MY BLOG

Great article

2012-01-07T19:30:00.003-05:00

http://psc.apcointl.org/2012/01/05/mandated-telecommunicator-training-takes-effect-in-florida/

Kudos Arkansas!!!!!!

2011-03-25T18:42:00.003-04:00

Home Legislation Makes Telecommunicator Training Available in Arkansas
Natasha Yetman on March 24, 2011

Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock

“9-1-1 dispatchers are the first link from citizens to authorities to report emergencies,” says Gary “Bud” Gray, RPL, deputy coordinator and operations manager for the city of North Little Rock’s Emergency Services, in a release from the APCO Arkansas Chapter. “We simply want to have training available for the dispatchers so when an event is reported, the dispatcher has the knowledge to properly handle the incident.”

On Wednesday, March 23, Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe signed a bill into law that makes minimum training available for public safety telecommunicators across the state. The bill, HB 1741 — now Act 640 — which was filed on Feb. 28, passed through the state House and Senate with no opposition.

The training will be facilitated by the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy (ALETA) and will not be mandatory. Although the curriculum has yet to be established, it will be based on APCO International’s Minimum Training Standards for Telecommunicators and Project 33 (P33) standards. According to Gray, the course will have a train-the-trainer structure, allowing individuals who complete the course to take their knowledge back to their PSAP to share it with their colleagues.

Key players in getting the bill introduced and lobbying for the bill include Gray; Shannon McCuin, RPL, dispatch manager for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office; and Tammie Shipp, 9-1-1 administrator for Conway County 9-1-1. Supporters of the legislation include the Association of Arkansas Counties, the Municipal League, Fire Chief’s Association and the Sheriff’s Association.

The Process & Compromise

This bill became state law in six weeks, but the process really began two years ago as part of a course project. According to APCO Arkansas President Matt Garrity, “Bud and Shannon had [this legislation] as a project for their RPL class. Now they can officially graduate — even though they graduated last year. It’s a credit to them because they are the ones that made this happen.”

The work McCuin and Gray did in their RPL class (the APCO Institute’s Leadership Certificate Program — Registered Public-Safety Leader) served as the foundation for the final legislation.

Their resolve was reinforced and felt throughout the Arkansas public safety communications community in spring 2010. At the 2010 Arkansas state conference, Nate and Mark Lee from the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, which lobbied for the legislation passed in Florida last year, were keynote speakers at the banquet. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” says Garrity. “That’s what really got us fired up about this. Bud talked to them, and they are proud that we got something done.”

“When we started working on this in the fall, we found that everyone agreed that we needed some kind of effective training,” says McCuin. “We found universal support from everybody in the 9-1-1 community. There were only a couple of questions: what level of training and who would pay for it.”

Working with the Association of Arkansas Counties, county judges and representatives from police, sheriff, fire and EMS, the bill’s first draft was being fine-tuned by late 2010. The Denise Amber Lee Foundation also provided the group with advice throughout the process. In January 2011, an ad hoc committee of stakeholders was formed to resolve final issues.

To fund the training, a percentage of the 9-1-1 fees currently collected from wireless phone bills was reallocated to ALETA. But ALETA receives its funding through different channels than the 9-1-1 fee is collected, which meant a separate Senate appropriations bill to be filed to place this money in a special fund for ALETA was necessary.

Although the 9-1-1 officials working on the bill initially wanted mandatory training, it was made clear that a mandate would kill the bill and its support. “We did have to make compromises,” says McCuin. “With the committee, we were able to discuss issues they had and we had. We actually came out with a very good bill that meets everyone’s needs.”

McCuin continues, “They weren’t concerned about the funding as much as what type of training, something that would not be tailored to their needs. They had read Project 33 standards. [The training structure is] what your agency does. We decided to do some tiers to accommodate rural dispatch centers. That way, the training would reflect on what your agency did, not just a catchall for everybody. P33 does that as well.”

Garrity says, “We would have liked to have for it to be mandatory. But when you look back at ALETA, their training was available and recommended when they first started and now it’s mandatory. We are hoping to take that step later — as we get the curriculum in and people start seeing the value of this training. This is just minimum training and should help the smaller PSAPs [that] don’t get anything”

After the bill was filed on Feb. 28, Gray, McCuin and Shipp spent six weeks in Little Rock, meeting with state senators and representatives and gaining support for the legislation.

Next Steps

The work is not over yet. According to McCuin, the ad hoc committee will convene to determine the details of the curriculum. They intend to forward the training to APCO International, to ensure it complies with Project 33 standards. It will then go to the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training, which will credential the final training, to approve and certify the curriculum. ALETA will hire someone to teach the course and will provide regional training sites across Arkansas.

McCuin is determined not to lose her momentum. “In two years, when the legislative session convenes again, we might be able to go to them and say, ‘We’ve spent two years perfecting this program. Here’s where we want to go next.’ We need to have goals in mind.”

“I have been getting e-mails from dispatchers and people I don’t know to say ‘thank you,’” says McCuin. “It’s kind of humbling. We did this for the citizens of the state. Our goal is to be proactive instead of reactive, like they were in Florida. That is another important piece of this — even though we were behind, we were trying to be proactive before something bad happens.”

link:

http://psc.apcointl.org/2011/03/24/legislation-makes-telecommunicator-training-available-in-arkansas/

About the Author
Natasha Yetman is associate editor of APCO International’s Public Safety Communications magazine. Contact her via e-mail at yetmann@apcointl.org

Impact Case Study - 911 Reform

2011-01-21T17:29:00.003-05:00

Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice
601 Tamiami Trail South, Venice, Florida 34285
941.486.4600 GulfCoastCF.org

Sometimes it takes a tragedy to make a community ask, Is this the best we can do for our citizens?

The January 2008 abduction, rape, and murder of 21-year-old North Port wife and mother Denise Amber Lee was one such tragedy. Though calls to 911 were placed by eyewitnesses, no patrol cars were dispatched because of inefficiencies in a 911 call center.

In the aftermath of Denise Lee’s murder, Gulf Coastcommissioned an independent study of the 911 system in Florida.
“Florida 911: The State of Emergency” analyzed all components of emergency response that are activated when a person in need of assistance tries to call 911 in Florida. This marked the first time that 911 in Florida had been analyzed from the placement of a call to the arrival of the first responder on the scene.

Gulf Coast’s study found that Florida’s 911 system was not a “system” at all, but rather a patchwork of state and local agencies, protocols, and technologies cobbled together to respond to 911 calls. It provided policymakers and advocates like the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, which was created by Denise’s husband Nathan, with objective analysis to support their impassioned efforts to reform the 911 system.

Thanks to the work of state Senator Nancy Detert, state Representative Ken Roberson, Nathan Lee, and others, a new law was signed in May 2010 that will require uniform training and certification of 911 operators statewide. The new standards will help close a major gap in Florida’s emergency 911 system—one of many that are identified in Gulf Coast’s study.

Link:
http://www.gulfcoastcf.org/documents/911_Reform_overview.pdf

My heart is crying on the inside.....

2010-10-27T18:02:00.002-04:00

Grandmother bled to death after Comcast mishandled emergency calls, suit alleges

BY JON BURSTEIN Sun Sentinel TCPalm
Posted October 27, 2010 at 10:09 a.m..

BOYNTON BEACH — The 81-year-old grandmother screamed for the emergency phone dispatcher to send an ambulance. Blood gushed from her left foot after a freak accident in her suburban Boynton Beach home.

"Help me! Help me, please! Help me! Help me!" Sidell Reiner pleaded in recordings obtained by the Sun Sentinel.

She never got that help. More than an hour after that phone call, her husband of 62 years came home to find her lifeless on their bedroom floor, and blood throughout the house. Sidell Reiner had died with the phone next to her, her family's attorney said.

Reiner's widower now wants answers to how phone operators heard her cries for help, yet she ended up bleeding to death last Thanksgiving. Seymour Reiner filed a lawsuit last week against Comcast, the couple's phone provider, and has filed notices of intent to sue the city of Boynton Beach and Palm Beach County Fire Rescue as well.

Reiner cut herself when a piece of crystal glassware fell on her foot as she was preparing the holiday dinner for her family. Her husband had left to pick up a grandson at the airport. The Reiners' three children hadn't arrived yet. She was home alone.

In a panic, Reiner dialed "0" and reached a Comcast operator. The operator transferred the call to a Boynton Beach police dispatcher, but Comcast was unable to find Reiner's address and give it to the emergency dispatcher, according to the suit filed in Palm Beach Circuit Court.

It took 16 minutes to pinpoint Reiner's address, to establish she lived in unincorporated Palm Beach County and for county paramedics to arrive, according to the lawsuit. When paramedics did get there, they found the doors and windows locked, and attempted to look inside, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue records.

When no one answered the door, the paramedics left, deeming the call "unfounded," the records show.

"Nobody took responsibility in saving her," said Gary Cohen, the family's attorney. "No one went that extra mile and did what they needed to do."

The negligence lawsuit filed against Comcast seeks an unspecified amount in monetary damages.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Capt. Don DeLucia said it appears paramedics followed procedure, and that there has been no inquiry into the Nov. 26 response to Reiner's calls for help. He declined to answer further questions because of the litigation.

Boynton Beach Risk Manager Chuck Magazine said his city's dispatchers did what they were supposed to do — take the call and then transfer it to county fire-rescue once it was determined Reiner lived in unincorporated Palm Beach County.

Comcast spokeswoman Marta Casas-Celaya said her company does not comment about pending court cases and declined to answer general questions about services provided when a caller dials "0."

Someone who presses "0" on a Comcast phone line is greeted by an automated recording offering services in English and Spanish. After making a selection, the recording says: "If your call is a 911 emergency, please press '0.'"

Cohen said he doesn't understand why Comcast was unable to track down Reiner's address.

"They have her address when it comes to a bill, but when it comes to saving her life, they can't find her address?" Cohen asked.

Recordings of some of Reiner's calls that were transferred to police dispatch capture the words of a panicked woman. Cohen said she appears to have dialed "0" at least 10 times, but sometimes hung up without saying anything.

She repeatedly tried to give her address, but operators could not understand her because she was in such apparent agony.

"Sorry but, I … I can't speak!" she screams when asked her address at one point. "I can't!" The phone is then disconnected again.

At another point, the Boynton Beach dispatcher asks the Comcast operator if she has the caller's address.

"Her phone number, when we put in her phone number, it is showing that there is no information available on that number," the Comcast operator says.

"Oh, goodness," the Boynton Beach operator responds.

Cohen said he doesn't know how anyone could hear Reiner's desperate appeals and not communicate the evident seriousness of her condition to paramedics.

"This was a life-deciding call and there doesn't seem to be a lot of communication that this is a desperate situation," Cohen said.

The paramedics left at 9:47 a.m. Seymour Reiner and his grandson walked into the house more than an hour later, and discovered the body.

For more than six decades, the Reiners were at each other's side. They were married after Seymour served in the Navy during World War II. He owned a Manhattan dry cleaner, while she stayed home with their children and later did bookkeeping for the family business.

They retired to suburban Boynton Beach in 1996.

Reiner, 85, said in an interview that he wants to ensure that what happened to his wife doesn't happen to anyone else.

"It was a tragedy and it shouldn't have happened, but it did and nothing is going to bring her back," he said.

Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@SunSentinel.com or (954) 356-4491.

© 2010 TCPalm. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

link: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/oct/27/grandmother-bled-death-after-comcast-mishandled-em/

APCO president: Training certification programs are a must

2010-10-01T11:35:00.002-04:00

URGENT COMMUNICATIONS
Sep 14, 2010 6:01 PM
By Glenn Bischoff

A couple of weeks ago, Urgent Communications spoke with Dick Mirgon about his year as president of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials. This week we catch up with Bill Carrow, the communications section chief for the Delaware State Police, who last month began his term as APCO’s president. Carrow spoke extensively about one of his pet projects — training certification for 911 telecommunicators — and the progress that has been made to date.

Statewide training certification is sorely lacking nationwide. What is APCO doing about it?
The Professional Human Resources Taskforce (ProCHRT) was unveiled during National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week in 2009. The first step was to establish some very specific goals, first and foremost, to study what each state is doing, or what they’re mandating, in the way of training certification for telecommunicators. We knew that this was a nationwide problem. We knew that we had bits and pieces of training going on, some more elaborate than others — and that’s no way to run an airline, much less a public-safety answering point. You see in the media all the time stories about 911 calls that went awry.

The Denise Amber Lee tragedy has become the poster child for such events, has it not?
That’s what I was leading up to. You see these events on a weekly basis, but the Denise Amber Lee Foundation really hit home. We started studying the Denise Amber Lee case to understand what had happened. Two years prior to that event happening, APCO’s Florida chapter had been pushing for training certification across the state, but wasn’t successful.

What were the hurdles?
The hurdles basically were funding, number one, and, number two, getting the various entities down there — the sheriffs, the police and fire — to fully understand that this not only should be a requirement, but that it also is a necessity.

What has been accomplished so far regarding ProCHRT?
Where we really started gaining some ground is when we realized just how few states have any kind of mandated training. When you consider that the person who runs a tanning booth is required to have more training than our telecommunicators who are handling life-and-death decisions every day, that’s wrong. We now have an interim report that provides a report card for the country up to this point. It delineates the training that is going on state by state, and lists any agencies that are Project 33-compliant within a given state. There are 17 of those right now.

After reviewing this report card, what grade would you give in terms of the level of training certification across the country?
It would be a grade of “F.” There’s a lot of room for improvement.

What needs to be done? What’s the first step?
Basically, we wanted to gather information via ProCHRT that would let us create a tool kit that our members could use to go back to their home states and push for training certification. We never had this kind of information before. The next step is to use the success we’ve had in the state of Florida as a starting point for success in other states. Arkansas is one of those states — it has proposed legislation that was based on what they saw in Florida. I think this is going to be a groundswell. It’s not insurmountable anymore.

What else would you like to see accomplished in the coming year?
Right along those lines is promoting our Project 33, which has just been revised for 2010. It has been beefed up by adding the fire and EMS pieces to the dispatch function and by increasing the minimum requirements for all positions. My agency just went through it. That was one of the goals I set for myself — I wanted my agency not only Project 33–compliant, but also fully accredited.

Why was that so important to you?
When you do those things, you’re showing people that you’re trying to meet the best-of-the-best standards. So, what we want to do is promote that to every chapter, to show the importance of getting individual training programs P33-compliant.

Ed: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law in June a bill that requires 911 telecommunicators in the state to become certified and compile 232 hours of training before handling an emergency call.

http://urgentcomm.com/policy_and_law/news/carrow-apco-QandA-20100914/

Bill Cameron article yesterday's paper (please do not elect this man again)

2010-09-27T08:22:00.002-04:00

Area numbers reflect fewer restrictions

By CHRISTY ARNOLD

Projects Editor

Palm Beach County became too “helter-skelter” for Shepard Yarger.

“It was too violent,” said the registered sex offender.

Yarger, 69, grew up in Sarasota County. His parents owned property in Charlotte County, and Yarger eventually settled in Rotonda West.

Yarger committed a sex offense on a minor, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and he isn’t the only registered offender to relocate to Charlotte County.

In fact, 60.8 percent of the offenders living in Charlotte County committed their crimes elsewhere, according to data provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It’s a different story in neighboring Sarasota and DeSoto counties, where 45 percent and 46.2 percent of offenders’ crimes were committed outside their respective communities.

“This is one of those statistics any community is not going to be proud to wear,” said Charlotte County Commissioner Robert Skidmore.

While calling laws that regulate residency for sex offenders “silly laws (made) out of emotion,” Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Cameron said he isn’t concerned.

“That’s not an alarming number for me,” Cameron said of the 60.8 percent of out-of-town offenders living in Charlotte.

Only 39.7 percent of Charlotte’s offenders are home-based criminals. Once again, it’s different in Sarasota and DeSoto, where the majority of their registered offenders are locals.

Stephen J. Waughn is another one of the transplanted sex offenders living in Charlotte.

Waughn, 46, moved to Punta Gorda after being released from the Idaho Department of Correction in 2003.

“My folks — they’re really old,” Waughn said of the reason for relocating.

Aging parents long has been a reason for relocations to Charlotte County, where the average age of its residents often makes it one of the grayest communities in the country. The median age in Charlotte is 50.9, according to 2009 Census figures. Nationally, it’s 36.7. DeSoto’s is even younger at 36.3. Sarasota’s isn’t much younger than Charlotte’s, at 50.

Charlotte boasts beautiful waterways, affordable housing (compared to other coastal communities), good weather — all the ingredients necessary for an ideal retirement. It’s been the place where the average, to slightly above-average, still can retire near the water.

There are tools Charlotte could use to make the community less hospitable to sex offenders.

The state mandates that sex offenders/predators cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school, park, playground or day-care facility. This is applicable to offenses committed on a child younger than 16 and after the date of Oct. 1, 2004.

Some communities have extended that offender-free zone.

Glades and Hendry counties, along with the city of Cape Coral, have local ordinances preventing offenders from living within 2,500 feet of schools, day-care centers, parks, etc. Lee County’s ordinance expanded its zone to include pools, YMCAs, libraries, etc.

Charlotte, Sarasota and DeSoto have no local ordinances beyond state law providing additional or extended buffer zones, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

“The more you restrict, obviously it is more difficult for offenders to find places to live,” said Gretyl Plessinger, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections.

Skidmore, Commissioner Tricia Duffy and Commission Chairman Bob Starr independently said they plan to talk to County Attorney Janette Knowlton about considering a local ordinance for Charlotte County.

“I would be in favor of doing anything to add a layer of protection,” Starr said. “We don’t want to be the sex offender capital of Florida.”

Opposing an ordinance

Charlotte’s top law enforcement official won’t support an ordinance further limiting places where sex offenders can live.

“I think the existing laws are fine,” Cameron said. “I’m not in favor of anything more restrictive. You’re going to force them somewhere else.”

Miami-Dade County created problems when it expanded the state’s 1,000-foot offender-free zone to 2,500 feet. That restriction in a much more congested community led to lawsuits, homelessness, noncompliance and recidivism.

