A New Mexico dispatcher has resigned and is now under investigation after he hung up on a female caller who was trying to save the life of Jaydon Chavez-Silver, who was just shot, telling her to "deal with it yourself."
Initially Mathew Sanchez, a 10-year veteran at the New Mexico department, was reported Monday to have been reassigned following the June 26 interaction, according to the New York Daily News.
"After learning of the alleged misconduct, Driver Matthew Sanchez was immediately removed from the dispatch center and placed on administrative assignment," Fire Chief Dave Downey said in a statement. "An internal investigation has been initiated. As the Chief of the department, I am taking the allegation very seriously."
But a statement Tuesday evening from the office of Albuquerque's chief administrative officer Rob Perry revealed that Sanchez has resigned from the fire department, according to Newsmax.
"Matthew Sanchez tendered his resignation of employment from the Albuquerque Fire Department effective immediately," Perry said in a statement.
The event in question happened after Chavez-Silver had been shot at a party in Albuquerque and a friend called 911 for assistance.
The fire department on Monday released a 3.5-minute recording of the call, though the majority of the call was cut "to protect patient privacy."
"I'm keeping him alive!" the distressed caller is heard telling the dispatcher.
"OK, is he not breathing?" Sanchez asks.
"Barely!" the frantic caller says. "One more breath! One more breath!" she says as she consoles her mortally wounded friend. "There you go Jaydon. One more breath! There you go Jaydon. Good job! Just stay with me, OK? OK? There you go, good job Jaydon!"
"Is he breathing?" the dispatcher asks again.
"He's barely breathing, how many times do I have to f---ing tell you?" the irritated caller responded.
There's a pause, then Sanchez says: "OK, you know what ma'am? You can deal with it yourself. I am not going to deal with this, OK?"
"No, my friend is dying, I need ..." she begged as the call cut out.
The fire department dispatched emergency services to the scene, but Chavez-Silver died, according to The Christian Science Monitor.
Police have yet to name a suspect for the shooting and have made no arrests.
