“This was more than sufficient indication for you to know to stop trying to embrace her; however you ignored her comments and moments later embraced her,” the chief wrote.
The woman said she made it clear that she feared contracting COVID-19. Hernandez ignored her and followed her into her work space, the report said.
There he kept “taunting her with comments about her being afraid of contracting COVID-19,” while sitting at her desk and “touching items on her desk,” the report said.
Hernandez, an officer with the department since 2005, only left when the woman went to a supervisor, the report said. The woman said she cut her finger and hurt her back while pushing Hernandez away, the report said.
The co-worker “told you not to touch her and physically backed away from you and crossed her arms,” police Chief David Dowda wrote in his review of the case, which the newspaper obtained through a public records request.
“This was more than sufficient indication for you to know to stop trying to embrace her; however you ignored her comments and moments later embraced her,” the chief wrote.
The woman said she made it clear that she feared contracting COVID-19. Hernandez ignored her and followed her into her work space, the report said.
There he kept “taunting her with comments about her being afraid of contracting COVID-19,” while sitting at her desk and “touching items on her desk,” the report said.
Chief: Officer hugged, taunted coworker despite COVID fears
by The Associated Press
Last Updated Feb 5, 2021 at 8:44 am EDT
LONGWOOD, Fla. A central Florida police officer has been fired following a coworker’s complaint that he mocked her concerns about the coronavirus, hugged her against her wishes and misled investigators who probed the allegations against him, according to records.
An internal investigation by the Longwood Police Department found Cpl. David Hernandez was “not fully forthcoming and not truthful” when questioned about the interaction in July with the woman, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
The co-worker “told you not to touch her and physically backed away from you and crossed her arms,” police Chief David Dowda wrote in his review of the case, which the newspaper obtained through a public records request.
Longwood officer hugged, taunted coworker despite COVID fears, chief says
By The Associated Press article
LONGWOOD, Fla. - A Central Florida police officer has been fired following a coworker’s complaint that he mocked her concerns about the coronavirus, hugged her against her wishes and misled investigators who probed the allegations against him, according to records.
An internal investigation by the Longwood Police Department found Cpl. David Hernandez was not fully forthcoming and not truthful when questioned about the interaction in July with the woman, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
The co-worker told you not to touch her and physically backed away from you and crossed her arms, police Chief David Dowda wrote in his review of the case, which the newspaper obtained through a public records request.