Imposing Miami-Dade’s restriction locally would affect fewer than a handful around each elementary school. Deep Creek and East elementary schools have no sex offenders currently living within a half-mile. Kingsway has two; Liberty has four; Myakka River has three, including one who is a predator; Neil Armstrong has three; Peace River has three; Sallie Jones has two, including one who is a predator; and Vineland has one.

Defense attorney Mark De Sisto said his sex-offender clients haven’t had difficulty finding places to live in Charlotte County.

Even if the county were to expand that buffer to 2,500 feet, De Sisto said he still doesn’t see it leading to homelessness.

“I think there still would not be a problem (finding housing),” De Sisto said. “The more temptations you keep away from them, the better for society and for them. It’s like putting a beer in front of an alcoholic.”

Cameron, however, feels sex offenders already have it tough by being labeled, listed on a registry and limited as to where they can live. He also used an example of a teacher having a sexual relationship with a student. The teacher goes to prison, loses his ability to teach and can’t get a job “for the rest of his life,” Cameron said.

He referred to sex offender status as a scarlet letter.

“It’s the one crime you can never pay the price for,” Cameron said.

Expanding the buffer

Punta Gorda Police Chief Albert “Butch” Arenal essentially has driven out more than a dozen sex offenders from the city through his sexual offender monitoring program.

“I can’t think of a more important or critical responsibility,” Arenal said. He “absolutely,” would support a city ordinance expanding the state’s buffer zones.

Punta Gorda has worked hard to develop a more sophisticated image after Hurricane Charley.

“One thousand feet is not that far,” Arenal said.

John Wright, president of the Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce, was surprised to hear about the large percentage of out-of-town sex offenders living in Charlotte.

“I do find that alarming and something that needs to be investigated,” Wright said. “It’s not good PR for Punta Gorda or Charlotte County.”

Skidmore has spent a lot of time working to bring tourists and jobs to Charlotte County. He, too, doesn’t want to attract sex offenders to what has been regarded as one of the best places to live and retire in America.

“I definitely don’t want any laws that appear weak or inviting (to offenders),” Skidmore said.

Recently, Charlotte County was tested when someone reported a possible child abduction near Neil Armstrong Elementary School in Port Charlotte.

Who was investigated first? The nearby registered sex offenders. And there are 53 of them living within a 2-mile radius of the school. Of those, 48 committed crimes against minors.

“It was a very good drill for us,” Cameron said. “I’d rather be accused of doing too much.”

But, he said, not all of those offenders should be bothered.

“Nothing says that a sex offender is dangerous,” Cameron said.

A sex offender could be a “Romeo and Juliet” type, meaning an 18-year-old boyfriend with a 15-year-old girl. “It does not fall into the same category as the wicked uncle (with a toddler),” Cameron said.

He also cited adults molesting relatives as another less-dangerous threat to the community.

“Does that person pose a danger to a stranger?” Cameron asked.

His counterpart in Punta Gorda has a slightly different outlook.

“I can’t think of a greater threat to the community than those type of offenders,” Arenal said.

Skidmore, Starr and Duffy all plan to investigate whether imposing a local ordinance would make Charlotte less hospitable to sex offenders.
“

I think we need to do all we can to protect our children,” Skidmore said.

E-mail: carnold@sun-herald.com

Where Charlotte County’s sex offenders are from

• 60.8 percent committed crimes outside Charlotte County.

• 39.7 percent committed offenses in Charlotte County.

• 33.3 percent committed offenses outside Florida.

• 16.9 percent committed crimes in other Southwest Florida counties.

• 10.6 percent committed offenses in another part of the state.

• 1 percent were federal offenses.

Where Sarasota County’s sex offenders are from

• 45 percent committed crimes outside Sarasota County.

• 58.3 percent committed offenses in Sarasota County.

• 22.4 percent committed offenses outside Florida.

• 4.5 percent committed crimes in other Southwest Florida counties.

• 17.3 percent committed offenses in another part of the state.

• 0.7 percent were federal offenses.

Where DeSoto County’s sex offenders are from

• 46.2 percent committed crimes outside DeSoto County.

• 56.9 percent committed offenses in DeSoto County.

• 15.4 percent committed crimes outside Florida.

• 13.8 percent committed crimes in other Southwest Florida counties.

• 16.9 percent committed crimes in another part of the state.

— These statistics are compiled from the registered sex offenders’ information provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Some offenders committed crimes in numerous locations.

http://www.yoursun.com/sunnews/puntagorda/1484657-352/sunnewspapersareanumbersreflectfewerrestrictions.html.csp

HELP! WE NEED YOUR VOTES

2010-08-17T19:11:00.001-04:00

NATHAN AND THE DENISE AMBER LEE FOUNDATION NEED YOUR HELP TO GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

Between now and August 31st, we need your votes to help Nathan win a chance for a scholarship to participate in a high level, business leadership conference this fall. The contest is open to all small businesses and non-profit organizations. The conference is called EntreLeadership and presented by national radio, TV, and newspaper personality, Dave Ramsey. This is an intense 7 day course designed to teach the skills needed to take a small business or non-profit organization to the next level. This would help our foundation greatly! You can help by voting early , often and by contacting as many of your friends and asking them to vote. You and your friends can vote until noon on August 31st. The top four entries will go on to be eligible for the scholarship. But we have to be in the top four. You can vote once per landing on the page but can vote multiple times and we urge you to vote often. As you all know Nathan is determined to turn Denise’s tragedy into something positive that will help 9-1-1 call centers everywhere. We do not want Denise to have died in vain. Help him get the skills needed to maximize his passion and impact. Go to:
http://www.daveramsey.com/entreleadership/contest-entry/entryId/67/

Crist signed the bill

2010-06-04T12:04:00.004-04:00

I know I should be ecstatic and happy but why do I feel so bereft?

I guess it is because I feel Denise's life was too high of a price to have paid to see that 9-1-1 dispatchers and call takers get mandatory training.

It just makes no sense. I guess true change and great change only comes after a tragedy.

Why?

I just want to cry.

I still miss Denise everyday. My hurt and heartache has not gotten any easier to bear.

I cannot imagine how Denise's own parents feel or even Nathan.

But, thank goodness Charlie Crist signed it. Thank goodness several politicians took action.

When the bill was passed unaminously through the house, a 9-1-1 coordinator came up to Mark and I angry. Angry! Angry because he did not know how he was going to pay for it. Angry that he has to come up with $150,000.

$150,000????????? That is what he was worried about. Mark had to hold me back. All I said was "it had to be done" and then the man quietly agreed but had no idea how insensitive he had been. My heart broke. $150,000? That is nothing compared to Denise's life and the fact that Nate and the boys have to go on without her. The boys do not have their "mommy" tucking them in at nights, rocking them and kissing their booboos. They will never know her infectious smile. They will never remember her laugh. I could have smacked the man.

sigh

I should be happy I know.

yes, I was right

2010-05-16T17:51:00.005-04:00

the media has been kind. This was printed in today's Sun. Also read an article by Nathan's former little league coach Eric Ernst printed in the Herald Tribune this past week:

05/16/10

Lee's legacy now assured in E-911 bill

OUR POSITION: A deep bow to the people from our communities who worked to pass an E-911 bill that will make everyone safer in the future.

It took two sessions for the Florida Legislature to muster enough political will to pass a no-brainer of a bill improving the state's emergency 911 call operations, but that sorry fact was low on the list of concerns this week at a press conference acknowledging those whose hard work finally resulted in the bill's passage.

The bill came about primarily through the efforts of the family of Denise Amber Lee, whose 2008 murder in North Port after a botched 911 call provided the strongest possible example of the need for improvements in state emergency response standards. As noted in a report conducted by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, emergency call centers in the state may handle as many as 15 million 911 calls in a year, but a mistake in one or two highlighted the enormous, tragic consequences that come when the system fails.

The Lee case is exactly why the public needed to be assured that call centers were being operating with a high level of professionalism. Clearly, there was room for improvement.
Denise Lee's husband, Nathan Lee, took the lead role in the drive for higher standards in Florida, and has continued his outreach throughout the nation. Other family members have joined in. Many in the community have worked for reform through the Denise Amber Lee Foundation.
The result here has been a bill that will require all 911 call-takers and dispatchers in Florida to take a set level of training and pass a certification test in order to do their jobs. It also calls for training updates and renewal every two years. The full law will not take effect until 2012, giving all police agencies time to come into compliance.

As Nathan Lee said during during a press conference at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, the bill is far from perfect, but it is an important step. It does focus attention and begin to plug a critical hole in the public safety system. For the future, Nathan Lee and the Lee Foundation will aim at moving official oversight of dispatch training into the Department of Law Enforcement. They also will work at developing one statewide curriculum for training.
Both are extremely worthy goals.

For now, however, congratulations are extended to the Lee family and the Lee Foundation. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation also helped drive the process. And our local legislators deserve a nod for their efforts to push the bill through, despite opposition from legislators who thought additional costs outweighed public safety considerations.

Rep. Paige Kreegel, R-Punta Gorda, took up the bill last year. But Rep. Ken Roberson, R-Port Charlotte, and Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, managed to complete the job this session. A no-brainer from our perspective, but, amazingly, it took some heavy lifting, as well as a bit of compromise, to get it done.

A long time coming, yes. And a proper legacy for Denise Amber Lee. The improved training that will come as a result of this law just may help ensure another family and other communities will not see a repeat of this type of tragedy in the future.

http://sunnewspapers.net/articles/edStory.aspx?articleID=457156

Widower took his pain and made a difference

By Eric Ernst

Published: Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 1:00 a.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 9:18 p.m.

In most ways, Nathan Lee is an ordinary person. He's a salesman at Best Buy in Sarasota. He represents no special interest group. But this year he accomplished something unusual; he got a bill passed through the state Legislature.

The bill, awaiting the governor's signature, will elevate the first link of emergency response by requiring 911 operators at all of the state's 258 emergency call centers to undergo standardized training to earn certification.

It comes too late to help the woman who served as its catalyst. Lee's wife, Denise, was kidnapped, raped and killed in January 2008 in North Port. She might have been saved if a witness' call to 911 had been handled properly.

As Lee and others analyzed what went wrong, they realized the 911 system had deep flaws, starting with operator training.

Those shortcomings became Lee's cause. He set out to save others by pushing for mandatory, uniform 911 training statewide.

The heroic way he chose to deal with the pain speaks to his character and should be a point of pride for the two young boys he is raising on his own, state Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, said Wednesday. Detert joined the cause, with state Rep. Ken Roberson, R-Port Charlotte, to push companion bills through the Legislature.

It took three legislative sessions and a lot of behind-the-scenes backing.

Englewood businessman David Dignam advised Lee, helped him set up the Denise Amber Lee Foundation and used his Republican Party contacts to open doors.

Lee and his parents, Mark and Peggy, started traveling to Tallahassee to testify or visit with lawmakers.

The Herald-Tribune published a series that exposed breakdowns in 911 responses statewide. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice commissioned a $43,000 study of 911 responses that found a system fundamentally failing the public in key respects.
The articles and study became exhibits in legislative committee testimony.

People helped in other, unexpected ways, too. Bill Stiver, who runs an automotive shop in Englewood and is a pilot, flew local contingents to Tallahassee.

North Port City Commissioner David Garofalo and his peers sent 411 letters to other cities, encouraging them to support 911 reform.

Garofalo also pushed legislators. One day he left home at 3 a.m. to attend a 10-minute meeting in the state capital, then returned home for a meeting. "That's a day I drank a lot of coffee," he says.

Supporters organized phone banks to call lawmakers and anyone who could influence the process to keep the legislation on track.

Lee had a compelling story to illustrate a legitimate public safety shortcoming. The story also resonates nationally. Lee has traveled coast to coast -- sometimes at his own expense -- addressing many of the same problems exhibited in Florida.

On Wednesday, as the bill's backers gathered at a news conference in Venice, it was evident Lee has not found closure.

Maybe he never will. There are still others to save.

Eric Ernst's column regularly runs Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Contact him at eric.ernst@heraldtribune.com or (941) 486-3073.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100513/COLUMNIST/5131072/2273/NEWS?p=1&tc=pg

today

2010-05-14T11:08:00.006-04:00

Today I was searching google. I do this almost on a daily basis. I really shouldn't do it, but I do. Why? I do not know. I search Denise's name usually just to see if anything new has been written.

But today I am sorry I did it. I searched Denise's name and audio. For some reason I wanted to see if it was possible to get access to her call. I really did not want to listen to it but I wanted to see if it was out there to be found.

There have been so many news stories that I have missed. Hence my previous post. As I came across the newstories I came across some of the stories I had missed. Stories that were aired during King's trial. Remember I was a zombie during her trial and fairly traumatized already. Anyhow, I did indeed find her call. It was played on FoxNews. I was appalled.

I started to listen to it and got through about 60 seconds of it.

Oh sweet beautiful baby....... I am still horrified thinking of how you suffered. Oh sweetheart.....

People really do no not understand "drama". There are so many people out there that create their own "drama" for whatever reasons. I despise those people. They look for "drama" and have no clue as to what true "drama" is.

In any case, no matter how I suffer listening to Denise's call it does not compare one iota to what Denise suffered.

I feel sick.

We have taken "alot of arrows" in the past several weeks. The foundation and my family have been criticized for whatever reasons. Would I like to shoot arrows back? Damn right I would. But I will not.

So many people just do not understand what it is like watching our son struggle, suffer and try to salvage his own shattered life. People criticize him. And all he is doing is trying to survive. Also, I realize these people truly do not understand and hopefully NEVER will. Because if they do come to understand that will mean they will have suffered a loss in truly horrifying fashion. Some members of our own family have shot arrows. And if our own family sometimes does not get it, how can we expect others to?

People say "move on"...... well, it is not so easy. We have been given an opportunity to help the world become a better place. We have met some truly wonderful, amazing and inspirationally truly good people. We truly do not ever want to see a family suffer in this way again.

We cannot bring Denise back. But the way she fought, the way she loved and the way she lived is all the reason we need to keep her memory and spirit alive.

I will live every day of my life remembering Denise and what a selfless person she was. She IMO is a saint.

Dear Denise, please, help Nathan in anyway you can. Talk to some people up there. Talk to God if he exists. Guide him, give him strength and courage, and please, show him the way.

sigh

The things we miss

2010-05-07T11:04:00.004-04:00

The past two years have seemed to go by in a blur. The things we miss. We just received a very supportive email that was full of condolences and heartwarming thoughts and support. The man was from Texas and had seen Denise's story on 20/20 last night. I searched for the story on the internet having not remembered it featured on 20/20. I found this:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/denise-lees-widower-911-reform/story?id=8867033

I guess I had watched it when it was aired but I truly do not remember.

My sister sent me a couple of books via mail that I received yesterday. Last night when I thanked her on the phone, I mentioned that I would have to send her a book I had read recently and I thought she would enjoy it. She said "Peggy! I already read it! I sent it to you!!!"

sigh

I remember while reading it thinking "Gosh, I wish could remember who sent me this book." Sometimes I wonder if I am going crazy.

We have received so much heart felt support over these past two years. I cannot count the hugs, letters, notes and emails etc... Not to mention all the other support would be just wrong. We had a gentleman in Britain (York, England) work on Denise's Widipedia page and he spent countless hours sourcing her article to bring it up to Wiki standards. That could not have been easy. Poring over the articles.... ugh! Awful job. So depressing. He was not even aware of her existance until I wrote Wiki asking if someone could clean up her article. You can see it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Amber_Lee

What an awesome job he did.

Anyhow, last night I was thinking about all the hugs etc..... all the kindness and support.... thinking how wonderful it was. People tell us we need to move on and many do not understand why we keep this us. It truly is as Nathan said in the above interview "how can we not?"

No matter how much we suffer by reliving and retelling the story over and over again, it is NOTHING compared to how she suffered.

Also, evil entered our family in the most horrific way imaginable. All this will NEVER bring Denise back. We cannot let the evil win. Look at all the good people who have stepped up through the challenges we have been facing. Think of all the goodness. Surely, that has helped us in realizing that good does trump evil.

I met the supervisor who was on duty in the Sarasota County 9-1-1 center the night Denise was taken. What a wonderful young woman. I think of how this has effected her. I think of all the call takers and dispatchers and trainers from across the country and I just breathe in their goodness.

Sure, there are people out there like the call taker who took Jane's call. Hopefully our foundation will help weed those out. They have no business being call takers.

I think of the media who has also been kind.

sigh

Anyhow, just wanted to get some thoughts out there.

