Miami Dade police officers accused of 'dereliction of duty' by Internal Affairs, reports say

KENDALL, FLA. -- CBS4 News in Miami reports that the Miami Dade Police Department has fired a sergeant and two officers for dereliction of duty and suspended three others without pay.

The officers were tracked by Internal Affairs back in 2010, but it wasn't until September 2012 that they were ultimately disciplined.

Investigators used tracking devices on the officers' cars and caught them acting improperly on surveillance video.

According to CBS4 News , one of the fired officers, Dario Socarras, reportedly ignored calls for armed robbery and residential burglary, forcing other officers to respond, so he could meet his girlfriend in the parking lot of the Dadeland Mall.

Investigators allege that Sgt. Jennifer Gonzalez went shopping instead of working.

Surveillance video captured her making trips to Lowes, Target and Kohls; loading her purchases into the trunk of her squad car.

Investigators also claim that Gonzalez would spend hours visiting her parents in Cutler Ridge - well outside her district - when she should have been working, according to CBS4 News .

Another officer, Jose Huerta, is accused by investigators of not immediately responding to a call involving a five-year-old child being locked inside a vehicle.

Investigators allege that Huerta would claim to be busy on other calls, when in fact he was free to respond to the calls the dispatcher had waiting.

CBS4 News reports that one of the most serious incidents involved an emergency call where a five-month-old child was unconscious and in need of medical attention.

Socarras told the dispatcher he was "en route."  In reality, he was having coffee at an outdoor table at Casa Larios.

CBS4 News reports that Socarras never even tried to respond to the call.

Furthermore, he wrote on his daily report that he went to the scene.

An attorney for Sgt. Gonzalez said that Gonzalez could not comment because she was planning on appealing her dismissal.  

Both Socarras and Huerta are reportedly trying to get their jobs back as well.

Reporting by Jim DeFede, CBS4 News Miami .