Senate Bill 8 (2026) — Patricia Ermini by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office
SB 8
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SB 8 By Senator Rodriguez 40-00019-26 20268__ Page 1 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 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 compensation and attorney fees; providing 7 an effective date. 8 9 WHEREAS, on the evening of March 23, 2012, 71-year-old 10 Patricia Ermini spoke on the telephone with her daughter, Robin 11 Lacasse, who found that her mother was extremely upset in the 12 wake of her contentious and expensive divorce after a brief 13 marriage, and 14 WHEREAS, Ms.
Lacasse suggested to her mother that she hang 15 up, take some time to calm down, and, afterward, call her back, 16 which her mother did; however, Ms. Lacasse missed her mother’s 17 call, and 18 WHEREAS, when Ms. Ermini failed to reach her daughter, she 19 went to bed in her bedroom, which was being cooled by a window 20 air conditioner, and 21 WHEREAS, over the course of half an hour, Ms. Lacasse 22 repeatedly tried to return her mother’s call, and, when her 23 mother did not answer, Ms.
Lacasse called the Lee County 24 Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) to request that a well-being check be 25 conducted to determine whether her mother was safe, and 26 WHEREAS, shortly before 9 p.m., LCSO dispatch relayed the 27 call for a well-being check to Deputy Charlene Palmese, with 28 Deputies Richard Lisenbee and Robert Hamer also responding to 29
Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SB 8 40-00019-26 20268__ Page 2 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. the call, conveying the following information to the deputies: 30 Ms. Ermini’s name and age; that the request for a well-being 31 check had been initiated by Ms. Ermini’s daughter, who did not 32 reside in Lee County and was afraid for her mother’s life; that 33 Ms. Ermini was in the middle of a difficult divorce; that Ms. 34 Ermini had told her daughter that she “couldn’t take it 35 anymore”; that Ms. Ermini’s daughter was worried that Ms. Ermini 36 might commit suicide; that Ms.
Ermini had never threatened 37 suicide before; that Ms. Ermini did not suffer from mental 38 illness; and that Ms.
Ermini had a gun and might have been 39 drinking, and 40 WHEREAS, at the time of the call, Deputy Lisenbee was on 41 probation and undergoing remedial training, in part because of 42 his demonstrated inability to control scenes or suspects through 43 verbal commands, and he later told investigators that he could 44 not recall receiving training in the conduct of well-being 45 checks, and 46 WHEREAS, Deputy Palmese had completed her field training 47 only a few days before the call, during which she received 48 instruction on how to respond to a well-being check, but she 49 later told investigators that she could not recall whether, at 50 the time of the call, she had ever actually participated in a 51 well-being check, and 52 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer had been to many suicide threat 53 calls, and he made it a practice to carry his rifle when it was 54 known that a firearm was present on the premises where the 55 subject of the call was located, and 56 WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee, who was the first to arrive at 57 Ms.
Ermini’s home in response to the call, observed that there 58
Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SB 8 40-00019-26 20268__ Page 3 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. were no lights on in the home when he arrived and, after a brief 59 exterior check, went to the front door, where he secured a 60 screen door in the open position, knocked on the door, and 61 announced, “Sheriff’s Office,” to no response, and 62 WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee determined that the front door was 63 unlocked, opened the door, and again said, “Sheriff’s Office,” 64 followed by “Anyone here?
Anyone home?” to no response, and 65 WHEREAS, Deputy Palmese was second to arrive, followed by 66 Deputy Hamer, who, like the other deputies, parked out of view 67 from inside the residence, and 68 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer retrieved from the trunk of his 69 vehicle his AR-15 rifle, which was equipped with a flashlight 70 and a sighting device that allowed him to find his target more 71 quickly and easily, and 72 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer determined that the three deputies, 73 all of whom were wearing dark green uniforms, should go into the 74 residence to clear the house, and 75 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer activated the flashlight on his 76 rifle, and Deputy Lisenbee announced “Sheriff’s Office” once or 77 twice more before they entered the home, after which they 78 proceeded to move about the dark residence in silence as they 79 cleared the living room, finally arriving at the primary 80 bedroom, which had double doors, both of which were closed, and 81 WHEREAS, without knocking or further announcing their 82 presence, Deputy Lisenbee opened the right-hand bedroom door and 83 shined his flashlight on a female, who appeared to be asleep on 84 the bed wearing only undergarments, and 85 WHEREAS, after Deputy Lisenbee entered the bedroom doorway, 86 he announced, “Sheriff’s Office.
