Florida HB 6527: Relief/Christopher Cannon/City of Tallahassee

Bill Text

HB 6527 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb6527-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act for the relief of Patricia Ermini by the Lee 2
County Sheriff's Office; providing for an 3
appropriation to compensate her for injuries sustained 4
as a result of the negligence of the Lee County 5
Sheriff's Office; providing a limitation on the 6
payment of attorney fees; providing an effective date. 7
8
WHEREAS, on the evening of March 23, 2012, 71-year-old 9
Patricia Ermini spoke on the telephone with her daughter, Robin 10
Lacasse, who found that her mother was extremely upset in the 11
wake of her contentious and expensive divorce after a brief 12
marriage, and 13
WHEREAS, Ms. Lacasse suggested to her mother that she hang 14
up, take some time to calm down, and, afterward, call her back, 15
which her mother did; however, Ms. Lacasse missed her mother's 16
call, and 17
WHEREAS, when Ms. Ermini failed to reach her daughter, she 18
went to bed in her bedroom, which was being cooled by a window 19
unit air conditioner, and 20
WHEREAS, over the course of half an hour, Ms. Lacasse 21
repeatedly tried to return her mother's call and, when her 22
mother did not answer, called the Lee County Sheriff's Office 23
(LCSO) to request that a well-being check be conducted to 24
determine whether her mother was safe, and 25

HB 6527 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb6527-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

WHEREAS, shortly before 9 p.m., LCSO dispatch relayed the 26
call for a well-being check to Deputy Charlene Palmese, with 27
Deputies Richard Lisenbee and Robert Hamer also responding to 28
the call, conveying the following information to the deputies: 29
Ms. Ermini's name and age; that the request for a well-being 30
check had been initiated by Ms. Ermini's daughter, who did not 31
reside in Lee County and was afraid for her mother's life; that 32
Ms. Ermini was in the middle of a difficult divorce; that Ms. 33
Ermini had told her daughter that she "couldn't take it 34
anymore"; that Ms. Ermini's daughter was worried that Ms. Ermini 35
might commit suicide; that Ms. Ermini had never threatened 36
suicide before; that Ms. Ermini did not suffer from mental 37
illness; and that Ms. Ermini had a gun and might have been 38
drinking, and 39
WHEREAS, at the time of the call, Deputy Lisenbee was on 40
probation and undergoing remedial training, in part because of 41
his demonstrated inability to control scenes or suspects through 42
verbal commands, and he later told investigators that he could 43
not recall receiving training in the conduct of well-being 44
checks, and 45
WHEREAS, Deputy Palmese had completed her field training 46
only a few days prior to the call, during which she received 47
instruction on how to respond to a well-being check, but she 48
later told investigators that she could not recall whether, at 49
the time of the call, she had ever actually participated in a 50

HB 6527 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb6527-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

well-being check, and 51
WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer had been to many suicide threat 52
calls, and he made it a practice to carry his rifle when it was 53
known that a firearm was present on the premises where the 54
subject of the call was located, and 55
WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee, who was the first to arrive at 56
Ms. Ermini's home in response to the call, observed that there 57
were no lights on in the home when he arrived and, after a brief 58
exterior check, went to the front door, where he secured a 59
screen door in the open position, knocked on the door, and 60
announced, "Sheriff's Office," to no response, and 61
WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee determined that the front door was 62
unlocked, opened the door, and again said, "Sheriff's Office," 63
followed by "Anyone here? Anyone home?" to no response, and 64
WHEREAS, Deputy Palmese was second to arrive, followed by 65
Deputy Hamer, who, like the other deputies, parked out of view 66
from inside the residence, and 67
WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer retrieved from the trunk of his 68
vehicle his AR-15 rifle, which was equipped with a flashlight 69
and a sighting device that allowed him to find his target more 70
quickly and easily, and 71
WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer determined that the three deputies, 72
all of whom were wearing dark green uniforms, should go into the 73
residence to clear the house, and 74
WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer activated the flashlight on his rifle 75

HB 6527 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb6527-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

and Deputy Lisenbee announced "Sheriff's Office" once or twice 76
more before the deputies entered the home, after which the 77
deputies proceeded