
WKMG-TV has part of the transcript from the 911 call:
Dispatcher: 911, what is your emergency?
Caller: Hey. We need some help. We’re at the Ormond Rec and one of our friends collapsed at the racquetball court. I don’t know if it’s a seizure or he passed out or what.
Dispatcher: Is that a park somewhere?
Caller: Yeah. It’s the Ormond Beach Recreational Center, like Ormond Rec. Corner of Granada and…
Dispatcher: I’m listening. Granada and where?
Caller: Actually, it’s Nova Road and Wilmette in Ormond Beach.
The man gets anxious when after nearly five minutes no paramedics have arrived.
“Is anyone coming?” he asks.
“Yup, they’ve been on the way,” the dispatcher replies.
However, paramedics were on their way to the Ormond Rec Center, a mistake overlooked Justice.
Man Dies Waiting for Paramedics After Dispatcher Distracted on Cellphone
Source: WKMG-TV, screengrab via the Daily Mail
“No one answered the door when we tried to reach Certified Training Officer Shauna Justice, but she admitted her mistake. We messed up. She was very remorseful about what happened, very caring about it. She admitted to what her mistake was,” Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said, adding that it was a “serious mistake.”
It is unclear if Hill’s life could have been saved if paramedics arrived faster.
However, one of Hill’s friends, Ed Mallaire, told WKMG-TV “it could have cost him his life.”
“With the help of his supervisor together they should have made everything go right. They should have been there right away, not in fourteen minutes,” he added.
In a shocking twist, Justice was reportedly arrested on Tuesday when she pulled a gun and threatened a local TV reporter who attempted to interview her. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said there will be an internal investigation into the incident.
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