Are you okay?” to which the 87
Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SB 8 40-00019-26 20268__ Page 4 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. woman responded, “Who’s there? Who’s there?,” and 88 WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee said, “Sheriff’s Office. We’re 89 here to make sure you’re okay. Are you okay?,” and 90 WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee said that, although the woman may 91 have sounded frightened, he did not temper his tone, nor did he 92 ever shine his flashlight on himself to allow Ms. Ermini to see 93 that he was, in fact, a uniformed officer, and 94 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer said he heard Ms.
Ermini say, “What 95 are you doing here? I have a gun,” and 96 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer later acknowledged that he didn’t 97 know whether Ms. Ermini had heard or understood Deputy Lisenbee, 98 yet nonetheless, he turned off the flashlight on his gun, “took 99 the point,” and stepped in front of Deputy Lisenbee because, he 100 said, he had more weaponry, was the senior officer on scene, and 101 had significantly more gun range time, and 102 WHEREAS, terrified, Ms.
Ermini told the person at the 103 doorway, whom she perceived as an intruder, to get out of her 104 house “because [she had] a gun” and, with that, jumped up from 105 the bed and hid behind the still-closed left-hand bedroom door, 106 and 107 WHEREAS, it remains unclear whether Ms. Ermini grabbed her 108 gun as she ran to shelter behind the door, and 109 WHEREAS, as Ms.
Ermini tried to look around the bedroom 110 door, she was shot multiple times, with Deputy Hamer firing 111 seven rounds from his rifle through the closed bedroom door, and 112 WHEREAS, according to the chief crime scene investigator, a 113 bullet fired through the middle of the door struck Ms. Ermini in 114 her left leg, shattering her femur and causing her to fall 115 backward onto the floor; another bullet hit her in the upper 116
Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SB 8 40-00019-26 20268__ Page 5 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. right arm, leaving a portion of her upper arm missing; and a 117 third bullet caused a graze wound across the back of her head, 118 and 119 WHEREAS, a wood splinter from the door lodged in her right 120 eye, temporarily blinding her in that eye, and 121 WHEREAS, it was less than 2 minutes from the time of entry 122 until Ms.
Ermini was shot multiple times and fell to the floor, 123 and 124 WHEREAS, Deputy Hamer notified dispatch of the shooting and 125 continued to sweep the bedroom before finally delivering first 126 aid to Ms. Ermini, whom he handcuffed because she was still 127 alive and therefore posed a possible threat to the deputies, and 128 WHEREAS, Lee County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were 129 dispatched at the same time as the officers and were waiting 130 just two blocks away, which likely saved Ms. Ermini’s life, and 131 WHEREAS, when the lead paramedic for EMS arrived, he 132 determined that Ms.
Ermini had life-threatening injuries to the 133 front and back of her left leg and to the front and back of her 134 right arm, and a laceration to the back of her head just above 135 the neckline, and 136 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini repeatedly asked the paramedic why she 137 had been shot, who the intruders were, and why they were in her 138 home, and 139 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini’s most grievous injury was the 140 shattered femur in her left leg, and moving her caused her 141 significant blood loss and excruciating pain, and 142 WHEREAS, Ms.
Ermini was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital in 143 critical condition and later admitted to the intensive care 144 unit, and 145
Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SB 8 40-00019-26 20268__ Page 6 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. WHEREAS, in addition to the gunshot wounds, Ms. Ermini had 146 numerous wounds on her face from the wood splinters from the 147 bedroom door, and 148 WHEREAS, an LCSO lieutenant who followed the ambulance to 149 the hospital initially refused the emergency room doctor’s 150 request to remove the handcuffs from Ms. Ermini; emergency room 151 staff were told that Ms.