I think I am going to be sick. Read on:

2010-05-03T21:09:00.003-04:00

Officer logs show why aid came too late in slayings
Records in slaying of four conflict with claim that deputies were too busy
By CINDY HORSWELL
Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle
March 14, 2010, 7:28AM

Four months ago, San Jacinto Sheriff's Capt. Carl Jones offered a simple reason why his deputies couldn't respond to a mother's plea for help with her mentally ill son who was having bizarre hallucinations. His deputies were too busy with high-priority calls.
“We were busier than a cat covered in Meow Mix,” Jones stated then.
Gloria Bills, a 71-year-old widow, would be among those killed by the time a deputy was finally dispatched to the family's home near Coldspring on Nov. 7, seven hours after her first desperate phone call to the sheriff's department.
Oliver “Bubba” Bills Jr. shot and killed his mother, his girlfriend, Shara Torres, 27, and her 4-year-old child before shooting and killing himself.
But dispatch records and audio recordings recently released to the Houston Chronicle conflict with how the sheriff's department initially portrayed its handling of the incident. The records disclose that Jones prohibited his deputies from making a welfare check at the home.
The logs also raise questions as to whether the four deputies on duty that Saturday were as busy as Jones had contended.
Records show Gloria Bills called for help at 1:45 p.m. — four hours before a wreck that deputies worked on U.S. 59. The logs do not list deputies being dispatched to any other major crime scenes during those four hours, other than one deputy assigned to a harassment call.
In the initial recorded request for a deputy, Gloria Bills firmly declared, “I need some help, and I need it now.”
She stressed she had heart trouble and was unable to corral Bubba Bills, who she believed needed to be transported to a mental facility.
Her 42-year-old son was hearing voices, she stated, and hallucinating about things being implanted in his head, the entrance to hell lying under his bed and people in the trees trying to kill him.
Told to seek a warrant
While sometimes suicidal, she said, he had not hurt anybody but was showing signs of aggression.
At 1:51 p.m., the dispatcher promised to send a deputy for a welfare check to assess the situation.
“So far he's not (been violent),” Gloria Bills acknowledged. “But in his condition if he gets angry. I'm not sure what he would do.”
The dispatcher then contacted Jones for advice on how to handle the call. In the recorded conversation, the dispatcher stated his intention to have a deputy make a welfare check.
To which, Jones responded, “Ohhh, no! We don't want to do that!”
Jones objected to sending an officer because: “All you going to do is wind up creating a issue … that may hurt us in the long run.”
The dispatcher then informed Gloria Bills that a deputy won't be coming, and advised her to ask a judge on Monday for a mental health warrant to transport her son.
Jones declined to comment on the recorded conversation because the department faces a possible lawsuit from Torres' family.
San Jacinto Sheriff James Walters, who conducted an internal investigation, said none of his employees was disciplined. He said he could not release his report because of the possible lawsuit.
“Nobody knows how terrible we feel. Our dispatchers and officers made a judgment call and have to live with it,” he said, noting that none of the calls about Bubba Bills were to 911, and that dispatchers called several times to check on the Bills' family.
Bubba was ‘freaking out'
After Jones stopped the welfare check, records show that a family friend, Mark Campbell, placed three calls to urge deputies to go out there. The calls came a few minutes after the major wreck occurred on U.S. 59 about 6 p.m.
Campbell reported Bubba Bills was “scaring his girlfriend to death” by growing more aggressive — kicking over barbecue grills and throwing things.
The dispatcher then called Torres, who said Bubba Bills was “freaking out” and that she feared for her daughter because he had guns.
For the second time, a dispatcher promised to send a deputy
Thirty minutes later, a mental health representative from the Burke Center's hotline called the dispatcher to make yet another plea for a welfare check. The dispatcher again replied that deputies were “swamped” but one would be out “soon.”
An hour later at 7:22 p.m., a dispatcher called to check on Torres. The wreck had just been cleared, and deputies would spend another 20 minutes working on a reported “assault in progress,” but no other major crime would be listed during that time.
At this point, Bubba Bills' mental state had deteriorated. He was outside talking to himself and saying “he's fixing to take all Jesus' children to heaven,” records showed.
Torres told the dispatcher that this remark, combined with his other hallucinations, terrified her: “In his right mind, he would never hurt me … but the way he's looking at me … Looks like he's going to hurt me. I've never seen him look like that. Never.”
Similar call a year before
For a third time, a dispatcher said a deputy was on his way, but one did not arrive for more than two hours.
During this interlude, a Liberty County 911 dispatcher called San Jacinto's dispatch to make sure an officer was on his way.
Torres' sister, Rachael Clark, had alerted Liberty County that she had been talking to Torres on the telephone and then suddenly heard her say, “Oh, no! Not my baby!”
A deputy would not pull up at the small white wooden house on Outlaw Lane until about 9 p.m., and then found only bodies.
Records show dispatchers had to search for about an hour and a half before finding the short dirt road on a map. Walters said dispatchers were confused by another road with the same name.
A year earlier, deputies needed only 10 minutes to respond to a similar call for help from the Bills' family that ended with Bubba Bills being transported to a mental facility in Spring, records showed.
Surviving members of the Bills and Torres families, incensed by the delayed response, believe they've been stonewalled.
“We've been kept in the dark,” said Bubba Bill's daughter, Cassie Daniels. “It's made me feel like the sheriff's department has something to hide.”
mailto:cindy.horswell@chron.com
try{magazineSetup("Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle");}catch(e){}
/**/

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6912414.html

from Ugent Communications

2010-04-30T10:32:00.002-04:00

911 training legislation is a labor of love

Apr 29, 2010 2:29 PM, By Glenn Bischoff
Would require Florida call-takers and dispatchers to become certified

The state of Florida House of Representatives yesterday unanimously approved a Senate bill that would require newly hired 911 call-takers and dispatchers to compile 232 hours of training before they are allowed to handle an emergency call. The requirement takes effect in October 2012. Personnel hired before then would be required to take a competency exam. Those who fail that exam would be required to undergo the training regimen. The bill also authorizes the use of funds generated by the state’s 911 tax for the training.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ken Roberson, said an investigation revealed that although the majority of 911 calls are handled properly by Florida’s telecommunicators, “hundreds of critical errors that endanger lives” occur every year. He was critical of Florida’s lack of uniform training standards and alleged that some telecommunicators in the state start processing 911 calls within a couple of days of being hired. “This situation is unacceptable and must be rectified,” he said.
The Denise Amber Lee Foundation was a driving force behind the passage of this legislation. The 21-year-old Lee, the mother of two young children, was abducted from her Florida home in January 2008 and murdered. Allegedly, 911 personnel made mistakes on the night of her abduction that hindered search efforts. She was found in a shallow grave two days after her abduction. Her assailant was convicted and received the death penalty.
Mark and Peggy Lee, the in-laws of Denise Amber Lee who are the driving force behind the foundation, said that they were pleased with the bill’s passage and that Gov. Charlie Crist has indicated that he will sign it into law. However, the Lee’s have some concerns. They wonder where the money will be found to conduct the training throughout the state. They say that the state’s 911 fees only cover about two-thirds of the costs associated with operating its public-safety answering points.
They also say that the state is going to have to find a way.
“The call-taker is the first link in the chain, and it’s a pretty important link. If they don’t get it right, you’re not going to get firefighters to fires, EMTs to medical emergencies, or police to an abducted woman who’s in the back of a moving car,” Peggy Lee said. “So, they might have to put off that new CAD system for a year. The best technology in the world is no good if the call-taker isn’t following protocol.”
Compliance is another area of concern. “How do we know that each PSAP is going to comply with the law? We don’t want to see 253 cowboys out there doing this on their own,” Mark Lee said. “We need a stronger state 911 office for oversight.”
The Lees hope that the Florida legislation is but a stepping stone to the foundation’s much bigger goal, which is federal legislation that would standardize training and require certification for 911 telecommunicators nationwide. They said that they have had productive discussions about such a bill with the leaders of the major public-safety communications associations. “There’s a lot more that needs to be done,” Mark Lee said.
Patrick Halley, government affairs director for the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), said that a joint effort with the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials should produce standards that address 911 telecommunicator training and quality assurance, which in turn could provide a framework for the federal legislation that the Lees seek. But he said that such a bill would be a tricky proposition.
“It’s a state-sovereignty issue,” Halley said. “It would be tough for the federal government to tell the states that they have to train, and in a specific way. If anything occurs on the national level, it’s going to have to be creatively done.”
But Halley agrees with the Lees that it needs to be done.“In Illinois, for example, you have to be certified to work in a tanning center or barber shop, but not in a 911 center,” he said. “That has to be resolved. A lot of states do a great job [regarding training], but only a handful of them are required by law to do so.”
The lobbying effort to achieve such legislation has taken a toll on the Lees. Not only have they devoted much time, they also have gone into their own pockets at times. They also have had to endure numerous arrows that have been tossed in their direction. “We’ve been called ‘media whores.’ We’ve been accused of using this as an excuse to take vacations,” Peggy Lee said.
“Believe me, telling this story over and over again hasn’t been fun. We’re spent.”
Despite this, both Mark and Peggy Lee were emphatic that the effort has been worthwhile and that they have plenty of fight still left in them to reach the ultimate goal. The motivation is as simple as it is pure.
“This keeps Denise from dying in vain,” Peggy Lee said. “We’ve often asked the question, ‘Why Denise.’ This is the only thing that we can think of. In doing this, we know that she’s saving lives.”

http://urgentcomm.com/policy_and_law/news/911-training-legislation-20100429/

It's been a while

2010-04-23T15:32:00.002-04:00

since I have blogged. We certainly have had a lot going on. I personally have been working a lot more hours than I had been. I work two part-time jobs that pretty much amount to a full-time job without the benefits. So, I have not had a lot of time to keep up with blogging all the news.

It looks as if the 9-1-1 legislation we have been supporting is going to pass. It has passed through the Senate and will be going before the House on Monday or Tuesday. It will be watered down due to compromises that had to be made with sheriff's and police chief associations. Apparently they were "covertly" not supporting the bill for mandatory training due to budget issues. So, the House Representative compromised with them and changed the date of the bill from Oct 2011 to Oct 2012. Ugh! I find that disgusting. That's another year of more tragedies in our state. Why? Because the sheriffs and police chiefs do not know how to prioritize their monies. Two House Representatives voted against the bill! Said it was a unfunded mandate! Hahahahaha! That's ridiculous. We are already paying 50 cents on our cell phone and landline bills. If Senator Bennett's bill passes they'll get even more money from prepaid wireless phones! It disgusts me that their non-support of the bill is behind closed doors. It disgusts me because they are elected officials (the sheriffs and police chiefs) and they don't have the you know what's to man up and do what is right.

Anyhow, I guess we should feel good that we even got it this far. It is better than no bill and no mandatory training.

I do want to thank all the people who worked so hard in doing their best to get something passed. I guess I just do not like politics. I am not a confrontational person. But I am not afraid to speak up when it is something this important. I wish they had left the date alone but... I am trying to understand my best to understand why our legislators felt the need to cave in on the date. I personally do not think it was necessary and the bill would have passed without it. But, I am not a politician and what do I know? sigh

Dear Denise,

It has been a strange and surreal journey losing you. I will never be able to explain to people what your death has meant to our family. What impact it has had. Wednesday night we went to a Victim's memorial for crime victims in Charlotte County. I was wearing your Fix 911 button and Noah's TBall picture button. Noah was curious about the buttons and wanted to wear his. Then he played with your's and his and he had the buttons kiss each other. I said "would you like them to kiss" and he was all excited. All the time this was happening they showed all the crime victims in Charlotte County since 1970 on a large screen. So many murders. Young women, young kids, young men... our future on a screen. Your mom and dad and Nate were there. Adam was a little rascal and would not sit still. Noah was a really good boy through it all and looked forward to placing his rose for you on the wreath with the other roses. I think of those other families all the time. I think of you 24/7. Sometimes I wish I didn't. But I do. I cannot help it. I wish I had gotten to know you better while you were here but honestly, I thought we had years ahead together watching the boys grow. It is just not right that you are gone. And that we had to lose you in order for this much needed legislation to pass. All I know is, that even in Heaven, you are making a difference. I just hope and pray we do our best by your babies. I do love them so much. Noah is a spitting image of you.

Well... I am crying now. I love you and always will. Again tell God we need more people like you down here.

Love,

Mom

He was not going to let another tragedy happen

2010-04-11T09:40:00.002-04:00

By Todd Ruger

Published: Friday, April 2, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 9:20 p.m.

SARASOTA - Tim Roe had stopped his work pickup at a red light on U.S. 41, windows rolled down, when he made eye contact with the woman in the passenger seat in the car next to him.

"Please help me, help me," the woman said to him. She tried to get out of the car, but the man behind the wheel elbowed her in the face and held her back.

The man saw Roe grab a cell phone. Then the Dodge Shadow sped off through the red light.

With memories of the Carlie Brucia and Denise Lee murders on his mind, as well as other abductions in the news, Roe decided he had to act.

So he took off after them.

"I've heard so many of these ending in tragedy," Roe said, including when a man abducted 11-year-old Carlie from the car wash he frequently drove past. "I thought to myself, 'If I ever see that myself, I'll deal with it.'"

The Bradenton landscaper floored the accelerator in his Chevy Cheyenne to keep up as the two vehicles sped south on U.S. 41 from University Parkway. He dialed 911.

Traffic was light at 8 a.m. on that Saturday in March of 2009. Even going 80 mph and blowing through red lights, Roe, 49, did not think about stopping.

"If I had seen on the news he had killed her, I don't think I could have slept, knowing I could have stopped it," Roe said in his native British accent. "You have to go on the theory he's going to hurt her."

The suspect car suddenly turned left on Myrtle Street; Roe missed the turn, but cut through a Winn-Dixie parking lot and somehow ended up behind the car on Myrtle. Soon, a Sarasota police car pulled behind Roe's truck.

Roe told the 911 dispatcher that if the officer tried to stop him, he was not going to pull over. The dispatcher said the officer was aware of the situation and was just following to help.

When the Dodge reached U.S. 301, it lost control, and Roe pulled his truck in front, while the officer trapped the Dodge from behind.

The driver of the Dodge, Sergio Ocampos, 25, was then arrested on a false imprisonment charge.

The woman got out of the car and ran over to Roe and gave him a hug.

"She wouldn't let go, and just said, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you,'" Roe said. He was shaking himself from the adrenaline.

Ocampos was upset because the woman, his then-27-year-old girlfriend, had just told him she was pregnant and he was the father, said Assistant State Attorney Jason Miller.

It turned to be a false positive on a home pregnancy test.

Ocampos spent a year in jail before pleading guilty to the imprisonment charge this week, Miller said.

He will be deported to Honduras because of the conviction.

Roe's actions and his willingness to testify -- another witness could not be found -- basically made him a hero in this case, Miller said.

"If it wasn't for him, it might not have been a case and could have had a much more tragic ending," Miller said.

Roe, revisiting the spot of the arrest Thursday, said the police did a great job. And he said he just did what he would want anyone to do if his daughters were in trouble.

"I just did what you're supposed to do," Roe said. "You can replace a truck, but you can't replace a woman's life."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100402/ARTICLE/4021035/2055/NEWS?Title=He-was-not-going-to-let-another-tragedy-unfold

Life on the Line by: Andrew Douglas

2010-03-22T21:15:00.002-04:00

Special Report: Life on the Line

Posted: Mar 09, 2010 4:37 PM EST
Updated: Mar 09, 2010 11:00 PM EST

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - When you dial 911, you expect a well-trained operator to help you get through an emergency. But where you live could mean the difference between immediate help, and help on the way.

911 operators have one of the most important jobs during emergencies, serving as a link to life when an injured person is waiting for help to arrive.

C. J. Walker is manager of communications for the Memphis Fire Department's 911 service. Her department is certified and accredited to give anyone on the other end of the line life-saving instructions immediately in any emergency situation.

"They do have a script that they have to go by with CPR to make sure those instructions are given properly," she said. "A drowning, cuts, people who are wounded, people who are shot - they can tell people how to stop the bleeding."

In fact, all 911 operators in Shelby County are certified to give this information. The same goes for 911 operators in DeSoto County, and the entire state of Mississippi.

"To me it's essential," said DeeAnna Davis, who works in communications for DeSoto County. "We're their lifeline...their link. Without it, I've seen many that wouldn't make it."

But the Action News 5 Investigators uncovered many Mid-South cities, as well as smaller communities, that do not train their operators to give out medical information.

Zane Boyd, the supervisor of Crittenden County, Arkansas' 911 service, said his operators are not trained to offer medical instruction immediately.

"We get their information regarding medical, get their information of where they live, their phone number and what kind of problem they have, and then we connect them to the appropriate ambulance service," Boyd said.

Crittenden County medics are then dispatched, but the person on the phone must wait for medical help until those medics arrive.

We asked Boyd how fast their average response time is.

"Average? It's probably eight to ten minutes," he said.

To some, that is too much time.

"Someone choking only has so long with air, and if your ambulance response time is eight minutes, it's too long," Davis said.

Boyd agreed that if a dispatcher is not able to give instructions over the phone, that could lead to death, whereas if there was some instruction in place, they could be save.

"Possibly," he said. "Yes sir, that is possible."

911 operators in Crittenden County are not the only ones who do not give out medical instruction over the phone. Action News 5 contacted 18 emergency 911 services in West Tennessee, and we found more agencies that do not train their operators to offer medical instruction than those that do.

Instead, many agencies pass on the call to another emergency service. And like in Crittenden County, Arkansas, they do it because there is not enough money to do things differently."

"At this point it's kind of unreasonable because of the personnel that we have," Boyd said. "We don't have enough personnel to focus on that type of deal."

Pay is a major issue.

"It's not very practical because the salaries are not enough to be competitive," Boyd said. "It's kind of like you get what you pay for."

The starting pay for a 911 operator in Crittenden County is $9.50 an hour. Across the state line in Memphis, it's almost $16.00 per hour, and in DeSoto County, operators are paid nearly $18.00 per hour.

"There is a wide gap between some," Walker said. "It just depends on the agency and municipality."

Emergency personnel say until that gap is closed, and more states start requiring 911 operators to offer medical instruction, you may find help is on the way, instead of on the line.

http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12111491

It has been a while

2010-03-22T09:33:00.003-04:00

since I have blogged. We have had a lot going on in the past few weeks. As you probably realize with all the articles I have been posting, the Florida legislators are in session. I finally had to stop posting articles because I was becoming emotionally ill. Sometimes I wonder when it all will stop. I guess we could step away at anytime but even so, I do not believe the pain will end. I do know that by going to Tallahassee, being involved, no matter how sick I feel about it all and the constant reliving of Denise's tragedy, it is the right thing to do. These pieces of legislation are so important if we are ever to see the 9-1-1 system improve. I keep thinking of Brian Wood who laid dead beside a remote road for 18 hours because a call taker dismissed a teenager's call to her. Ugh! Then I go through a litany of other victims and well..... I cannot walk away. The suffering and pain sometimes is unbearable and I feel as if I will breakdown if I go on. But, then who is stepping up? Who is speaking out? Who else is outraged? i guess I am obssessed.

Today's Sun Herald by Elaine Allen-Emrich:

http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/tsnews.aspx?ArticleID=454252&pubdate=3/22/2010

Denise Amber Lee's story captured in 911 training video

The video camera rolled as Peggy Lee fought tears. Talking about the horrific 911 call her daughter-in-law, Denise Amber Lee, made on the day she was brutally murdered is always traumatic for Peggy.

More than two years after Denise's death, Peggy still can hardly bear to hear the call. Rather, she holds on to the positive exchange the two shared the night before Denise was abducted from her North Port home on Jan. 17, 2008.

"Denise's last words were that she loved me," said Peggy, adding that the next and final time she would hear Denise's voice was in the 911 call as she cried and begged for her life. Denise, 21, had been kidnapped at gunpoint and was trapped in the back of Michael King's Camaro.

But now, Peggy says it's time for others to hear the call and hopefully learn from Denise's careful clues to the 911 operator.

