Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SB 8
By Senator Rodriguez
40-00019-26 20268__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act for the relief of Patricia Ermini by the Lee
3 County Sheriff’s Office; providing for an
4 appropriation to compensate her for injuries sustained
5 as a result of the negligence of the Lee County
6 Sheriff’s Office; providing a limitation on the
7 payment of compensation and attorney fees; providing
8 an effective date.
9
10 WHEREAS, on the evening of March 23, 2012, 71-year-old
11 Patricia Ermini spoke on the telephone with her daughter, Robin
12 Lacasse, who found that her mother was extremely upset in the
13 wake of her contentious and expensive divorce after a brief
14 marriage, and
15 WHEREAS, Ms. Lacasse suggested to her mother that she hang
16 up, take some time to calm down, and, afterward, call her back,
17 which her mother did; however, Ms. Lacasse missed her mother’s
18 call, and
19 WHEREAS, when Ms. Ermini failed to reach her daughter, she
20 went to bed in her bedroom, which was being cooled by a window
21 air conditioner, and
22 WHEREAS, over the course of half an hour, Ms. Lacasse
23 repeatedly tried to return her mother’s call, and, when her
24 mother did not answer, Ms. Lacasse called the Lee County
25 Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) to request that a well-being check be
26 conducted to determine whether her mother was safe, and
27 WHEREAS, shortly before 9 p.m., LCSO dispatch relayed the
28 call for a well-being check to Deputy Charlene Palmese, with
29 Deputies Richard Lisenbee and Robert Hamer also responding to
30 the call, conveying the following information to the deputies:
31 Ms. Ermini’s name and age; that the request for a well-being
32 check had been initiated by Ms. Ermini’s daughter, who did not
33 reside in Lee County and was afraid for her mother’s life; that
34 Ms. Ermini was in the middle of a difficult divorce; that Ms.
35 Ermini had told her daughter that she “couldn’t take it
36 anymore”; that Ms. Ermini’s daughter was worried that Ms. Ermini
37 might commit suicide; that Ms. Ermini had never threatened
38 suicide before; that Ms. Ermini did not suffer from mental
39 illness; and that Ms. Ermini had a gun and might have been
40 drinking, and
41 WHEREAS, at the time of the call, Deputy Lisenbee was on
42 probation and undergoing remedial training, in part because of
43 his demonstrated inability to control scenes or suspects through
44 verbal commands, and he later told investigators that he could
45 not recall receiving training in the conduct of well-being
46 checks, and
47 WHEREAS, Deputy Palmese had completed her field training
48 only a few days before the call, during which she received
49 instruction on how to respond to a well-being check, but she
50 later told investigators that she could not recall whether, at
51 the time of the call, she had ever actually participated in a
52 well-being check, and
53 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer had been to many suicide threat
54 calls, and he made it a practice to carry his rifle when it was
55 known that a firearm was present on the premises where the
56 subject of the call was located, and
57 WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee, who was the first to arrive at
58 Ms. Ermini’s home in response to the call, observed that there
59 were no lights on in the home when he arrived and, after a brief
60 exterior check, went to the front door, where he secured a
61 screen door in the open position, knocked on the door, and
62 announced, “Sheriff’s Office,” to no response, and
63 WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee determined that the front door was
64 unlocked, opened the door, and again said, “Sheriff’s Office,”
65 followed by “Anyone here? Anyone home?” to no response, and
66 WHEREAS, Deputy Palmese was second to arrive, followed by
67 Deputy Hamer, who, like the other deputies, parked out of view
68 from inside the residence, and
69 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer retrieved from the trunk of his
70 vehicle his AR-15 rifle, which was equipped with a flashlight
71 and a sighting device that allowed him to find his target more
72 quickly and easily, and
73 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer determined that the three deputies,
74 all of whom were wearing dark green uniforms, should go into the
75 residence to clear the house, and
76 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer activated the flashlight on his
77 rifle, and Deputy Lisenbee announced “Sheriff’s Office” once or
78 twice more before they entered the home, after which they
79 proceeded to move about the dark residence in silence as they
80 cleared the living room, finally arriving at the primary
81 bedroom, which had double doors, both of which were closed, and
82 WHEREAS, without knocking or further announcing their
83 presence, Deputy Lisenbee opened the right-hand bedroom door and
84 shined his flashlight on a female, who appeared to be asleep on
85 the bed wearing only undergarments, and
86 WHEREAS, after Deputy Lisenbee entered the bedroom doorway,
87 he announced, “Sheriff’s Office. Are you okay?” to which the
88 woman responded, “Who’s there? Who’s there?,” and
89 WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee said, “Sheriff’s Office. We’re
90 here to make sure you’re okay. Are you okay?,” and
91 WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee said that, although the woman may
92 have sounded frightened, he did not temper his tone, nor did he
93 ever shine his flashlight on himself to allow Ms. Ermini to see
94 that he was, in fact, a uniformed officer, and
95 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer said he heard Ms. Ermini say, “What
96 are you doing here? I have a gun,” and
97 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer later acknowledged that he didn’t
98 know whether Ms. Ermini had heard or understood Deputy Lisenbee,
99 yet nonetheless, he turned off the flashlight on his gun, “took
100 the point,” and stepped in front of Deputy Lisenbee because, he
101 said, he had more weaponry, was the senior officer on scene, and
102 had significantly more gun range time, and
103 WHEREAS, terrified, Ms. Ermini told the person at the
104 doorway, whom she perceived as an intruder, to get out of her
105 house “because [she had] a gun” and, with that, jumped up from
106 the bed and hid behind the still-closed left-hand bedroom door,
107 and
108 WHEREAS, it remains unclear whether Ms. Ermini grabbed her
109 gun as she ran to shelter behind the door, and
110 WHEREAS, as Ms. Ermini tried to look around the bedroom
111 door, she was shot multiple times, with Deputy Hamer firing
112 seven rounds from his rifle through the closed bedroom door, and
113 WHEREAS, according to the chief crime scene investigator, a