Ermini “tried to kill a cop”; and Ms. 152 Ermini’s family members were denied visitation, and 153 WHEREAS, doctors were able to save Ms. Ermini’s eye with 154 surgery, but her vision has deteriorated since the incident, and 155 WHEREAS, Ms.
Ermini required multiple surgeries to repair 156 her femur and address her wounds, including multiple skin grafts 157 on her shoulder, and 158 WHEREAS, after discharge, she suffered a severe septic 159 infection that caused her tremendous pain, and the pain 160 medications she was prescribed induced debilitating paranoia, 161 and 162 WHEREAS, on March 24, 2012, Sheriff Mike Scott told the 163 news media that Ms.
Ermini shot at deputies who had responded to 164 a well-being check and that they returned fire, which directly 165 contradicts Deputy Hamer’s statement, in which he indicated that 166 he shot first, and 167 WHEREAS, on March 29, 2012, Ms. Ermini was arrested in the 168 intensive care unit on two counts of aggravated assault on a law 169 enforcement officer, which the state attorney declined to 170 prosecute, and 171 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini was an emergency room nurse in South 172 Florida for many years and had worked with law enforcement 173 officers, no evidence was ever produced that she had any animus 174
Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SB 8 40-00019-26 20268__ Page 7 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. toward law enforcement officers, and it is still disputed that 175 Ms. Ermini’s weapon was discharged during the encounter, and 176 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini remained hospitalized for about 30 days 177 and has never fully recovered from her injuries, and 178 WHEREAS, Ms.
Ermini continues to suffer acute pain, 179 fatigue, and a limited range of motion due to the gunshot wound 180 to her upper arm, all of which impair her ability to accomplish 181 many of the activities of daily living, and she also suffers 182 from debilitating posttraumatic stress disorder, and 183 WHEREAS, Ms. Ermini was forced to sell her home because she 184 cannot afford in-home assistance, and 185 WHEREAS, Deputy Lisenbee and Deputy Hamer were terminated 186 by the LCSO shortly after the incident, the latter for “conduct 187 unbecoming,” and 188 WHEREAS, in November 2015, Ms.
Ermini filed suit against 189 LCSO and the individual deputies involved in the call, and 190 WHEREAS, on January 12, 2018, after a 4-day trial, a jury 191 that included a retired law enforcement officer awarded $1 192 million in damages to Ms. Ermini for her pain and suffering, and 193 WHEREAS, after apportionment of 75 percent of the fault to 194 LCSO, a judgment was entered in Ms.
Ermini’s favor for $750,000, 195 and 196 WHEREAS, ultimately, after numerous procedural attempts by 197 LCSO to overturn the judgment, the United States Court of 198 Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed the judgment of the United 199 States District Court in Ms. Ermini’s favor, and on or about 200 December 9, 2019, the Florida Sheriffs Risk Management Fund, on 201 behalf of its insured, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, paid the 202 statutory limit of $200,000 in damages under
section 768.28, 203
Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SB 8 40-00019-26 20268__ Page 8 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida Statutes, and 204 WHEREAS, this claim bill is for recovery of the excess 205 judgment in the amount of $550,000, plus interest and taxable 206 trial costs and appellate costs awarded to Ms. Ermini in the 207 amount of $76,769.93, for a total claim of $626,769.93, NOW, 208 THEREFORE, 209 210 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 211 212
Section 1. The facts stated in the
preamble to this act are 213 found and declared to be true. 214
Section 2. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is authorized 215 and directed to appropriate from funds not otherwise encumbered 216 and to draw a warrant in the sum of $626,769.93 payable to 217 Patricia Ermini as compensation for injuries and damages 218 sustained. 219
Section 3. The amount paid by the Lee County Sheriff’s 220 Office, pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the amount 221 awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole 222 compensation for all present and future claims arising out of 223 the factual situation described in this act which resulted in 224 injuries and damages to Patricia Ermini. The total amount paid 225 for attorney fees relating to this claim may not exceed 25 226 percent of the total amount awarded under this act. 227