Without King knowing, Denise got a hold of his prepaid cell phone and dialed 911. She gave the call taker valuable information about who she was, her address and her family before the call abruptly ended six minutes later. The call made jurors in King's trial understand her helplessness and suffering just hours before she died.

"Everyone needs to listen to the call because it has so many teaching moments," Peggy said. "If it means helping someone else, then it is worth it."

Before sentencing King to death, 12th Circuit Judge Deno Economou said it is "rare that one can actually hear such emotion in the voice of an innocent victim who is doomed to be murdered. The 911 recording of the victim tragically reveals her fear, mental state, terror and her emotional strain."

Peggy was recently interviewed for a training video and documentary about Denise by Kevin Willet, the founder of 911 Cares, which offers emotional support and financial assistance for communicators in crisis. It is part of Public Safety Training Consultants, America's largest in-service training provider, according to its Web site.

After meeting Denise's widower, Nathan Lee, who served as the keynote speaker at an out-of-state 911 conference, Willet asked if he could recreate Denise's last day alive for a training video for telecommunications operators.

Also interviewed were Denise's father, Rick Goff, a longtime Charlotte County Sheriff's Office sergeant, King trial jurors and witness Jane Kowalski who also called 911 to report details of a suspicious Camaro with someone screaming and banging on the car window for help. The 911 call taker Kowalski spoke with didn't send law enforcement despite a massive manhunt for Denise hours after she disappeared.

"I'm going to give copies of the DVD to the Denise Amber Lee Foundation (for 911 reform)," Willet said. "I expect to have the video complete next month."

Peggy said the video can be used to give to politicians and others possibly interested in supporting laws to make 911 training standards universal throughout the country.

"Every time we speak about fixing the problems with the 911 system, we have to relive Denise's story," Peggy said. "It's emotionally draining. I know before I speak in public, I reread my statement 20 or 30 times ahead of time. I relive it over and over again."

Peggy said if she had the video she would have used it Thursday after being allowed less than one minute to testify before the state House Energy and Utilities Committee. Peggy and her husband Mark traveled six hours to attend the hearing in Tallahassee. They support a House bill that would charge a small fee (1 percent) from prepaid cell phones and calling cards to pay for universal 911 training standards. The measure could generate about $11 million annually. A 50 cent-per-month fee is already applied to home and cell phones.

Due to time constraints, House members decided to delay the vote on HB 163 bill until this week.

"If I had the DVD, I could have given it to the House representatives and asked them to watch it when they had a chance," Peggy said. "We will be able to do that at conferences, conventions and dinners. We know this DVD will be shown in Canada and as far away as Samoa."

Peggy said her son Nathan could have also given U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, a copy of the DVD after the two met in Washington, D.C., last week. Buchanan helped present the E-911 Institute's 911 Advocacy Award for 2010 to Nathan for creating the Denise Amber Lee Foundation and lobbying Florida legislators to raise standards for its 235 emergency call systems.

"The fact that it (Denise's murder) may have been prevented makes it all the more tragic," Buchanan said in a statement. "I applaud Nathan for working to turn a tragedy into something positive that could help save lives in the future."

The E-911 Institute is a Washington advocacy group that promotes public education on 911 and emergency communications issues.

E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com

By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH

North Port Community News Editor

St Petersburg Times

2010-03-15T09:15:00.002-04:00

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article1079516.ece

A Times Editorial
Keep recordings of 911 calls public
In Print: Monday, March 15, 2010

Florida's accidental House speaker, Larry Cretul, has not left much of an imprint since taking over last year in the wake of the Ray Sansom scandal. Now the Ocala Republican is manipulating the legislative process on behalf of a powerful constituent — at the expense of sound public policy. Cretul is fast-tracking a bill that would exempt recordings of 911 calls from public records laws, which would make it more difficult to hold law enforcement agencies accountable for the way they respond to emergencies. It is an effort driven more by emotion than clear-headed reason, and lawmakers who embrace open government should reject this effort to keep these recordings secret.

Proposed House Government Affairs Policy Committee Bill 10-03a would allow only public safety officials — and no one else — access to 911 recordings, including recordings made before the bill became law. The measure might as well be called the Relieve Police Officers, Firefighters and 911 Operators From Accountability Act. Exposing the failures of ill-trained, bungling or malicious police, fire and emergency personnel would become infinitely harder.

The bill would silence the voices of victims like Denise Amber Lee, whose horrific abduction in Sarasota County at the hands of a murderer was captured in a series of 911 calls that revealed a dispatcher's mistakes that likely cost Lee her life. Lee's husband, Nathan, courageously opposes the bill and notes that "911 issues need more transparency and not less if we are ever to learn from past mistakes."

Cretul's sudden interest in secrecy stems from the drug overdose death last year of the 16-year-old son of the president of the Florida Farm Bureau, a powerful advocacy group of growers and ranchers headquartered in Cretul's district. The father, John Hoblick, told Cretul his family was traumatized when local television stations played the 911 recording of his older son's call after he found his younger brother unresponsive. No one enjoys hearing tapes of their relatives' anguished calls for help in a crisis. But as Nathan Lee notes, there is a greater public issue at stake.

For example, after recordings from Lee's murder became public, the Legislature passed the Denise Amber Lee act two years ago, establishing voluntary statewide certification for emergency dispatchers. If lawmakers embrace this latest bill, citizens would only be allowed written transcripts of 911 calls. Those transcripts would be available 60 days later, with the individual seeking the record paying for the transcription.

A belated, written transcription is not enough. Transcripts can be ambiguous, and they lack tone and context. As Lee's father, Mark Lee, said about recordings: "It's like a song. . . . Hearing a song is a lot more powerful than reading the lyrics." He also opposes Cretul's bill.

Cretul stacked the House committee last week to make sure the bill passed, 8-5. But two-thirds of both the House and Senate are required to approve a public record exemption, and the speaker is still trying to recruit an influential Senate sponsor. It is never easy for many lawmakers to stand up to a House speaker who has control over the fate of their own bills and budget issues — particularly when initial public sentiment may be on his side. But emotional responses to specific incidents often make bad law. Making recordings of 911 tapes secret would cloud Florida's legacy of government-in-the-sunshine and make it more difficult to hold emergency personnel accountable for their actions in the minutes when residents need them most.

[Last modified: Mar 15, 2010 08:33 AM]

Stay in the Sunshine

2010-03-14T19:50:00.003-04:00

And editorial on today's tallahassee.com

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20100314/OPINION01/3140308/1006/opinion

Openness can be messy, but it's essential

House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, no doubt is a man of character. Keeping his promise to a friend and constituent who was horrified to hear a 911 call linked to his son's death broadcast on TV, Mr. Cretul is working to exempt 911 calls from Florida's public records laws.

We are sympathetic to his friend. This had to be horrifying. It provides yet another example of how open government and freedom can be messy. It is that freedom, as messy as it might be, and our history of government transparency that we celebrate today on Sunshine Sunday in America, an event created and popularized in the Sunshine State.

The proposed bill would be a blow to open government and to citizen efforts to watch over the actions of government.

The House might actually pass the bill, if Mr. Cretul decides to force it through, as he did in earning an 8-5 passage in a House committee. We urge that it die there, that the House not approve it. While there is currently no Senate version of the bill, that could change in the blink of a political deal come budget crunch time.

If the bill somehow works its way through the full Legislature, as unlikely as it might seem, we would urge Gov. Charlie Crist, who says he opposes it, to use his veto.

While this is a kind and sympathetic gesture on Mr. Cretul's part, it would be awful public policy.

Already under current law, personal identifying information about callers is redacted when 911 tapes are released. That's what exemptions do: They protect inappropriate intrusions into the privacy expectations of individuals in order to allow citizens to know what their government is doing.

But exempting all 911 tapes is not like most other exemptions. This one would remove from citizen review one of the most crucial interactions of the public and its government. Lives and property are at stake when the call is made to emergency dispatchers. How well they and other public safety workers respond might not be the only time a citizen interacts with government, but it might be the only one that ultimately matters.

Ask the family of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old mother of two who was kidnapped from her North Port home, raped and murdered. Her call to 911 was not forwarded to police. The dispatchers were eventually disciplined.

Her family opposes the exemption.
Mrs. Lee's father-in-law, Mark Lee, called it "a bad, bad bill." Her family has worked to provide training to emergency dispatchers across the country, and to hold them accountable. This bill would work against everything his family is trying to accomplish, Mr. Lee said.
We are equally sympathetic to this father.
In our region, local emergency radio traffic already has been taken off the air waves and encrypted, blocking immediate public access and review; now comes this bill, which would exempt review after the fact as well.
The legislative leadership has talked about wanting to make government more efficient. If that is just code for smaller, that is one thing. But if it truly wants government to work smarter and better, it must understand that this must occur in the open, in full public view with provisions that allow the public to identify failures and to fix them.
We are sympathetic to those who want to block nosy neighbors from intruding in family matters. It should not, however, be the job of government to help with problematic neighbors or to compromise all of our rights to access and watch our government.

It is, as we said earlier, another example of the messiness of free and open government. Government in the Sunshine is less than perfect, but as Florida has long known, better than any alternative.

Punta Gorda death Herald Tribune and ABC 7

2010-03-12T08:39:00.004-05:00

911 worker transferred after ambulance delay

Staff Report

Published: Friday, March 12, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 11:34 p.m.

CHARLOTTE COUNTY - An ambulance delay of 14 minutes for an elderly Punta Gorda woman in cardiac arrest led the Punta Gorda Police Department to transfer 911 worker Nancy Morris and investigate her handling of the call last week.

Josephine Henry, 91, was pronounced dead shortly after care workers at her assisted living center called 911.

Police say it appears an ambulance would not have saved her, but they are taking the mix-up seriously.

"Was it human error? Policy? Equipment? We're trying to find the problem and correct it," said Punta Gorda Police spokesman Troy Bettencourt.

The investigation into the Friday night call is ongoing, but police said that Morris immediately dispatched a police officer and fire truck but apparently failed to contact ambulance workers who are employed by Charlotte County, not the city.

Morris was one of two people on duty at the police dispatch center when the call came in at 11:04 p.m. on Friday, March 5.

Bettencourt said the dispatchers were busy with another medical call, a missing person case, and assisting police on an arrest. It was also shift change time.

"It can get very busy in there sometimes," Bettencourt said.

The Punta Gorda fire fighters, who are trained to give CPR, arrived at the assisted living center in two minutes and began trying to resuscitate Henry.

Morris is performing administrative tasks until the investigation is completed. She is a communications supervisor with the department and the most highly trained 911 worker.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100312/ARTICLE/3121036?Title=911-worker-transferred-after-ambulance-delay

http://www.abc-7.com/Global/story.asp?S=12118229

Jackie Barron News Channel 8

2010-03-12T08:32:00.000-05:00

http://www2.tbo.com/video/2010/mar/10/blocking-911-calls-50152/video-news/

Hernando Today

2010-03-11T18:32:00.005-05:00

http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2010/mar/11/schenck-said-911-bill-privacy-rights/

By TONY HOLT | Hernando Today

Published: March 11, 2010

TALLAHASSEE - Proponents of a House bill think it provides long-overdue protection to the privacy of crime victims.

First Amendment advocates think it goes too far and would remove accountability for 911 operators and rescue responders.

Crime victims themselves seem split on the issue.

On Wednesday, a House panel approved Florida Bill PCB GAP 10-03, which would bar the public from hearing audio recordings of 911 calls. Only a judge could grant an exception.

Furthermore, it would delay public access to the written transcripts of a 911 call for 60 days.

"I think this balances privacy with accountability," said Rep. Rob Schenck, R-Brooksville, who wrote the bill.

"In speaking with many people who have made 911 calls, it's usually a very tragic incident and they don't want to have to hear it on the news," he continued. "This is meant to protect their privacy."

Schenck wouldn't discuss his own experiences with emergency calls, but said he has had several conversations with people who have called 911 and who support the bill.

"The media hasn't been very happy with it for obvious reasons," Schenck said.

John Hoblick, president of the Florida Farm Bureau, pushed for such a ban after television stations played a recording of a 911 call about his son's drug overdose.

Schenck said he has had no conversations with Hoblick.

"We don't like it. It's bad public policy," said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee. "I understand the motivation … but we have to be equally sympathetic of those who have suffered because of the mistakes of 911 operators."

Petersen also complained of the "strong-fisted" tactics used to ram the bill through the committee Wednesday.

"If this passes, it's an exception to the Constitution," she said.

Brooksville Police Chief George Turner said he had "mixed emotions" about the bill.

Hernando County Sheriff Nugent said while the bill doesn't seem perfect, he supports the spirit behind it.

"I think there is a lot of merit in it," Nugent said. "You really need to take victims into account."

Both Nugent and Schenck think releasing the transcripts of 911 emergency calls in 60 days is sufficient.

Schenck argued accountability is not taken away because anyone can petition the court for an audio recording. Secondly, if someone suspects there was wrongdoing or negligence on the part of a 911 operator, the bill still allows for victims to file claims or report their suspicions to the authorities.

Courtenay Strickland, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said the existing law pertaining to 911 calls already has privacy protections in place.

Florida statute 365.171 Chapter 12 states the name, addresses, telephone number or personal information about or information which may identify any person requesting emergency service or reporting an emergency is confidential.

Strickland thinks that is sufficient.

She also thinks waiting 60 days is too long.

"We respect the intent of the bill, but as we've seen in other news reports, there are some victims out there who don't want the kinds of protections outlined in this bill," Strickland said.

One of those victims is Nate Lee, the husband of Denise Amber Lee.

Lee's wife was kidnapped, raped and murdered in 2008. He recalled the torment he and his family went through when his wife's 911 call on her killer's cell phone was played on the evening news.

Lee recently told a reporter he thought public access to the 911 audio exposed the mistakes made by the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office when it took the call.

"If there's something wrong and a 911 center botches the call or something happens, I want to know what's going on," Lee said.

Nugent said he is encouraged to see the Legislature address privacy rights. He doesn't think Florida law protects crime victims enough.

"Is it a perfect bill? I don't know about that," he said. "But it does bring the issue to light. It's important to have a debate about that."

WFLA reporter Jackie Barron contributed to this story.

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

From Youtube

2010-03-11T14:02:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aETXpEub590

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRJwGK6qdGE&feature=related

recent articles and links

2010-03-11T11:53:00.008-05:00

from Michael Pelter (March 9, 2010) West Olando News Online :

http://westorlandonews.com/2010/03/09/crist-house-may-be-at-odds-on-911-call-privacy/

from Martin Merzer (March 10, 2010)Florida AP (Miami Herald Media Co.):

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/09/1520630/lawmakers-considers-bill-to-restrict.html

from Dara Kam (March 9, 2010) Post on Politics (The Palm Beach Post):

http://www.postonpolitics.com/2010/03/crist-not-keen-on-keeping-911-calls-secret/

from Dara Kam (March 8, 2010) The Palm Beach Post:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/not-all-crime-victims-pleased-with-fla-house-332575.html

from Jackie Barron (March 11, 2010) Tampa Bay Online:

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/mar/11/house-committee-passes-911-privacy-bill/news-breaking/

from John Frank (March 10, 2010) Miami Herald:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/11/1523436/house-panel-approves-ban-on-release.html

From Lloyd Dunkelberger (March 11, 2010) Herald Tribune:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100311/ARTICLE/3111077/-1/NEWSSITEMAP?p=1&tc=pg

From Eric Ernst (March 10, 2010) Herald Tribune editorial:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100310/COLUMNIST/3101027/2416/NEWS?Title=Ernst-All-Nathan-Lee-wants-is-for-911-to-get-it-right

From Sara Kennedy (March 11, 2010) Bradenton.com:

http://www.bradenton.com/2010/03/11/2121986/reagan-holder-back-911-tape-proposal.html

From the Dayton Beach News Journal (March 11, 2010):

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2010/03/11/area-dad-behind-call-to-bar-9-1-1-releases.html

From Whitney Ray (March 10, 2010) Capitol News Service:

http://www.flanews.com/?p=8870

and this:

http://cbs4.com/local/911.call.calls.2.1550894.html

Charlotte Sun

2010-03-10T21:52:00.002-05:00

Bill approved by House Governmental Affairs Committee Wednesday

By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH
North Port Community News Editor

A bill to keep 911 audio recordings from being made public was approved 8-5 in the House Governmental Affairs Policy Committee Wednesday in Tallahassee.

The bill was introduced after John Hoblick, the CEO of the Florida Farm Bureau's 16-year-old son, was found dead on May 30. The teen allegedly died of an accidental overdose following a night of drinking games and experimenting with prescription drugs, according to investigative reports. The next day, a portion of the one-minute 911 call made by Hoblick's 20-year-old son was aired on DeLeon Springs, Fla., TV news.

Hoblick told Government Affairs Policy Committee House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, that hearing the 911 tape brings back painful memories. He asked Cretul to ban the release of 911 tapes to the public.

The bill would make transcripts of a 911 tapes available after 60 days and allows a judge to decide if a tape can be released "upon a showing of good cause."

Not everyone believes the bill is good for Floridians.

"Can I go to the House Speaker and ask for an exemption to the Florida Sunshine Law?" said Barbara Peterson, president of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee. The foundation is a nonprofit group that lobbies for open government. "I'm no one, so I wouldn't get preferential treatment. There is someone who is well-known -- Nathan Lee, who is lobbying for 911 standards, and he is against this bill. He too has been impacted by a family member's death, and he believes 911 calls should be transparent."

Lee, who could not attend Wednesday's hearing because he was receiving a national citizen advocacy award from the E911 Institute in Washington, D.C., wrote a letter to the committee.

"We believe 911 issues need more transparency and not less if we are everto learn from past mistakes," he wrote. "Five 911 calls were made the day my wife, Denise Amber Lee, was kidnapped from our home (in January 2008 in North Port) by a complete stranger. One was made by Denise herself when she dialed 911 with her killer's cell phone without his knowledge.

"During the recent murder trial, we had to listen to over six minutes of this painful call where she begged for her life, desperately pleading to come home to me and our two boys," he wrote. "I understand the pain and suffering of having to listen to tragic 911 calls. Another nine-minute 911 call was made that day from a bystander. She provided the exact location ... (but the call) was never dispatched."

The bill is on a fast track to the House floor.

