911 Calls Ignored, Dozens Died Because Police Dept Was Getting Wasted During Hurricane

 When distressed residents of the North Bay Village in Miami called  911 for help as the region was hit by the devastating Hurricane Irma  last September, their calls went unanswered because local police were  getting drunk instead. According to an internal affairs report obtained by the Miami Herald,  most of the police officers who were assigned to respond to these calls  were safe at City Hall, sitting around a table, drinking Coronas all  night. 

The report claimed that the officers were having what they called a “hurricane party,”  despite the fact that they were on the job, and were the only police  left on the ground to help local residents. The officers were expected  to answer calls and do their best to help, and were even given extremely expensive equipment for the job, including special high-water vehicles. 

However, the commander reportedly told the officers that they should  stay in and could drink on the job, once again highlighting the police  culture that their lives are more important than the people who they are  supposedly serving. The officers must have known that what they were doing was wrong and  that they could have gotten in trouble because they made efforts to  cover the surveillance camera— ironically enough—with a red plastic  drinking cup. 

The cup was placed over the surveillance camera by Lt.  James McCready at around 11:23 p.m. when the party began. The police report stated that during the party an extremely  large number of calls were ignored, many of them calling for help with  major medical emergencies, fires, and burglar alarms.

 Officer Walter Sajdak was one of the few officers on duty that night  who was actually out in the streets trying to help people, and he had no  clue that the party was taking place until he accidentally walked in on  it when he returned to the building for fuel and supplies. 

According to Sajdak’s testimony, he noticed that the area was  littered with trash and beer bottles when he was greeted by McCready,  who told him to “have a beer.” Sajdak’s says that he declined  because he doesn’t drink on the job, and then he reported the incident  to his supervisor after the Hurricane. 

“I was upset about lives being put at risk, lives being put in  danger. Lieutenant McCready, who was in charge of our Landfall Team, had  jeopardized the lives of the officers that were working and the  residents by drinking alcohol,” Sajdak said in his statement. 

“[McVay] and I went out and handled the calls for service because the others, I guess, were in here drinking,” he added. The officers who attended the party wrote in their report after the hurricane that “official police operations ceased due to conditions being unsafe and officer fatigue.” 

Six members of team admitted to drinking on the job during the  hurricane, including McCready, Sgt. James McVay, Detective Manuel  Casais, and officers Ismael Chevalier, Norlan Benitez, and Ethan  Cherasia. Oddly enough, the investigation said that there was no evidence that  the officers were extremely impaired, and thus their party had no impact  on the emergency response efforts. 

However, it is obvious that if six  officers were out trying to help people instead of sitting inside  drinking, the rescue effort would have been far more successful. 

The officers received a slap on the wrist and some small  occupational penalties, but no legal action was taken against them, and  they still have their jobs. Months after the incident, Sajdak reported that he was “being targeted” for coming forward about what happened that night, and still nothing was done. At least 75 people in the Miami area were killed by the destruction and flooding caused by hurricane Irma.