114 bullet fired through the middle of the door struck Ms. Ermini in
115 her left leg, shattering her femur and causing her to fall
116 backward onto the floor; another bullet hit her in the upper
117 right arm, leaving a portion of her upper arm missing; and a
118 third bullet caused a graze wound across the back of her head,
119 and
120 WHEREAS, a wood splinter from the door lodged in her right
121 eye, temporarily blinding her in that eye, and
122 WHEREAS, it was less than 2 minutes from the time of entry
123 until Ms. Ermini was shot multiple times and fell to the floor,
124 and
125 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer notified dispatch of the shooting and
126 continued to sweep the bedroom before finally delivering first
127 aid to Ms. Ermini, whom he handcuffed because she was still
128 alive and therefore posed a possible threat to the deputies, and
129 WHEREAS, Lee County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were
130 dispatched at the same time as the officers and were waiting
131 just two blocks away, which likely saved Ms. Ermini’s life, and
132 WHEREAS, when the lead paramedic for EMS arrived, he
133 determined that Ms. Ermini had life-threatening injuries to the
134 front and back of her left leg and to the front and back of her
135 right arm, and a laceration to the back of her head just above
136 the neckline, and
137 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini repeatedly asked the paramedic why she
138 had been shot, who the intruders were, and why they were in her
139 home, and
140 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini’s most grievous injury was the
141 shattered femur in her left leg, and moving her caused her
142 significant blood loss and excruciating pain, and
143 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital in
144 critical condition and later admitted to the intensive care
145 unit, and
146 WHEREAS, in addition to the gunshot wounds, Ms. Ermini had
147 numerous wounds on her face from the wood splinters from the
148 bedroom door, and
149 WHEREAS, an LCSO lieutenant who followed the ambulance to
150 the hospital initially refused the emergency room doctor’s
151 request to remove the handcuffs from Ms. Ermini; emergency room
152 staff were told that Ms. Ermini “tried to kill a cop”; and Ms.
153 Ermini’s family members were denied visitation, and
154 WHEREAS, doctors were able to save Ms. Ermini’s eye with
155 surgery, but her vision has deteriorated since the incident, and
156 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini required multiple surgeries to repair
157 her femur and address her wounds, including multiple skin grafts
158 on her shoulder, and
159 WHEREAS, after discharge, she suffered a severe septic
160 infection that caused her tremendous pain, and the pain
161 medications she was prescribed induced debilitating paranoia,
162 and
163 WHEREAS, on March 24, 2012, Sheriff Mike Scott told the
164 news media that Ms. Ermini shot at deputies who had responded to
165 a well-being check and that they returned fire, which directly
166 contradicts Deputy Hamer’s statement, in which he indicated that
167 he shot first, and
168 WHEREAS, on March 29, 2012, Ms. Ermini was arrested in the
169 intensive care unit on two counts of aggravated assault on a law
170 enforcement officer, which the state attorney declined to
171 prosecute, and
172 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini was an emergency room nurse in South
173 Florida for many years and had worked with law enforcement
174 officers, no evidence was ever produced that she had any animus
175 toward law enforcement officers, and it is still disputed that
176 Ms. Ermini’s weapon was discharged during the encounter, and
177 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini remained hospitalized for about 30 days
178 and has never fully recovered from her injuries, and
179 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini continues to suffer acute pain,
180 fatigue, and a limited range of motion due to the gunshot wound
181 to her upper arm, all of which impair her ability to accomplish
182 many of the activities of daily living, and she also suffers
183 from debilitating posttraumatic stress disorder, and
184 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini was forced to sell her home because she
185 cannot afford in-home assistance, and
186 WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee and Deputy Hamer were terminated
187 by the LCSO shortly after the incident, the latter for “conduct
188 unbecoming,” and
189 WHEREAS, in November 2015, Ms. Ermini filed suit against
190 LCSO and the individual deputies involved in the call, and
191 WHEREAS, on January 12, 2018, after a 4-day trial, a jury
192 that included a retired law enforcement officer awarded $1
193 million in damages to Ms. Ermini for her pain and suffering, and
194 WHEREAS, after apportionment of 75 percent of the fault to
195 LCSO, a judgment was entered in Ms. Ermini’s favor for $750,000,
196 and
197 WHEREAS, ultimately, after numerous procedural attempts by
198 LCSO to overturn the judgment, the United States Court of
199 Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed the judgment of the United
200 States District Court in Ms. Ermini’s favor, and on or about
201 December 9, 2019, the Florida Sheriffs Risk Management Fund, on
202 behalf of its insured, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, paid the
203 statutory limit of $200,000 in damages under section 768.28,
204 Florida Statutes, and
205 WHEREAS, this claim bill is for recovery of the excess
206 judgment in the amount of $550,000, plus interest and taxable
207 trial costs and appellate costs awarded to Ms. Ermini in the
208 amount of $76,769.93, for a total claim of $626,769.93, NOW,
209 THEREFORE,
210
211 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
212
213 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
214 found and declared to be true.
215 Section 2. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is authorized
216 and directed to appropriate from funds not otherwise encumbered
217 and to draw a warrant in the sum of $626,769.93 payable to
218 Patricia Ermini as compensation for injuries and damages
219 sustained.
220 Section 3. The amount paid by the Lee County Sheriff’s
221 Office, pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount
222 awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole
223 compensation for all present and future claims arising out of
224 the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
225 injuries and damages to Patricia Ermini. The total amount paid
226 for attorney fees relating to this claim may not exceed 25
227 percent of the total amount awarded under this act.
228 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.