Gov. Charlie Crist said he thinks the tapes ought to remain available but backers of the legislation say they're an invasion of privacy. Crist has indicated he would not sign the bill if it makes it to his desk.

The News Service of Florida and Associated Press contributed to this report.

Palm Beach Post

2010-03-10T20:37:00.002-05:00

House leader pushes bill to keep 911 calls private, at behest of GOP contributor

By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 8:16 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Posted: 7:13 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2010

TALLAHASSEE — House Speaker Larry Cretul is pushing a measure to make 911 calls secret, on behalf of the president of an association that has contributed nearly $30,000 the state GOP in the past two years.

The controversial proposal has angered some crime victims, who object that it's taking attention away from their efforts to require training for emergency dispatchers.

Cretul used an uncommon procedural maneuver to ensure the bill's passage this morning. He temporarily assigned one of his top lieutenants, House Speaker Pro Tem Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton, to the Government Accountability Policy Council meeting to cast a vote in favor of the measure (PCB GAP 10-3).

The committee approved it with an 8-5 vote this morning. To date, the bill lacks a Senate sponsor.

It is unusual for a House Speaker or Senate President to take a personal interest in a bill's success, lawmakers acknowledge. And Cretul's staff, along with council chairman Rob Schenck, the bill's sponsor, had refused to link Cretul with the bill until the Ocala Republican himself said that he is backing the bill at the behest of Florida Farm Bureau President John Hoblick. The Florida Farm Bureau has contributed $29,000 to the Republican Party of Florida since 2008.

Hoblick's 16-year-old son Jake died from a lethal combination of alcohol and illegal prescription drugs. Hoblick, out of town when his son Jake died, heard his older son John's 911 call on the news and asked Cretul to do something about keeping the emergency calls out of the public domain.

Making the calls secret spares victims and their families the trauma of reliving the tragedies when they are broadcast on television or the Internet, Cretul said. Transcripts of the tapes would be available 60 days later.

"When those folks are calling in, they're generally calling in for help. In some cases, the situations are tragic. In the case of the gentleman that first brought it to my attention, his was a 16-year-old son that had been found after doing something he shouldn't have been doing, by his older brother. You know. It has to be difficult. It is difficult for those families," Cretul, R-Ocala, said.

But Rep. Rick Kriseman, a St. Petersburg Democrat, objected that the transcripts are not available to the victims of the 911 calls unless they made the calls themselves.

Kriseman, a lawyer who voted against the bill, also said automobile manufacturer Toyota may not have responded to quickly to runaway cars without the 911 tapes.

"Had it not been for the recording, the pressure that's now being put on Toyota would not have happened. Because it was through that recording that we learned about the problem with the gas pedals and all the other associated problems. That's a protection that we're losing by putting this in place," Kriseman said.

The husband of Denise Amber Lee, a Northport woman who was murdered after a botched 911 call, pleaded in an e-mail to Cretul and Schenck not to pass the bill, in a message that Cretul apparently ignored until it was called to his attention long after the vote.

Nathan Lee also asked that his message be read at Schenck's committee, but Schenck made no reference to Lee's message at the meeting.

"We believe 9-1-1 issues need more transparency and not less if we are ever to learn from past mistakes," Lee wrote.

In the e-mail, Lee details an eyewitness 911 call that could have saved his late wife's life, had it been handled correctly.

"She provided the exact location of this event and even though there were, by all accounts, four police cars within a mile of this call, it was never dispatched. This call was, obviously, grossly mishandled and would have resulted in the saving of Denise's life," Lee wrote.

"This call was hidden from the public and myself. And even hidden from the police department who was actively investigating the case and searching for my wife for two days. The subsequent internal affairs investigation shows the communication center and agency who took this crucial call were immediately aware that the call was about Denise. The call was suppressed. Had the eyewitness not contacted the North Port Police Department, we may never have known about her call. And the prosecution would have lost the last eyewitness to see my wife alive," he wrote.

Cretul said he supports the 911 training bill.

"But my whole interest in this issue has been watching what it also does to families and what it does to people that call in. They become suddenly out there for all the world to see," Cretul said in an interview. "This is a very tough, very difficult issue. Very sensitive in all respects."

The Lee family is familiar with the pain associated with the 911 calls. A six-minute 911 call made by Denise Amber Lee pleading for her life while she was held captive by the man who was later convicted of murdering her is used in training sessions throughout the nation, Nathan's father Mark Lee said.

The family often attends such sessions, he said.

"We go out of the room. We don't want to listen to it. We don't want to hear it. But if it's helping those people train and be better listeners for the next Denise that calls, it's worth it," Mark Lee said. "Now, we're going to lock those up and we're going to save somebody's feelings. The tragedy isn't the call that was made to 911. The tragedy is what happened."

Despite Cretul's clout in the House, the bill lacks a Senate sponsor.

Sen. Garrett Richter had originally agreed to run a companion for Schenck, R-Spring Hill, but backed off the bill even before controversy surrounding it -- First Amendment and civil rights lawyers also staunchly oppose it -- erupted this week. The Naples Republican said he won't sponsor the measure

Politics at it's shabbiest. Tallahassee.

2010-03-10T17:38:00.002-05:00

Thank you Palm Beach Post for bringing to light this issue. I cannot convey my disgust with Tallahassee and am ashamed to admit I am registered Repuplican.

Speaker Cretul ignores e-mail from husband of botched 911 call murder victim

Dara Kam March 10th, 2010

Denise Amber Lee’s six-minute 911 call that helped convict her killer is among the most notorious examples of 911 calls gone wrong, the calls that are now in House Speaker Larry Cretul’s crosshairs as he tries to create a public records exemptions for them.

Her husband Nathan Lee sent an e-mail to the sponsor of Cretul’s bill, House Government Accountability Policy Council Chairman Rob Schenk, pleading with the committee to shoot down the measure that would make 911 call recordings secret except for transcripts that could be available after 60 days. Lee also asked that his message be read at Schenk’s committee hearing the bill (PCB GAP 10-03) before it was voted on this morning.

Schenk made no reference to Lee’s message and did not read it before the measure passed by an 8-5 vote. And Cretul, who used a procedural maneuver to ensure the bill passed, never read it at all. He said he received it last night. Public records show that Cretul, his spokeswoman Jill Chamberlin and Schenk received it around 3:30 p.m. yesterday.

“I haven’t read the e-mail. I’m sure that he makes some excellent points,” Cretul, R-Ocala, said shortly before the House began session at 1 p.m.

Nathan Lee and his parents are pushing a separate 911 bill that would require uniform training standards for 911 dispatchers throughout the state. His wife was killed despite five 911 calls made in two counties, including one from a witness whose call was ignored.

Lee’s e-mail uses the botched handling of the eyewitness’ emergency call made on the day his wife was killed in 2008 to demonstrate why the calls should be available to the public.

“She provided the exact location of this event and even though there were, by all accounts, 4 police cars within a mile of this call, it was never dispatched. This call was, obviously, grossly mishandled and would have resulted in the saving of Denise’s life. Two days after this call, she was found in a grave, naked and with a single gunshot wound to the head. This call was hidden from the public and myself. And even hidden from the police department who was actively investigating the case and searching for my wife for two days. The subsequent internal affairs investigation shows the communication center and agency who took this crucial call were immediately aware that the call was about Denise. The call was suppressed. Had the eyewitness not contacted the North Port Police Department we may never have known about her call. And the prosecution would have lost the last eyewitness to see my wife alive,” Lee wrote.

Cretul said he supports the training and certification bill.

“But my whole interest in this issue has been watching what it also does to families and what it does to people that call in. They become suddenly out there for all the world to see,” Cretul said in an interview. “This is a very tough, very difficult issue. Very sensitive in all respects.”

Read the entire text of Nathan Lee’s message after the jump.

“Dear Representative Schenck,

I am writing to you about PCB GAP 10-03 that has been suggested by your
committee. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend your meeting this morning.
But I would appreciate you reading this email to the committee. Thank you.
As you may or may not know, our foundation was formed out of the tragic
abduction, rape, and murder of my wife, Denise Lee.

Five 9-1-1 calls were made the day she was taken kidnapped from our home
by a complete stranger. One call was made by Denise herself when she
dialed 9-1-1 with her killer’s cell phone without his knowledge. During
the recent murder trial, we had to listen to over 6 minutes of this painful
call where she begged for her life desperately pleading to come home to me
and our 2 boys. I understand the pain and suffering of having to listen to
tragic 9-1-1 calls.

Another 9 minute 9-1-1 call was made that day from a bystander witnessing
the abduction. She provided the exact location of this event and even
though there were, by all accounts, 4 police cars within a mile of this
call, it was never dispatched. This call was, obviously, grossly
mishandled and would have resulted in the saving of Denise’s life. Two
days after this call, she was found in a grave, naked and with a single
gunshot wound to the head. This call was hidden from the public and
myself. And even hidden from the police department who was actively
investigating the case and searching for my wife for two days. The
subsequent internal affairs investigation shows the communication center
and agency who took this crucial call were immediately aware that the call
was about Denise. The call was suppressed. Had the eyewitness not contacted
the North Port Police Department we may never have known about her call.
And the prosecution would have lost the last eyewitness to see my wife
alive.

We believe 9-1-1 issues need more transparency and not less if we are ever
to learn from past mistakes.

In the aftermath of our tragedy, we have been invited around the country
to speak at state and national 9-1-1 conferences on the need for a
mandatory, uniform training standard that all 9-1-1 telecommunicators
should be required to take. There is no reason for the general public to
support or demand additional fees be approved for 9-1-1 if these types of
calls are suppressed from the public discussion. The public needs to know
the challenges of the system in order to vote for additional funding to
improve it. This bill would be totally counter-productive to that end. It
only serves to shelter the agencies from scrutiny. We are victims that
this bill purports to represent but we feel saving another family from the
pain and suffering that we have endured is far more important than saving
us from hearing Denise’s last words. Forward thinking legislators with
integrity and vision would see these calls are valuable training moments
and powerful emotional tools to change public policy to improve the system.
Please do not pass this bill.

Thank you for your time and thank you for reading this for me.

Nathan Lee
Chairman/Co-Founder
Denise Amber Lee Foundation
www.deniseamberlee.org”

Go Charlie! Thank you for speaking up.

2010-03-09T21:10:00.002-05:00

Crist not keen on keeping 911 calls secret

by Dara Kam March 9th, 2010

Gov. Charlie Crist said today he may veto a measure that would create a new public records exemption for 911 calls.

First Amendment advocates and some victims vigorously oppose the legislation, the brainchild of House Speaker Larry Cretul and other unidentified House GOP “leaders,” according to Cretul’s spokeswoman Jill Chamberlain.

Cretul believes the calls should be made secret to spare victims from reliving traumatic events when tapes of the emergency calls are broadcast.

But some victims, including the family of one of the most notorious 911-calls-gone wrong kidnap and murder victim Denise Amber Lee, want the calls to remain public to keep dispatchers and law enforcement officials accountable when they err.

Crist, whose first act after becoming governor in 2007 was to create the “Office of Open Government,” said he prefers greater openness and transparency.

“What we can learn after the fact many times with these 911 recordings can be beneficial to make sure that it’s done better in the future because you can discover mistakes or maybe better management practices that can be utilized in the application of 911,” Crist said this morning.

“It’s been a great thing for the people, a great thing for safety and it has saved a lot of lives. But if we keep those secret going forward, we might not be able to continue to learn from those experiences as to what might help people in the future,” he said.

The House Government Policy Accountability Council is slated to take up the measure (PCB GAP 10-3, PCB GAP 10-3A) tomorrow morning.

http://www.postonpolitics.com/2010/03/crist-not-keen-on-keeping-911-calls-secret/

Orlando Sentinel

2010-03-09T21:02:00.005-05:00

Crist takes issue with bill to exempt 911 calls from disclosure

2010 session, Carey Baker, Larry Cretul, Public records — posted by orlandosentinel on March, 9 2010 6:32 PM

TALLAHASSEE — A measure to exempt 911 recordings from public records laws may pit the House sponsor against the governor, a fellow Republican, as lawmakers debate whether they can protect privacy while maintaining oversight over emergency dispatcher performance.

With 911 tapes increasingly used by media outlets as prurient entertainment, calls are growing to restrict who has access to the recordings made during some of life’s most horrific moments.

Such concern has lead Rep. Rob Schenk, R-Spring Hill, to propose a measure that would shield audio recordings of the emergency calls to all but law enforcement officials. Citizens including the caller would be allowed to review the tapes only under a judge’s order.

On Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Crist told the News Service of Florida that he has yet to see the legislation, but generally said he supports keeping the records open for public scrutiny.

”I think we ought to keep it open,” Crist said. “You learn more about what happens with these 911 calls when it’s open. You have that kind of transparency where the truth is more available and easily attainable.”

The bill is scheduled to be heard Wednesday in the House Government Affairs Policy Council, its first committee stop.

“The need for emergency services bespeaks a very personal and often traumatizing event,” the bill reads. “To have the recordings made publicly available is an invasion of privacy that could result in trauma, sorrow, humiliation, or emotional injury to the person reporting the emergency or requiring emergency services, or to the immediate families of those persons.”

Law enforcement officials would have immediate access to the actual recordings. The public would not. Transcripts of the recordings would be available 60 days after the call was made. The requester would be billed the cost of transcription.

The measure has raised concerns from open records advocates who say recordings provide vital oversight of the agencies charged with responding to emergency situations. Others, however, say the tapes have too often become audio fodder in a reality-TV world.

“Quite frankly, I’m more concerned about the victims’ side of it and their ability to use 911,” Schenk said.

The issue has taken on added prominence following a highly publicized Charlotte County case in which a 911 operator sounded confused and rattled during a 10-minute called from Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old mother who was abducted and later found murdered. Her parents have since used her case to encourage more training for 911 staff.

And this week, the Palm Beach Post reported that Lee’s parents are against closing off access to the tapes for that reason. The Post also reported that the push for the measure has come from House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala.

Rep. Will Snyder, R-Stuart, and chairman of the Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council, said he’s confident a balance can be struck on the issue. While disclosure is often used for prurient motives, oversight is needed to address mishandled 911 calls that Snyder said are few and far between.

“I think there is a lot of room for compromise going forward,” Snyder said

Apparently Governor Crist agrees

2010-03-08T16:13:00.002-05:00

Originally published March 4, 2010

House to hear 911 bill: Measure would exempt tapes from open records laws

By Paul Flemming

A House member wants to block release of 911 tapes and exempt them as open records to protect victims from further trauma by public release.

The bill by Rep. Robert Schenck, a Spring Hill Republican, drew the swift opposition of open-government advocates. Schenck's bill will be heard next week in the House council he chairs.

"I just feel like victims need protection," said Rep. Robert Schenck, a Republican from Spring Hill. Identifying personal information contained in the calls is already blocked from release.

Gov. Charlie Crist said he favors keeping the tapes as public records.

"I think it's always better when you shed light on any situation, whether it's a 911 call, whether it's public expenditures, no matter what it might be, transparency is always the right call," Crist said.

Barbara Petersen, president of the Florida First Amendment Foundation, on Tuesday alerted her media-supported group about the bill. She labeled the proposal the Tiger Woods Relief Act, linking it to the release late last year of calls to 911 following Woods' November car crash outside of his Florida home.

"With all due respect, that is completely ridiculous," Schenck said.

The bill was scheduled for a hearing Wednesday, but discussion of other legislation delayed its consideration for a week.

"We're not going to discount their concerns" about victims, Petersen said. "Sometimes we have to look at the broader picture, too."

Recordings of 911 calls that are now open to the public would be closed by the bill if it became law. Instead, transcripts of the calls would be made available within 60 days.

Released 911 recordings have revealed negligence by emergency responders. Schenck said his proposal protects victim privacy while maintaining watchdog abilities.

"We're still keeping that intact with release of the transcript," Schenck said.

Petersen said transcripts wouldn't allow the same level of scrutiny. She cited a recent Tampa case in which a dispatcher was argumentative with a caller, did not follow procedure and the woman died.

"Access to these tapes is important. The transcript doesn't do us any good," Petersen said. "Intonation is as important as what's being said."

Schenck said he was contacted by individuals and victim advocates to ban the release of the tapes, though he said he couldn't name them off the top of his head.

In 2001, the Legislature banned the release of autopsy photos in the wake of race-car driver Dale Earnhardt's death in a wreck at the Daytona 500.

http://www.floridacapitalnews.com/article/20100304/CAPITOLNEWS/3040319

I missed this in November 2009/Chaos Theory

2010-03-07T17:00:00.007-05:00

but it is important and relevant to what is going on in Tallahassee. my opinion first:

my opinion: I would like to say to Rick Jones, that my family and other families who have suffered through 9-1-1 tragedies, know the cost of training. It cost my daughter-in-law her life. And you can spend all your monies on the best technologies in the world, but if you do not have people who know how to use them appropriately those technologies are worthless. My daughter in law's life was priceless.

Chaos Theory
Nov 1, 2009 12:00 PM

By Glenn Bischoff (glenn.bischoff@penton.com)

Protocols and intuitive managers are key to reducing dispatcher pressure in 911 call centers.

Nathan Lee returned to his Florida home in the middle of the afternoon on Jan. 17, 2008. When he arrived, he found his two sons — a 2-year-old and a 6-month-old — together in the younger boy's crib. His wife and the boys' mother, Denise Amber Lee, was nowhere to be found.

She was found two days later in a shallow grave after being brutally raped. In the first frenetic hours after her abduction, mistakes allegedly were made by a 911 call-taker and dispatchers that hampered the search effort. Today, her family and friends are wondering why no national training and certification program exists for 911 telecommunicators, which they believe would help professionals in the sector better keep their wits in an intrinsically high-stress environment that becomes a crucible when things hit the fan.

Not on Alert

The first 911 call on the day of Denise Lee's abduction was placed by Nathan Lee. The 911 center that took that call and two others promptly issued BOLO (“Be On the LookOut for”) signals that allegedly were missed by the 911 center in an adjacent county. At some point during the ordeal, the assailant drove through that county with Denise Lee in tow.

