Cop, Two Dispatchers Fired for Faking Crime Scene in Effort to Reunite Lovers

A Florida police officer and two dispatchers have been fired for faking a report of a possible crime in an effort to reunite the cop with his former lover, police officials say.

Jason Moore, a 26-year-old former officer with the Fort Myers Police Department, was fired earlier this month along with dispatchers Joeleen Jeffery and Michael Grimmett after an internal affairs investigation revealed they faked a report of a suspicious person at a mall, police spokeswoman Shelly Flynn told FoxNews.com.

Flynn said Moore, who had been on the force for three years, requested the fake call in order to reunite with his former girlfriend, Officer Chelsea Berden, who remains with the force.

Moore, who was off-duty at the time, indicated to his sergeant that he and Berden had parted ways, and responding to a fake call would be the only way he could meet with her and try to reconcile the relationship, Flynn said.

She said Jeffery and Grimmett agreed to cooperate in the plot, but they sent the call not only to Berden's unit but to others, and four officers responded quickly.

Moore and the dispatchers were fired for knowingly providing false information, Flynn said.

"Officer Moore apologized for his actions and stated that he was in love with Officer Berden and just wanted to talk to her," an internal police report read.

Grimmett was also accused of creating a description of a fake suspect -- a black male wearing jeans and a T-shirt, looking into car windows at the Edison Mall's parking lot.

Flynn said he had three prior disciplinary actions noted on his record,  including failure to conduct a vehicle inspection and failure to obey the command of a supervisor.

Fort Myers Police Chief Doug Baker, in a statement, said the force will not participate in any interviews concerning the incident "to avoid any further embarrassment to the employee involved."

Moore told FoxNews.com late Tuesday afternoon that he had dated Berden for five months prior to the incident and intended to propose to her that evening.  They have not reconciled, the former Army paratrooper said.

"She won't talk to me," Moore told FoxNews.com.  "I made a mistake, yes I did.  But I think it was overreacting [by police officials]."