- A Florida police officer was fired for taunting a co-worker over her fear of catching COVID-19.
- Longwood Police Cpl. David Hernandez also misled investigators, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
- Florida now has more than 1.7 million coronavirus cases.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A Central Florida police officer was fired after he taunted a coworker over her concerns about the coronavirus and hugged her without consent, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Cpl. David Hernandez of the Longwood Police Department also misled investigators who questioned him about the incident, an internal investigation found.
Police Chief David Dowda wrote that the co-worker asked Hernandez not to touch her and had moved away from him with her arms crossed.
“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,” Dowda wrote in the report.
The Sentinel obtained copies of the report through a public records request. Insider reached out to the department for a copy of the record and comments but did not hear back at the time of publication.
When the woman made it clear that she was concerned about catching the coronavirus, Hernandez taunted her for it and continued to touch items on her desk. The woman said she injured herself pushing Hernandez away, the Associated Press reported.
Hernandez's conduct met the "elements of the crime of battery," according to Dowda. There will be an arbitration proceeding in which he could try to regain his job.
In July, when the incident occurred, the state was experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases, at one point having the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases reported since the pandemic began.
Florida now has more than 1.7 million coronavirus cases, according to data from the state's health department. The state also has more than 27,000 deaths.
In December, The Tampa Bay Times reported that at least 18 law enforcement officials in the state died from COVID-19 in 2020.