Later in the afternoon, a witness called 911 to report that a child in the back seat of a green Camaro was pounding on the window and screaming hysterically. The “child” was Denise Lee, according to Peggy Lee, the victim's mother in law. According to Lee's family, that call was received by the same 911 center that allegedly missed the BOLOs issued after Nathan Lee's 911 calls. Somehow, the family alleges, no BOLO ever was issued for the call from the eyewitness nor were police cruisers dispatched, even though the eyewitness provided cross streets at several junctures until the car carrying Denise Lee peeled off onto another road.

Peggy Lee today serves as the community relations director for the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, which is lobbying for training and procedural reforms in the 911 sector. She has heard the recording from the eyewitness call and said the call-taker became flustered during the nine minutes she was on the line with the eyewitness. “That call-taker didn't know what to do — you could hear the chaos,” she said.

Denise Lee's father works in that county as a police detective. He said in an interview on a network-television newsmagazine that a fellow officer told him that the officer was certain the vehicle drove “right by him” but did not pursue, because “he never received the information.”

Local media reported that the county's sheriff defended the performance of the 911 center's call-takers and dispatchers that night but acknowledged that mistakes were made. Reportedly, two dispatchers were suspended as a result of this incident.

During the ordeal, Denise Lee somehow managed to get her hands on the assailant's wireless phone without him knowing and placed her own 911 call. She cleverly gave the call-taker vital information, such as the type of car, by speaking in a way that made her assailant think she was talking to him. After seven minutes the assailant caught on and the call ended. “That call was handled superbly,” Peggy Lee said. (Since this was quoted we have come to find out that the call was not handled "superbly" but it was handled well. The call taker was new, on few short months on the job, and has since had to move out of state because Denise's call effected her so greatly.)

However, Denise Lee's location couldn't be identified by the 911 system because she used a pre-paid wireless phone to place the call.

Unanswered Questions

The television newsmagazine posed this question: Could Denise Lee have been saved if the call-taker and dispatchers had kept their cool? It's a question that haunts her family.

Consequently, the Denise Amber Lee Foundation is lobbying for the creation of a national certification program for 911 call-takers and dispatchers. “We want to ensure that no other family has to endure the pure hell our family has experienced,” said Nathan Lee during this year's National Emergency Number Association (NENA) conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

Craig Whittington, NENA's newly elected president, who spent six years on the organization's educational committee before joining its executive board in 2007, is in favor of such a program. “You have to be certified to operate a tanning booth, but for 911 — the most critical link in emergency response — there is no certification,” Whittington said.

While a good idea, a national program likely would be difficult to create and maintain, said Rick Jones, NENA's director of operations. Funding would be at the heart of that difficulty. “When you address the need for training and certification, you indeed are going to escalate their costs,” he said.

Protocols and intuitive managers are key to reducing dispatcher pressure in 911 call centers.

Jones said that 911 call centers ideally would allocate 5% of their operating budgets for training but acknowledged that such a goal would be unrealistic for many, if not most, centers in the current economic environment. “Their training has been cut, and their practice time has been reduced for various reasons, [but] basically economic,” Jones said. “That starts to have a negative effect.”

The negative effect is three-fold. Rigorous ongoing training, core-competency standards and proficiency tests would increase the likelihood that call-takers and dispatchers act properly and — perhaps more important — instinctively. This, in turn, would make them more competent and confident, leading to reduced stress. And the less stressed that call-takers and dispatchers are, the less likely they are to lose their composure and make mistakes at crucial moments.

But such training, standards and testing largely are absent in the 911 world, a fact that Gordon Graham, the keynote speaker at NENA's conference, noted. Graham, a former California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer turned litigator and educator specializing in risk management, said, “Once you are hired, you will never have to take another test if you don't want to be promoted. The public deserves better.”

Grace Under Pressure

To illustrate the point, Graham spoke of US Airways Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who landed his airplane in New York City's Hudson River in January after several birds flew into the craft's engines, rendering them inoperable. According to Graham, Sullenberger said in an interview shortly after his heroic actions saved the lives of everyone aboard Flight 1549 that he tried, throughout his flying career, to make small deposits each day into his memory bank, knowing that one day he would “have to make a massive withdrawal.”

It was a sound strategy, Graham said, because doing so enabled Sullenberger to make instantaneous, life-and-death decisions on that fateful day. It's a lesson especially adaptable to the public-safety sector, whose personnel make such decisions on a daily basis.

“You will run into the unthinkable event someday, and you will have to make instantaneous decisions,” Graham said. “Whether you are prepared to do so is up to you.”

To prepare, Jones recommended that 911 emergency call centers at least implement protocols that every telecommunicator follows for every call the center receives. He suggested that centers adopt the protocols already established by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Institute or PowerPhone (a provider of crisis communications training), and resist the temptation to create their own.

“That's dangerous, because a local agency doesn't have the expertise,” said Jones, who further cautioned that centers also should resist altering the national protocols, because “sometimes they over-modify them.”

Emergency call center managers also can play an important role in reducing the stress encountered by 911 call-takers and dispatchers, according to Steve Wisely, director of APCO's Communications Center and 911 services department. He said managers should be trained to have a calming effect on telecommunicators. “It's important that the supervisory leadership has training that will allow them to act in a calm manner, even when high-profile incidents are underway,” Wisely said. “The supervisors set the tone for the workers that are reporting to them.”

It's also important that supervisors recognize when a call-taker or dispatcher needs to decompress or a shoulder to lean on for a few minutes, Wisely said. “A support system needs to be in place where a person can get out of their seat and go to a quiet place to contemplate [an incident] or talk to somebody, if they're troubled by it,” he said.

This article originally appeared in Urgent Communications, a FIRE CHIEF sister publication.

http://firechief.com/training/ar/reduce-911-dispatcher-pressure-200911/index.html

PCB GAP 10-03

2010-03-07T14:09:00.004-05:00

Reasons to vote against this bill:

Committee Bill-PCB GAP(Government Affairs Policy) 10-03-Introduced last week would restrict 911 calls from public records for a period of 60 days. And then no audio would be released. Just a redacted transcript. And the person requesting the redacted transcript would have to pay for the transcript.
• On the surface, you would assume we would be for this as it saves the victims families from hearing these painful calls over and over. However, these calls are an invaluable training opportunity for the industry. We are making an impact with raising public awareness of the issues and shortcomings of this industry because of the publicity of this tragedy.
• The media has been good to us and not airing the most painful parts of these calls
• Dateline and Primetime would not have shed a national spotlight on these issues if these calls are suppressed.
• If you really want people to die in vain-go ahead and support this bill but I would ask everyone to be outraged about this bill. It smells of nothing more than to shield the sheriffs departments from public scrutiny. How is the public supposed to feel comfortable that it’s local sheriff or police dept. is doing a good job if they are shielded from how calls are handled? An editorial in our local paper said it best last week: “Do you get more out of a song by hearing it or reading the lyrics on a piece of paper?”
• You never hear calls made on 9/11. You never hear calls made to 9-1-1 during the Virginia Tech Massacre or the Columbine High School Massacre. You do not hear the calls made during the Fort Hood tragedy. You do not hear the 9-1-1 calls made during the “Miracle on the Hudson” when the plane was going down and Sullenberger miraculously landed the plane. Why? Because the majority of the media is sensitive. Yes, there are those bad apples that you have in every industry that sensationalize and prey on other people’s tragedies. But they are the few. It is up to the public to protest to those media sources. Not for the State of Florida to pass a bad law.
• Our daughter in law’s tragedy has been taught in classes across the country. She has not died in vain because of these classes. Her story is taught on Day 1 to all new call takers and dispatchers in the entire state of California. Her story has been taught as far away as Samoa. If this bill had passed two years ago, this would not be possible.
• If this law had been past two years ago, we would be unaware of the tragedies and inefficiencies of 9-1-1 that occurred with Brian Wood of North Port, Jennifer Johnson of Tampa, and Olidia Kerr Day in Plantation. Lessons can be learned by all these tragedies. Sadly, it takes tragedies such as ours to bring about improvements to flawed systems.
• We empathize greatly with other victims’ families. We feel their pain having told our story hundreds of times. We know the pain and suffering of having to relive Denise’s tragedy. But this is not about Denise and it is not about the past. It is about future lives. It is about preventing future tragedies and keeping other families from having to endure the pain and suffering we have.
• Our local sheriff and other sheriffs are elected officials. How are concerned citizens to make informed and educated votes without transparency.
• There would be no quality assurance. Yes, some comm centers do their own quality assurance, but is not that the fox watching the henhouse?

Vote NO to PCB GAP 10-03 "Tiger Woods Relief Act"

2010-03-07T10:23:00.002-05:00

from the Palm Beach Post:

House to discuss restricting release of 911 calls

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Dubbed the "Tiger Woods Relief Act" by an opponent, a bill that would dramatically limit public access to 911 emergency calls is scheduled for debate in the state House.

The measure (PCB GAP 1003) scheduled to be discussed Wednesday would prohibit the release of recorded 911 calls. It would allow access to call transcripts, but only after 60 days and at the expense of whoever requests those transcripts.

Supporters say the measure is necessary because some callers might be hesitant to seek assistance knowing that the tape is subject to public disclosure. Opponents say public access, among other things, ensures proper oversight of emergency service and police departments.

The 911 calls related to the Tiger Woods incident came within days of the event.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/house-to-discuss-restricting-release-of-911-calls-311978.html?showComments=true&postingId=327374#commentsList

my comment:

My daughter-inlaw died because of the failure of our 9-1-1 system. I oppose this bill. There is nothing more heartbreaking than to listen to your daughter in law's last words as she is kidnapped and driven to her death. The call lasted over six minutes. A 9-1-1 call that could've saved her was mishandled. We SHOULD NO Thave to listen to these calls. But then the 9-1-1 centers should not have FAILED. If we are to improve the system, we need to be made aware of these calls. Vote NO to this bill.

Benefit of the doubt

2010-03-05T20:51:00.005-05:00

okay, maybe some of these legislators did or do believe that this is in the best interests of victims families. I will do my best to give them that benefit of the doubt. But truly we need to look at the bigger picture.

The possibility of future loss of a life is a much more painful event than having to listen to a call of distress.

We never hear from calls made on 9/11. We never hear calls from the Virginia Tech Massacre or the Columbine High School Massacre. We never hear calls from the tragedies in England (London bombings) or Spain (more bombings). Why? Because the majority of the media realize how sensitive these calls are. It is the select few rotten apples in the media who prey on tragedies and sensationalize them.

The whole thing is tragic. Sad. And I pray to God (if there is one, and I have my doubts but if my the off chance there is one) I pray to God that what is best for public safety trumps all else. I pray other families understand.

Dear Denise, I just do not know what to do. If you see God, ask Him to guide us and continue to look over us. And as always, remind Him we need more people like you.

Please OPPOSE this bill PCB GAP 10-03

2010-03-05T09:15:00.005-05:00

It is bad on so many fronts! Our sheriffs are elected officials. How are citizens to make informed, educated votes if we do not know what is going wrong? How is there to be any quality assurance? How are we to learn from past mistakes? How are trainers across the country supposed to train without access to these calls?

Proponents say the public can get access after 60 days! But! then only after it has been redacted and then it's a written transcript. Then we have to PAY for not only the call but transcription costs etc...

Proponents say it is to protect victims' family of having to hear their tragedies on the news. HAH! I find that hard to believe. I am a victim's family member and no matter how heartbreaking and horrific or how many times I have to listen to certain calls, public safety needs to come first and all this bill would do, would be to protect police chiefs' and sheriffs' butts. If this bill had passed 2 years ago we would never have heard about Brian Wood in North Port, Jennifer Johnson in Tampa, and Olidia Kerr Day in Plantation, Florida.

It is shady and it is disturbing. If they want a victim's family perspective why have they not ask us? We've been in Tallahassee and they could approach us at anytime. Instead we had to hear about it from a complete stranger from up in Tallahassee.

Oh this is BAD. Please oppose it.

Here is a copy of the bill:

A bill to be entitled

An act relating to a public record exemption for E911 recordings; amending s. 365.171, F.S.; expanding the public record exemption for certain identification information of a person reporting or requesting emergency services to include the recording of such report or request; authorizing the release of a transcript of such recording 60 days after the date of a request for emergency services or a report of an emergency; requiring the requestor to pay the actual cost of transcribing the recording; authorizing the release of such recording to a public safety agency; providing for retroactive application of the public record exemption; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption under the Open Government Sunset Review Act; providing a statement of public necessity; providing an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

Section 1. Subsection (12) of section 365.171, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
365.171 Emergency communications number E911 state plan.—
(12) CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS.—
(a)1. Any recording of a request for emergency services or report of an emergency using an emergency communications E911 system held by a public agency or a public safety agency is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
2. Upon receipt of a public records request, a transcript of the confidential and exempt recording may be made available by a public agency or a public safety agency 60 days after the date of a request for emergency services or a report of an emergency using such system; however, Any record, recording, or information, or portions thereof, obtained by a public agency or a public safety agency for the purpose of providing services in an emergency and which reveals the name, address, telephone number, or personal information about, or information which may identify any person requesting emergency service or reporting an emergency by accessing an emergency communications E911 system shall be redacted from the transcript. The person requesting the transcript shall pay the actual cost of transcribing the recording, in addition to any other applicable costs provided under s. 119.07. is confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, except that
3. Such recording and record or information may be disclosed to a public safety agency. The exemption applies only to the name, address, telephone number or personal information about, or information which may identify any person requesting emergency services or reporting an emergency while such information is in the custody of the public agency or public safety agency providing emergency services.
4. This exemption is remedial in nature and it is the intent of the Legislature that the exemption be applied to requests for recordings received before, on, or after the effective date of this paragraph.
5. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2015, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
(b) A telecommunications company or commercial mobile radio service provider shall not be liable for damages to any person resulting from or in connection with such telephone company's or commercial mobile radio service provider's provision of any lawful assistance to any investigative or law enforcement officer of the State of Florida or political subdivisions thereof, of the United States, or of any other state or political subdivision thereof, in connection with any lawful investigation or other law enforcement activity by such law enforcement officer unless the telecommunications company or commercial mobile radio service provider acted in a wanton and willful manner.
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public necessity that any recording of a request for emergency services or report of an emergency using an emergency communications E911 system held by a public agency or a public safety agency be made confidential and exempt from public records requirements. The need for emergency services bespeaks a very personal and often traumatizing event. To have the recordings made publicly available is an invasion of privacy that could result in trauma, sorrow, humiliation, or emotional injury to the person reporting the emergency or requiring emergency services, or to the immediate family of those persons. Additionally, to have such recordings publicly available could jeopardize the health and safety of those needing emergency services in that people, other than emergency service providers, could actually gain access to the scene of the emergency and thereby impede the effective and efficient provision of emergency services. Furthermore, there are those persons, who, for personal, private gain or for business purposes, would seek to capitalize on individuals in their time of need. Those reporting or needing emergency services should not be subjected to this type of possible harassment. Furthermore, to allow such recording to become public could chill the reporting of emergency situations to the detriment of public health and safety. Finally, the public record exemption still provides for public oversight by authorizing the release, upon request, of a transcript of such recordings 60 days after the report while maintaining protections for the individuals involved in the report or receipt of emergency services.
Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law

An open email written by me yesterday

2010-03-03T20:34:00.003-05:00

to the Florida House Committee hearing bill PCB GAP 10-03:

I understand a bill that will be heard in committee for the first time tomorrow that will affect the ability of the public to ensure the E911 system is held to appropriate standards. The committee bill, PCB GAP 10-03, would exempt from the Florida Sunshine Laws all recordings of E911 calls. The public would be limited to a redacted transcript of the call available only after 60 days. I have grave concerns that the public would not be able to review the work of the E911 telecommunicators if this bill passes, because they would not be subject to review by anyone other than their departments. It is important for you to know that we strongly oppose this bill. And believe it would detrimental to public safety for many reasons. Many of you know the details of our tragedy and you know we have been fighting for improvements to our 9-1-1 system. How are we to fight for improvements if we are denied access to this information? How are independent studies to be conducted if denied access to this information? How is the public expected to vote for improvements if they do not know all the facts and are only told feel good stories? How was I ever to understand what went wrong in Denise’s case if I did not have access to the calls? For more information go to deniseamberlee.org .
While I appreciate and understand your concern for the impact listening to these phone calls in the media over and over again and how heartbreaking they are, I beg you to vote NO to this bill. I KNOW what it is like to relive a tragedy by hearing 9-1-1 calls on TV over and over again. But still believe that people need to know and they have a right to know how their public servants are performing. Consider this! Our sheriff is an elected official. How are voters to make educated informed votes if they are not informed?
Please do not pass this bill!
Thank you and thank you for your service,
Peggy Lee
Denise Amber Lee Foundation

Dear Denise, Good news and Bad news

2010-03-02T14:32:00.004-05:00

Dear Denise,

I feel like banging my head against the wall. I am so frustrated and distraught. Thursday Senator Bennett's bill is going before a Senate Committee. Dad and I so WANT to be there to speak for it. But, I do not know how we are going to get there. UGH! It is so important and I just feel like crying with frustration.

There's another bill going before the House that as I understand it wants to suppress 9-1-1 calls to the public and the media! That is so wrong. As I understand it, listening to these calls on television is distressing to family members who have already experienced tragedy. I understand that. No one understands that better than our family. It means re-living the tragedy over and over. But, you cannot suppress this crucial information. You just cannot. Public Safety Officials need some kind of oversight otherwise these tragedies will continue to happen and they will continue to be swept under the carpet as they have been for years and that has got to stop. What's the saying? Foxes watching the hen house? In Charlotte County the Sheriff is an elected official. Therefore, he is a politician. So worse than foxes, you have politicians watching the hen house. Ugh!

I cannot tell you how distraught I am.

The good news, sweetie, is we have someone (a kind angel from England) working on your Wiki page. He is cleaning and polishing it. He has not gotten to the crime part yet or the trial but he has cleaned up your bio and is working on sources. The sources are necessary and it will finally be up to Wiki (or better "encyclopedia") standards!

sigh

That is so nice. So many people have helped us on this journey. It is heartwarming.

I miss you, sweetheart. And we are TRYING to do all we can.

I took the kids to school today and gave them two pebbles with angels on them. They were thrilled! Noah wants to put his with the other angels beside your grave near all the flowers. He was ecstatic and showed his teacher as soon as he walked in the door at school.

Love you, pumpkin.

