A Florida firefighter who admitted taking a severed foot from an accident scene has resigned.
St. Lucie County Fire Chief Ron Parrish said Cindy Economou, a 14 year veteran and former firefighter of the year for St. Lucie County, resigned after she was presented with the investigation report into the incident.
He said after seeing the report, which found her at fault for removing the foot, she resigned.
Parrish wouldn't say if she was encouraged to resign or if she did so voluntarily.
"The investigation and the weight of the evidence do not support anything other than that Ms. Economou acted on her own in removing the patient's foot from the accident scene," said Parrish.
According to the report, Economou responded to an accident on I-95 on Sept. 19th.
There were 14 members of the Fire District staff on scene.
Karl Lambert of Melbourne ran his truck into a tree in the median of the interstate.
He had to be extricated from his vehicle and airlifted to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach for trauma care.
Economou admitted to investigators that she removed the foot, which had been severed in the crash, so that she could take it home to help train cadaver dogs, a hobby of hers.
She took the foot after the patient had been airlifted.
Economou claimed she had gotten approval from Deputy Chief Mike Bailey.
According to her statement to investigators, Economou asked Bailey if she could take the foot with her and Bailey had replied emphatically, "No!", but later, she said she asked Bailey for permission to remove the foot, "and that Deputy Chief Bailey said 'something to the effect' that 'I don't want to know.'
Economou interpreted that as "authorization" from Bailey.
Deputy Chief Buddy Emerson said the investigation "did not support" Economou's version of the facts.
He would not say if any other firefighters would be disciplined as a result of the incident.
The report details one firefighter, James "Tommy" Cubbedge who "took several pictures with his cellphone of the patient's foot while it was at Fire Station No. 10."
Fire officials would not say if Cubbedge would be reprimanded for his actions.
They did say the Fire District plans to review its policies, including policies concerning use of cell phones.
The Florida Highway Patrol continues to investigate this incident for possible criminal charges.
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