On the morning of October 20, 2015, North Miami resident Minnie Sue Hendricks called her son James Garrett to discuss a situation regarding a home health care worker who had just arrived at her home.  The matter was resolved and they hung up.  A short while later, Mr. Garrett tried to call his mother back, but she didn’t answer the phone.

Since his mom had suffered a heart attack exactly one week earlier, naturally he was concerned.  He kept trying to call, but when he couldn’t reach her for almost two hours, Mr. Garrett left his meeting in Lauderhill and drove to North Miami to check on his mother.  When he arrived and knocked on the door, there was no response so he dialed 911 for assistance.

His first call was made at 12:32 pm.  James waited anxiously at her door for eleven minutes for the police or a fire rescue unit to arrive.  He was terrified, imagining that his mother might be injured or even dead on the bathroom floor.  At 12:42 pm, when no one showed up at the home, James called 911 for the second time.

Finally, at 1:07 pm – a full 35 minutes after his first emergency phone call to 911 – the North Miami Police showed up, followed by Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue three minutes later, and they proceeded to break into the back door of the home to make sure Ms. Hendricks was alright.

James was surprised to learn that his mother wasn’t home, even though her cell phone was still in the house.  That’s when James was told by the rescue worker who arrived that his mother had suffered another heart attack and was already transported to North Shore Hospital earlier that morning.  Since she didn’t have her phone with her, she couldn’t call him.  She was also scared and in pain, and didn’t think to ask anyone to call her son.  During all his frantic calls to his mom that morning, James had no way of knowing that his mother was already at the hospital.  Fortunately, Ms. Hendricks survived the ordeal and is now back at home recovering.

Mr. Garrett, however, wants answers.

James spoke during public comment at the October 27, 2015 North Miami City Council meeting, and expressed his concern that it took well over half an hour – and two calls – for police to arrive to what was potentially a life threatening emergency.  After he spoke, Mr. Garrett told me that Assistant Police Chief Gary Eugene and Officer Donald Blanchard immediately approached him to inquire about his mother’s health.  He also told me that neither Police Chief Leonard Burgess nor Assistant Chief Larry Juriga so much as looked in his direction, much less talk to him.  When he left the dais, Councilman Alix Desulme expressed his concern and offered Mr. Garrett his personal assistance.

That evening, Councilman Scott Galvin sent an email to Chief Burgess and others:

Although Mr. Garrett’s complaint was about the mishandled response by both the North Miami Police and Miami-Dade Fire Departments, Councilman Galvin didn’t mention the NMPD in his email.

Whether inadvertent or otherwise, Chief Lenny ran with Galvin’s omission and immediately took credit for being a hero while simultaneously blaming the Miami-Dade PD for his own police department’s screw up.

He responded to Councilman Galvin via email:

For one thing, despite Chief Lenny’s defensive response, “WE” didn’t do anything!

Mr. Garrett told me he was insulted that neither Chief Burgess nor Assistant Chief Juriga reached out to him at the council meeting.  James also told me that he has known Larry Juriga since he was a child, and he couldn’t believe that Juriga snubbed him the way he did!

But, more importantly, and as expected, Chief Lenny went right into spin doctor mode, denying all responsibility, and immediately pointing the finger of blame on the “Miami Dade PD Communications dispatcher.”

Unfortunately for Chief Lenny, he’s wrong.

Mr. James Garrett told me that during both 911 calls, the county did not handle the calls, but that the dispatcher immediately transferred him to the North Miami Police Department’s communications and dispatch center, where all calls for North Miami Police are routed.

That would be the same dispatch center manned by police employee Larry Coffee, who was under fire last April for making death threats from his cell phone while on duty.

Which always instills public confidence!

In fact, if the Miami-Dade Police Department had handled the 911 call, as Chief Burgess is claiming, its own Fire Rescue unit would have arrived within minutes of Mr. Garrett’s first phone call and not three minutes after North Miami Police arrived, which indicates that the NMPD dispatch center handled – and bungled – this call.

On October 27, 2015, Mr. Garrett sent an email to info@northmiamipolice.com and requested copies of the “two recorded phone calls along with date and time stamped, the actual arrival time of the first North Miami Police’s unit, and the written police report prepared of this call.”

Three weeks later on November 16, 2015, Mr. Garrett sent an email to the police department, with copies to several council members and city clerk Michael Etienne, stating that it’s been long enough, and demanding his public records.

Councilman Alix Desulme responded immediately that he was “on top of it.”

It wasn’t until the next day when Councilman Scott Galvin intervened in an email advising Mr. Garrett that all public records requests should go through the clerk’s office, that Mr. Garrett received an email from Michael Etienne absolving his department of all responsibility.

But, of course!

Mr. Garrett immediately sent an email to Michael stating that “the original written request was submitted to the correct department by me on October 27, 2015 and it was expressed in oral communication to the whole city council on the same night by me on October 27, 2015.”

Michael, of course, did not respond.

It is worthy to note that the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119) does not require that a public records request be made in writing.  Mr. Garrett’s verbal request at the October 27, 2015 was sufficient in and of itself.

Even so, here’s the thing.

Chief Leonard Burgess and other members of the North Miami Police Department’s Executive Command Staff received James Garrett’s public records request on October 27, 2015.  Despite the fact that Mr. Garrett did not address his original request directly to the clerk’s office, as a courtesy, any one of them could have (and should have) forwarded his request to Michael Etienne for processing.

It wasn’t until yesterday, November 17, 2015, that Rafael Pedron in the city clerk’s office finally received Mr. Garrett’s request, and advised him in an email that he was now submitting the public records request and would let him know when it was processed.

But, like his department did with the two 911 calls on October 20, 2015, Chief Burgess sat on Mr. Garrett’s public records request for three weeks.

In fact, if it wasn’t until both Councilman Galvin and Councilman Desulme intervened, it’s anyone’s guess how long it would have been until the request was processed!

But, three weeks is long enough for Chief Lenny to figure out how to dance his way out of this latest display of his incompetence like he’s done with all his other screw ups since he became the permanent chief on June 4, 2014.

Between blatantly lying about a previous sexual harassment complaint filed against him, protecting bad cops, getting even with cops who won’t play his game, playing loose with crime stats, keeping violent crimes under the radar and his latest attempt at misleading the public about an armed home invasion, the Teflon Don of law enforcement has somehow managed to bamboozle the North Miami Mayor and Council into believing he’s the best thing since sliced bread.

Despite the fact that he never informed at least one elected official about the violent crime in Keystone Point, or the three drive by shootings and a car jacking that took place within a twenty four hour period on November 14th and 15th in District 4, Chief Lenny still has his job.

And now, Chief Lenny wants everyone, including elected officials and a citizen who’s been victimized by his incompetence, that it’s not his fault.

According to Chief Lenny, this boondoggle is the fault of his previous employer, Miami-Dade County.

Isn’t that special.

I’ll be following up on this story…

If and when Mr. Garrett ever does receive his public records request from the City of North Miami.

Or as soon as I receive the 911 call recordings per my public records request from the Miami-Dade County Records Division.

Whichever comes first.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”