Editorial in today's Sun

2010-02-23T19:13:00.002-05:00

02/23/10
A good model for public accountability

OUR POSITION: The state Legislature and public agencies can learn something from North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis' response to his agency's mistake.

Government agencies make mistakes. Businesses make mistakes. People make mistakes all the time. Everyone knows that.

When they make mistakes and when the mistakes have a public impact, the public can reasonably expect certain things occur: that there is some form of appropriate sanction or penalty, and that steps are taken to ensure the mistakes will not be repeated.

We call that accountability. We can't prevent mistakes, but we can put new procedures or systems in place that make the same mistakes less likely in the future. That's what happens, ideally, after a plane crash, when the brakes on automobiles don't work, after banks using unsound financial practices shake the economy or someone tampers with a bottle of Tylenol.

The critical points are to acknowledge the error, deal with the immediate impacts and take steps to prevent a repeat. It sounds pretty straightforward, but it's amazing how difficult that process can be in practice.

Public agencies looking for a good model of accountability in response to mistakes should pay attention to recent actions taken by North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis following a recent botched 911 emergency call. Lewis got it right.

On the night of Dec. 11 last year, a call came into the North Port police station alerting the dispatcher to a car off the road with a body nearby at a semi-isolated spot. The callers couldn't remember the exact name of the street, but got something close to it.

Rather than telling the caller to wait for an officer at the store where they had made the call, the dispatcher tried to locate a street with a similar name. Unable to find it, she simply gave up. No officer was contacted.

Some 16 hours later, another call came in and the body was located. The driver was dead, but no one knew if his life could have been saved if the police response had come quicker.

Lewis immediately took responsibility for the mistake -- caused by the dispatcher, not the 911 system. He apologized. He took time to review the incident and eventually fired the dispatcher, who is now appealing her dismissal.

Although he defended his call center system -- noting operators received far more training than is required by the state -- Lewis asked outside agencies from Lee and Marion counties to review the operations. Just over a week ago, they recommended another course be added to the basic training and a more-structured "quality assurance" system be set up to monitor ongoing operations. Lewis said these steps would be taken.

Just after the incident, Lewis acknowledged "the damage (it had) done to citizen's confidence in the department." By taking the right steps, he is restoring that confidence. He got it right.

That model of "what to do" is one we hope Florida legislators follow as they review bills sponsored by state Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, and Rep. Ken Roberson, R-Port Charlotte, that would improve emergency 911 call training throughout the state. Lawmakers sidestepped the issue last session. They need to get it right this year.

Mistakes happen. It's relatively easy to acknowledge and apologize for them. In the end, though, what matters most is that reasonable, intelligent, appropriate steps are taken to make sure the same mistakes don't happen again.

That's what accountability is all about.

http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/edStory.aspx?articleID=452980

Dear Denise

2010-02-21T11:56:00.005-05:00

It was a crazy week last week. All in all it was a very GOOD week. Dad and I drove to Tallahassee with Dave G Monday evening after work. Tuesday AM I spoke in front of a House committee. As you can imagine it was very emotional for me talking about you and how losing you has changed our lives (mostly Nathan, Noah and Adam's) forever. There is not a moment that I stop thinking of you. The House committee was very supportive and professional. Some members had funding concerns. I find that unbelievable. As far as we are concerned this is not a funding issue but a priority issue. They are already spending money for training anyway! A couple house members shot down the opposition quite effectively. I would never have been able to get thru it, if your spirit had not been with me giving me courage and strength.

That's what I admired most about you while you were alive. Your courage and strength should be an inspiration to women everywhere. Sadly, I did not realize just how courageous and strong you were while you were alive. I will never forgive myself for not having gotten to know you better. I knew you were shy and therefore I tried not to force you into talking unless you wanted to. I do remember that whenever you did have something to say it was always important. I also remember your grace. I never heard you say a negative thing about anyone. But, I honestly thought we would have years and years together of holidays and baseball games and that our bond would be forged through time. It breaks my heart we did not get to know each other better.

The house passed the bill through committee "unaminously". I cried tears of relief. It was so heartwarming. Someone said I should feel proud. But I do not. Our family would not be doing all the things we have been doing if we had not lost you. How could I feel pride in losing you? It is an odd feeling.

Coming home on Tuesday we stopped in Brandon for something to eat. Oh my gosh. Remember the day we went shopping? People do not realize we did not get to go shopping because of shortage of money. We only ever went shopping twice. The day in Ellenton and the day in Brandon. I thought we had years ahead for shopping and lunching. So I cried some more.

Anyhow, Nathan spoke in front of the Senate committee on Thursday. We watched it on TV. You would be proud of him, Denise. You were his soulmate. He's trying to move on and be the best dad he can. And Thursday night Dad and I got to go to Noah's T Ball practice. Oh my gosh. He reminds me so much of you. His smiles, his eyes, his mannerisms, his silliness.... He is silly and I remember how you used to smile and be downright silly. Full of fun. I just watch him and think of you. Friday AM I took the boys to school and Noah talked a mile a minute about you. He started with "My mommy is looking down on me. She sees everything I do." So, I let him chat and we chatted the whole way. Sadly, Adam was not a part of the conversation. I tried to lure him into it but he has no memories at all. People say how sad it is that you will not be here to see them grow. But I tell them you are here. I'm just profoundly heartbroken that they will not be able to ever experience your physical presence again. Your hugs and your smile.

I dreamt about you for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I have nightmares quite often and they are violent. I will not share them here. I have never dreamt about you though. So, the other night I had a very brief dream of you. You were standing near me and I asked if I could hug you one more time. We hugged and then I woke up. I wish I could hold on to that dream forever. I think of it everyday and it gets me through.

I love you, babydoll. And I miss you desperately.

Testimony of Assemblyman David Koon from New York

2010-02-19T10:55:00.009-05:00

even after 17 years the fight goes on...

When will funding never be an issue? It seems to be a perennial issue.

God bless him and his family.

Good morning. My name is David Koon and I represent the eastern portion of Monroe County in Western New York in the New York State Assembly. I truly appreciate the opportunity to testify here this morning before the Subcommittee on Communications. I would like to begin by thanking the FCC and Congress for taking the initiative to encourage development and
deployment of wireless Enhanced 911. Both the FCC and Congress recognized early that this was an important public safety issue and I am grateful for the hard work and leadership shown during this evolving process of improving and implementing wireless E911.

The issue of wireless E911 service has deep personal meaning for me. In 1993, our daughter was abducted and murdered in Rochester, New York. We had installed a wireless telephone in her car in the event of an emergency so that Jennifer could call 911 for help. Somehow Jennie managed to dial 911 for help from her car phone, however, the 911 dispatcher was unable to
locate her. The dispatcher listened helplessly to the last twenty minutes of Jennie’s life. It is this personal family tragedy that prompted my involvement in public service – to help make New York a safer place. I am deeply grateful to have the opportunity to share my story with this committee in the hope that the implementation of E911 technology in EVERY state will make it possible to determine the location of a person making a wireless 911 call.

It has been recognized in New York State that there is a problem with the funding of our Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). The state collects a monthly wireless 911 surcharge that could be used for the upgrading of the locator technology. However, New York State and many other states are not using this surcharge to provide funding for the PSAPs. This country faces a difficult public safety problem because the reality of wireless E911 is that each state is different in the advancement of the cellular technology to locate a 911 caller.

With the guidance and leadership of Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblymembers Robert Sweeney, Roann Destito, and Thomas DiNapoli and many other of my colleagues in the New York State Assembly, I have recently introduced a new piece of legislation that will change how New York State funds the deployment of wireless E911 technology. A copy of this bill
(A.3911), which passed the Assembly on February 24, 2003, is attached to my written testimony for your reference.

After many attempts to fund a successful E911 program in the state of New York, I think that we have finally found a solution modeled after Virginia’s successful program. This legislation creates the Wireless 911 Local Incentive Funding Enhancement (LIFE) Program in order to provide localities with funding to expedite the development of enhanced wireless 911 service. Wireless 911 LIFE will encourage the development of enhanced wireless 911 services by providing funding to local wireless emergency dispatch centers or PSAPs. In order to be eligible, local PSAPs would have to submit a written plan, including a financial plan and implementation timetables, to the State 911 Board for approval. Upon approval, local PSAPs would be eligible for funding related to equipment, software, and hardware necessary to provide enhanced wireless 911 service. Bonds will be issued by the Dormitory Authority to fund the costs associated with the program. The debt service on these bonds would be paid from the existing New York State wireless 911 surcharge. This program will give vital technology dollars to municipalities NOW – and avoid the postponement of this important safety issue any further.

My current legislation is an extension of legislation passed in 2002 that enacted the Local Enhanced Wireless 911 program. This program provided $20 million from the existing cellular surcharge to help localities fund costs associated with the provision of enhanced wireless 911 service. Ten million dollars in funding was made available to reimburse “eligible wireless 911
service costs”, which include installation and maintenance of equipment, hardware, and software designed to meet the FCC enhanced wireless guidelines. Further, ten million dollars in funding was made available to purchase additional equipment. The program is administered by a 13-member board organized within the Department of State. The 2002 legislation
reimburses localities for incurred expenses. The current legislation will allow localities to receive funds prospectively - ensuring quicker access to costly technology. As I mentioned before, this legislation was modeled after a program in Virginia that provides funding to PSAPs in a similar manner and has found that it greatly expedited the availability of wireless
E911 service. At present, Virginia has well over fifty percent of the state in compliance with the Phase I requirements and expects to fully comply with the Phase II requirements in the immediate future. Every state should demand the same technology.

It is important to remember that successful implementation of wireless E911 nationwide requires the cooperation of all parties involved – local, state, and federal governments, law enforcement agencies, carriers, and manufacturers. It is also important for the public to be better informed and educated about the process. These hearings are an important step
towards both increasing participation of the public in this process and getting input from different organizations. Again, thank you for the opportunity to speak before this committee and I look forward to answering any questions that you may have.

Another devastating tragedy, things just have to change....

2010-02-17T20:57:00.002-05:00

Hazelwood man dies after 10 calls to 911 over two days

Wednesday, February 17, 2010
By Sadie Gurman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In his first call to 911, Curtis Mitchell sounded calm, explaining to dispatchers that his "entire stomach [was] in pain."

By the time his longtime girlfriend made a 10th call nearly 30 hours later, she was frantic. He wasn't breathing. He was cold to the touch.

"Oh God, oh God," Sharon Edge sobbed to dispatchers. "I've been trying to get an ambulance over here for three days."

Paramedics arrived at their Hazelwood home as Ms. Edge tried to resuscitate the 50-year-old, but it was too late.

"I sat up here with him, watching him die," Ms. Edge said Tuesday, after city officials apologized to her and pledged immediate changes in emergency response after Mr. Mitchell's death on Feb. 7. "They didn't do their jobs like they were supposed to."

Snow-covered roads, poor communication and a 911 center deluged with more than double the average number of calls during last week's crippling snowstorms combined to cause Mr. Mitchell's long wait, city officials said.

Ambulances were dispatched three times on Saturday, Feb. 6, to the couple's home in the 5100 block of narrow Chaplain Way, but couldn't get there because of the snow. Paramedics twice asked whether Mr. Mitchell could walk to an intersection, even after he told them that he could not because he was in too much pain.

Emergency vehicles were within blocks of his home three times -- once so close Ms. Edge could see the ambulance lights from her porch -- but did not make contact with him. They finally reached the home on Sunday morning, Feb. 7, but Mr. Mitchell was already dead.

"We should have gotten there," Public Safety Director Michael Huss said. "It's that simple."

Complicating matters, communication problems meant that each call was seen as an individual request for help. Information gained on previous calls was not passed down during the next request, said Ron Roth, medical director for the city's public safety department and Allegheny County's emergency operations center.

"As a result, we made the same request over and over," he said.

Dispatchers sent the first ambulance to Mr. Mitchell's home just after 2 a.m. on Feb. 6, after he called complaining of abdominal pain, according to dispatch records. The call was graded E-2, or less pressing, as his symptoms were deemed not life-threatening. He called 911 again two hours later, asking what the hold-up was.

The call-taker told him medics were on their way, but the ambulance got stuck in the snow near the Elizabeth Street Bridge. The call was canceled after paramedics learned that Mr. Mitchell was in too much pain to walk out to them. Mr. Mitchell said he would try again later.

A second request for help was made about an hour after the first was canceled, though medics were not aware that an ambulance had gotten stuck while en route the house earlier. They, too, became stuck, according to Dr. Roth's report.

"If he wants a ride to the hospital, he is just going to have to come down to the truck," a medic told the dispatcher. Mr. Mitchell said he would try to walk to the truck, but later told them he couldn't make it across the bridge. The second call was canceled.

The third call for an ambulance came nearly five hours later, at 11:17 a.m. Saturday. Mr. Mitchell reported similar abdominal pain, and officials identified "no priority symptoms," and the call was held because of limited availability, Dr. Roth wrote in his report.

"At this point in time, higher priority calls are being held, there are over 30 calls in the pending queue," he wrote.

At about 8:15 p.m. Saturday, nine hours later, the call was upgraded to E-1, or higher priority, because Ms. Edge, who had begun making the calls on Mr. Mitchell's behalf, told call-takers he was short of breath and that they'd been waiting all day.

Less than an hour later, Ms. Edge called again to tell dispatchers that her boyfriend took sleeping and pain pills and she "could not get him up."

A doctor who called Ms. Edge back was "convinced he took his prescribed medications and went to sleep," Dr. Roth said, and the call was canceled.

In the final call, about 8 a.m. Sunday, she screamed for help. The call was graded E-0 -- a top priority. But when paramedics arrived, Mr. Mitchell had already died.

The cause of death is pending toxicology test results, the medical examiner's office said. Dr. Roth wrote that Mr. Mitchell had a history of pancreatitis, though his reported symptoms were not exclusive to that disease.

"It's unacceptable what happened," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said. "It needs to change. We're talking about somebody who lost their life, and it's no small matter."

The city planned today to start dispatching firefighters as first responders on medical calls of the two highest grades of severity, and on calls of the third highest level that remained unanswered for more than 30 minutes. Firefighters are currently only called as first responders to the most severe incidents.

Sadie Gurman: sgurman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1878.

Read more: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10048/1036403-53.stm#ixzz0fqg3GOKD

Denise Amber Lee Act Clears Comittee

2010-02-16T21:26:00.006-05:00

from Capitol News Service:

Denise Amber Lee Act Clears Committee

February 16th, 2010 by Mike Vasilinda

9-1-1 Emergency operators will have to undergo increased training under legislation approved by a State House Committee this morning in Tallahassee. The legislation was inspired by the preventable death, as Mike Vasilinda tells us, of Denise Amber Lee, a Sarasota woman kidnapped and murdered in 2008.

The young mother was abducted in January 2008. Surprisingly she was able to use her kidnapper’s cell phone to call 911.

A second 9-1-1 call came from a motorist who saw Denise stressed out in the back of a car.

The hitch came when the calls were not relayed to police by an untrained operator. By some accounts, the kidnapper drove past at least three police cars who could have saved Denise.

Denise’s mother-in-law teared as a House committee debated a bill to require training. Police and sheriffs question the cost of additional training. So do some lawmakers.

“I want to be assured that there is no cost, that it is financially neutral,” Rep. Bill Proctor (R-St. Augustine) said.

Sponsors say what is not acceptable is calling 9-1-1 and getting a different response, depending on what part of the state you’re calling from.

15 other states already have similar laws on the books.

“Florida is certainly lagging behind in that regard,” Richard Pinsky with the Emergency Operators Association.

And there were more tears when the bill passed.

“This is about saving future lives and we just don’t want this to happen to anybody else,” Peggy Lee, Denise Amber Lee’s mother-in-law said.

“When you hear about the costs, you know, we all know what the cost is, it’s a lost life,” Mark Lee said.

Michael King has been sentenced to death in the case.

A Senate Committee hears similar legislation Thursday….but in tight budget times, passage is not a sure thing.

link: http://www.flanews.com/?p=8644

also from NBC2: http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=11994018

another: http://vodpod.com/watch/3063099-denise-lee-act-clears-committee

Lee's 911 bill sparks opposition in today Charlotte Sun

2010-02-16T08:54:00.001-05:00

Group: 50-cent fee is too small of a funding source

HB 355 Public Safety Telecommunicators
King Convicted
"I would have let you go but ..." jurors heard Michael King tell his victim, Denise Amber Lee, in a 911 call Denise secretly made that convinced them to convict him of her murder.

But it was another 911 call by an eyewitness who saw Denise struggling in the back seat of King's Camaro -- in which help was never sent -- that led her family and friends to start a foundation to correct flaws in the 911 system.

Today, Mark and Peggy Lee, parents of Denise's widower, Nathan Lee, both members of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, plan on attending the state House health-care hearing in Tallahassee, where a bill promoting universal training for 911 call takers and dispatchers will be introduced. Peggy plans to speak at the hearing. On Thursday, Denise's father, Rick Goff, a longtime Charlotte County sheriff's sergeant, and Nathan plan on attending the hearing when the bill is heard in the Senate.

Denise was kidnapped from her North Port home in January 2008. After five 911 calls from family, witnesses and Denise herself regarding her whereabouts, no one could find the missing 21-year-old mother of two. Her remains were discovered near a wooded area along Toledo Blade Boulevard -- the same road eyewitness Jane Kowalski told a Charlotte County sheriff's 911 call taker she last saw King's Camaro. The call taker never sent deputies.

The nine-page House Bill 355 -- known as "Electronic 911" or E911 -- introduced by state Rep. Ken Roberson, R-Port Charlotte -- would require 911 call takers and dispatchers to take mandatory public safety telecommunications training and pass an examination administered by the state Department of Health with competency and proficiency testing.

Funding for the training would come from 50 cents that's already paid by telephone customers. Currently, the $50 million in the Public Safety Trust Fund generated from the counties' 911 charge on each telephone bill is used to pay for police training and equipment, Roberson said. Funding guidelines don't specify the money be used for 911 training.

The bill calls for universal training -- from 208 hours of voluntary training that's in place now to 232 mandatory hours -- with 20 additional hours of training for the biennial renewal requirement. The CCSO maintains it already exceeds voluntary training hours.

