GROVELAND, Fla. — The Groveland police chief said working in dispatch can be tough, especially for new employees, but he’s not excusing a Groveland dispatcher who fell asleep on the job.
Coworkers of the dispatcher sent Channel 9 a picture of her dozing off.
Another photo shows the same employee on texting on a cellphone while she was working in the dispatch center.
“My reaction, obviously, of seeing them, I was concerned,” said Chief Melvin Tennyson.
Tennyson said the incident happened months ago while the newly hired dispatcher was being trained.
“I do take this very seriously, but I want to stress the fact that she was not alone,” said Tennyson.
Tennyson said that after the incident was investigated, the dispatcher was given a written consultation.
The chief said the training supervisor was also counseled about what happened and about taking the pictures.
Channel 9’s Myrt Price asked Tennyson if the punishment would have been more severe if the dispatcher had been there alone.
"Understand we are taking it just as seriously as if she was alone, because (the) bottom line is that we have a duty to the community, and to the citizens of the city of Groveland,” Tennyson said.
Tennyson said changes have been made to the training program to help better prepare new dispatch employees.
The chief said the employee hasn’t had any other issues.
The employee was recently given the job as his assistant, and he believes that the photos surfaced because some people weren’t happy about her getting that job.