North Port City Commission Chair David Garofalo, a Lee Foundation board member, also plans to speak at the hearing today.

"There might be some opposition," Garofalo said Monday, alluding to a letter sent to the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials from Doug Christ, president of the Florida Chapter of National Emergency Number Association opposing the bill.

According to Christ's letter, NENA clearly "supports standardized training and certification of 911 call-taking personnel," but the 50-cent fee is simply too small of a funding source.

"There are no more rabbits we can pull out of the hat regarding how we can stretch the 911 fees," he wrote. "There has also been concern expressed regarding the apparent requirement of retraining telecommunicators who may have already gone through hundreds of hours of expensive training prior to the legislation taking effect."

However, state Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, said she doesn't buy the arguments.

"They are not happy because they will have to pay overtime for the training," she said. "It's bogus. I've had enough of this -- safety can't wait.

"How many more times do we want to be on television shows like '20/20' showing the horrible mistakes that have been made in our 911 system? A North Port dispatcher left a man lying in the middle of the street for 18 hours because she didn't send help. She clearly didn't have the proper training," Detert said, referring to Brian Wood, who in December had crashed his truck in a remote area of North Port Estates. A teenager saw Wood and called 911, but could not remember the name of the street he was on. The dispatched failed to send help, and no police responded until a second 911 call was made the next evening.

Christ said Monday that NENA wants to "wait a year" and study the issue and how to fund it. He is supporting a substitution bill initiated in Pinellas County delaying implementation for a year.

"We'd like to see a task force established," Christ said. "We want a true statewide cost analysis. Our research and experience indicates that current 911 fees simply cannot absorb the cost of mandatory training. No one is giving us how much this will cost. I hear it could be $2 million just in Pinellas alone. Our goal is to ensure this becomes a successful piece of legislation as opposed to a costly 'feel good' bill."

Detert disagreed, saying there was no time to "rip apart" the bill.

"It's time to close the book on the bill," she said, adding she met Monday with lobbyists for the Police Chiefs Association, Sheriffs Association, Florida League of Cities and Florida Department of Law Enforcement regarding the bill.

"If they don't like it, they are going to have to get used to it and learn to like it," she said.

Garofalo said 911 funds should be spent for training telecommunication employees.

"Once the money is spent on training, it's up to the employee to pay for recertification," he said. "As far as making employees who have already had the training get retrained, it's not a bad idea. There have been some longtime operators who made mistakes that created liabilities for departments."

Nathan has said he wants to see positive changes made so his wife didn't die in vain. If the bill passes, it would take effect in July.

E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com

By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH

North Port Community News Editor

Florida NENA

2010-02-15T17:18:00.002-05:00

Unbelievable. We're on our way up to Tallahassee as I type to speak in front of the Florida House committee to urge them to pass HB355. Nathan and Rick will be there on Thursday to speak to the Senate Committee to urge them to pass SB742. Both bills are identical and both bills call for mandatory certification and training for all 9-1-1 call takers in the state of Florida.

Now, FL NENA opposes it. Why? Money. At least that's what they say. There are not enough funds. That's ridiculous! They oughta find the funds. It should not take rocket science and more studies. Get someone in there smart enough to find it. We're paying for it on our cell phone bills already. Where is that money going?

How many more people have to die due to call taker error???? They are the first link in the chain of our public safety. How can you put a price on Denise's life? or Olidia Kerr Day's life? or Brian Woods life? or Jennifer Johnson's life? and they are just a few in the past two years that we've HEARD about. How many have we not heard about that were covered up?

It's also odd considering we're working with and have the support of national NENA.... Unfriggin' believable.

These bills will not only help protect our citizens but they will help protect our first responders. The Florida Fraternal of Police support the bill! They agree wholeheartedly that something must be done.

But FL NENA apparently wants to spend the money elsewhere. That's just unconscionable IMO. If the call taker does not get the call right then the fireman may not make it to the fire, the EMT may not make it to the medical emergency, and the police may not be able to prevent an abduction about to be murder (as in Denise's case) in progress.

And more people like Brian Wood from North Port may be left lying beside the road "barely alive" and "soon to be dead" and then finally "dead" for 18 hours!

Ugh~

Sunday marks 2 years

2010-01-15T15:59:00.003-05:00

This Sunday will mark the second anniversary of Denise's death. My mind has been on her quite a bit recently. Between the holidays, Noah turning 4 (gosh I still think of him as 2), the trial, end of year newspaper stories etc... It's tough not having Denise on my mind.

I keep visualizing her coming through the door into the kitchen at our old house carrying Adam in his carseat. The carseat was huge, Adam weighed a ton, and Denise was so petite. Every time I think of her she's smiling.

"Every time I think of her she's smiling"...... hmmm... that's not totally true. In the beginning I could not get what happened to her out of my mind. It was hard thinking of her without visualising in some way the pain and terror of how she suffered. She was a beautiful, sweet young woman. If there were any flaws about her, I certainly never saw them.

But, it's true that now when I think of Denise the evil part (michael King's evil) does not always intrude.

The world lost a very wonderful person when it lost Denise. She was innocent, she was kind, she was sweet, loving, giving and truly selfless. The boys and Nathan always came first with her. Gosh, how she loved Nathan. She worshiped the ground he walked on. And how Nathan loved her and still loves her. He says he'll never stop loving her. It is all so very humbling.

The boys are doing well. We do not see them as much as we were and I miss them desperately. Adam has become a 2 year old hellion. He's so damn cute and he has Denise's smile. He's a stinker! And he knows it... he also knows how damn cute he is! Noah on the other hand is a tad bit more serious and very practical about just about everything. Both are precious... Oh, Denise... I'm crying not having you here. I know you are with us. I believe that or at least I do my best to believe that. We are doing our part to keep your spirit alive. I miss you so much.

It's unbelievable that people question our grieving. They have absolutely no clue.

Sunday we will be going to church as a family.

We are still working on the 9-1-1 front. We're doing our best behind the scenes to see that legislation in Florida passed. We are speaking at different county delegations trying to encourage the legislators to make 9-1-1 reform a priority. The response has been very good. Mark usually has me speak when Nathan cannot be there. I'm getting better at it. It is not so easy putting pain on display. My nerves are usually frazzled before I speak and afterward. But it is something I want to do.

Denise should be alive today. There is no doubt in my mind about that. She'd be damaged, sure. But she'd be home with people loving her.

As to Michael King? His picture was in the paper the other day. (His appeals have started.) He looks like Uncle Fester in the Addams Family only evil. But no matter. Even if they were to hang him tomorrow it would not bring Denise back.

Miss you, Denise. I wish we could hug. I wish I could caress your face just one more time. You were beautiful inside and out. Oh sweetie.

sigh

NENA letter written by Craig Whittington to NBC

2010-01-11T18:20:00.006-05:00

The letter below is from the current President of NENA to NBC in response to the Today Show airing last week. Momentum for National training and certification standards is building!!

To all NENA members and 9-1-1 professionals proudly serving in our nation's PSAP's. The follow letter was sent to NBC Last Friday...

Craig W

Craig Whittington, ENP
9-1-1 & Special Projects Coordinator
Guilford Metro 9-1-1
Greensboro, NC
NC NENA 9-1-1 Hall of Frame

President
National Emergency Number Association (NENA)

On Thursday, January 7, NBC's Today show ran a segment entitled, "911 [sic] Emergency: Are Operators Ready for Your Call?" Like anyone who saw this report, my heart goes out to Ms. Cantrell and her family. The loss of a child, especially one as young as Matthew, is every parent's worst nightmare. Mr. Rossen's report highlighted a number of the most pressing issues facing 9-1-1 today, including insufficient training requirements and standards, the
raiding of state 9-1-1 funds, and a lack of strong coordination and oversight at both the state and federal levels.

However, I regret that the story did not adequately represent the reality of 9-1-1 service in this country. Americans have come to expect a high quality of service when dialing 9-1-1, and rightly so; the public's expectations have been generated because our nation's emergency communications professionals have provided the public they serve with reliable, consistent, timely, and professional service literally billions of times since the nation's first 9-1-1 system was implemented just more than forty years ago.

Since the beginning, 9-1-1 has continuously and successfully adapted to changes in communication technologies and devices (cell phones, Voice over IP, etc.), overcoming a lack of funding, cooperative and proactive system planning and deployment, or comprehensive, nationwide standards for training of 9-1-1 telecommunicators. While the calls highlighted in the Today segment (including a Detroit call taker chastising a young boy for calling 9-1-1 and another telecommunicator falling asleep during a call) provide ample fodder for television and print stories, they are certainly the extreme exception and not the rule when it comes to everyday 9-1-1 center operations.

Additionally, no 9-1-1 call taker should ever be blamed if their local government or 9-1-1 Authority has not implemented practices designed to help telecommunicators save lives, such as Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD).

These implementations are major local policy decisions involving the 9-1-1 center, the local government, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provider, and Medical Director in order to ensure proper training, oversight, and regular audit and review. The decision to use EMD cannot be made at the discretion of the telecommunicator working in the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). Further, just "knowing CPR" as discussed in Mr. Rossen's interview with Ms. Cantrell does not sufficiently prepare a telecommunicator to provide CPR instructions over the phone. Walking a caller to 9-1-1 through a medical procedure, even one that may seem as basic as CPR, requires that an approved EMD training and certification provider certify the telecommunicator in EMD and that the 9-1-1 agency have an ongoing and approved EMD program (most often operated under strict state guidelines and inclusive of a regular Quality Assurance and Improvement process to assure compliance with the EMD program).

Nevertheless, no call for help should ever be mishandled. Any tragedy occurring because of a lack of training, supervision, or other shortfall of the 9-1-1 system is simply unacceptable. I, along with the thousands of NENA Members across North America, stand beside APCO President Mirgon, his association's membership, Congresswoman Eshoo, and the Congressional E9-1-1 Caucus in our commitment to working with all stakeholders in the emergency communications field, including decision makers at all levels of government, to ensure that our nation's 9-1-1 professionals are trained and equipped to deliver the same
high-level service to every caller - no matter where they live or travel or what device they use to contact 9-1-1. That is why NENA, in no uncertain terms, supports the development and implementation of standardized, mandatory, nationwide training requirements for every 9-1-1 telecommunicator serving in each of our nation's more than 6,000 PSAPs.

Further, in order to ensure that all Americans have access to the 9-1-1 service they expect and deserve, the patchwork technical solutions of the past will no longer suffice. Our nation's safety and security from threats both natural and manmade necessitate a new approach. As was alluded to during the Today story, most states underfund the vital system and infrastructure upgrades that are needed to ensure that 9-1-1 is able to effectively and efficiently handle all calls. The public and policy makers must be made aware of the need for an IP-based Next Generation emergency communications system that harnesses the power of broadband to ensure that all entities in the response chain can communicate and transmit voice, images, and data seamlessly.

In closing, I am sure we can agree that 9-1-1 personnel are our nation's first first responders and their training must be of the highest possible caliber. Each and every dollar spent on the training of our 9-1-1 professionals should be looked at as an investment in the quality of life for the community they serve and NOT as just another government expense. No one should ever call 9-1-1 for assistance and not get the very best trained public safety professional (with access to the best available technological resources) to answer their call for help. Lives depend on it.

I look forward to working with NBC and all other media outlets on future stories fully portraying both the successes and shortfalls of the 9-1-1 system as we work to educate and inform the public and government officials about the challenges faced by public safety professionals every day and how we can work together to solve them.

Respectfully,

Craig Whittington, ENP
NENA President

Today's Sun

2010-01-11T09:07:00.003-05:00

King's Lawyers file death penalty appeal

SARASOTA -- Attorneys for Michael King have listed 21 reasons why he should not be put to death, including that the death penalty is "unconstitutional" and the state should not have used eyewitness 911 calls as evidence during his trial.

On Dec. 21, King's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Carolyn Schlemmer, filed a motion to the Attorney General Criminal Appeals and the Clerk of the Florida Supreme Court appealing a judge's decision to sentence King to death.

Last year, King was found guilty in the kidnapping, rape and murder of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee.

King held Lee at gunpoint when he took her from her North Port home on Jan. 17, 2008. Her remains were found two days later, buried in a wooded area of Toledo Blade Boulevard.

After a three-week trial at the Sarasota County Courthouse that ended in September, all 12 jurors recommended a death sentence.

During the December sentencing, 12th Circuit Judge Deno Economou became emotional while reading into the record what King did to Lee. He agreed with the jury, sentencing King to death.

Florida law requires an automatic appeal in all capital murder cases such as King's.

In Schlemmer's appeal, she calls the death penalty -- reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976 -- unconstitutional. The appeal states the defense counsel should have been allowed to further interview jurors, and criticizes a unanimous decision needed for the jury to conclude in the penalty phase of the trial, as well as "unreliable and misleading evidence" from a state Department of Law Enforcement firearms analyst.

It goes on to state the 911 call Lee made while trapped inside of King's Camaro should not have been allowed in court, as well as another 911 call played in court made by witness Jane Kowalski, who saw King's car on the evening Lee was taken. Kowalski reported someone -- now known to be Lee -- screaming and slapping the window in the back seat of the Camaro, stopped at a traffic light next to her.

The prosecution's use of bullet casings, voice identification and allowing state doctors to evaluate King during the trial is also being appealed. Schlemmer being denied a motion for a mistrial and an acquittal are also listed as grounds for an appeal, according to the attorney.

Schlemmer wrote that King was denied a change of venue outside Sarasota, therefore, he was not given a "fair trial." The suppression of certain evidence and the court's finding of King's competency during the trial are also listed.

Schlemmer noted there were "errors" made in the sentencing order, as well as "the court's error" in allowing "certain portions of victim impact statements during the penalty phase" of the trial.

However, before the trial, Schlemmer filed motions to have some evidence suppressed -- such as King's demeanor when he was arrested and early evidence collected in a police raid of King's North Port house where Lee was raped -- and won.

Schlemmer could not be reached for comment.

Assistant State Attorney Lon Arend said he believed King, who stared straight ahead and was emotionless through most of the trial, faked a mental illness.

"He was competent to stand trial," Arend said. "We had tapes from the night he was arrested showing Michael speaking and moving around. They were suppressed, so the jury never saw them."

Arend said an appeal is the appropriate step in King's case.

"It is important that each and every issue brought up by the defense in the trial be included on the notice of appeal so that they can be reviewed by the Supreme Court," he said. "In order for a just, true sentence to be carried out, everyone has to be ensured that the defendant received a fair trial, and the Supreme Court review is an automatic part of the process.

"The fact that his attorneys have so thoroughly documented every possible argument is a testament to their professionalism, and should assist the Florida Supreme Court in what hopefully will be a thorough yet expeditious review of the trial," he said.

Arend said that if King's appeal is not overturned, he could be executed -- most likely by lethal injection -- in five years.

"It should not take 15 years," he said. "Laws have changed to make executions more speedy when appeals have been exhausted."

E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com

By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH

North Port Community News Editor

http://sunnewspapers.net/articles/pnnews.aspx?NewsID=450595&a=newsarchive2/011110/ew2.htm&pnpg=0

Today's Herald Tribune Editorial

2010-01-08T10:10:00.002-05:00

When 911 goes right

Tampa episode offers a model for other departments to emulate

Published: Friday, January 8, 2010 at 1:00 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 6:48 p.m.

Sometimes, 911 call-takers fail to live up to the public's high expectations. But sometimes they exceed them, in extraordinary fashion.

A Tampa 911 case this week fell into the latter category, exemplifying all that can go right when technology and operators work well together.

As described in the St. Petersburg Times and other Tampa Bay area news sources, the case involved an attempted rape in progress.

Ve'Etta Bess took the 911 call, secretly dialed by the victim, and heard only silence and screams. Yet, with a combination of skill, intuition and grace-under-pressure teamwork, she and her colleagues tracked and confirmed the location of the crime, dispatching police in time to stop the assault.

That is the kind of performance that people expect from the emergency communications system, yet 911 calls don't always have such a happy ending.

Dispatching errors, operator mistakes and address confusion, for example, were seen in North Port, Charlotte County and Sarasota in the past two years. Other communities and states have had problems as well.

Such cases -- most infamously the failure to relay emergency calls that might have caught a kidnapper before he killed Denise Lee of North Port -- have sparked a strong push for 911 reforms in Florida. Local legislators have proposed bills that would improve oversight of the emergency-call system and work to make it more seamless.

Lawmakers weighing these reforms may learn something from the Tampa case.

A few points stand out:

Bess, the Tampa 911 call-taker, has more than three years' experience.

The Tampa department trains call-takers extensively, using close observation, and hands-on and role-playing strategies. Diana Hall, training coordinator for the Tampa department, said 600 hours of training and classes are required.

The crew had recently taken a refresher course on how to find callers through cell-tower location -- a skill that proved crucial in this case.

The Tampa episode embodies the often stressful conditions involved in 911 work.

At one point, when the attacker discovered the cell phone on the floor, Bess had the presence of mind to stay silent so the man would think the 911 call -- the numbers visible on the phone screen -- had not gone through.

All the while, she was multitasking to identify the location, signal her co-workers and alert police.

With a little less skill, luck and technology, the call could have gone disastrously wrong -- but it went right. All communities should learn from this example.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100108/OPINION/1081011/2198/OPINION?Title=When-911-goes-right

North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis

2009-12-29T19:51:00.004-05:00

I commend Chief Lewis for having the strength, courage and wisdom to do the right thing.

And thank you, THANK YOU, Chief Lewis, for not hiding behind this with arrogant airs. Thank you for not sweeping this under the rug.

And especially thank you for showing compassion for the family.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the Wood family. It's tragic enough to lose someone but to add this on top of it is....... There's no word for it.

Again, I commend you.

God bless you.

From the Charlotte Sun website

NORTH PORT — North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis has fired the dispatcher who failed to send officers to a crash scene where a man was found dead almost 19 hours later.

Lewis said Nadezhda Kashitskaya, who had been with the NPPD for about a year and a half, violated two city policies.

In a press conference Tuesday at the police department, Lewis apologized to the family of Brian Wood, 55, and said his heart goes out to Kashitskaya, whom he said "made a mistake."

About 11:30 p.m. Dec. 11, teens saw a man slumped over on the ground next to his truck in a dark, remote area of North Port Estates. Mark Mininci Jr., 19, called 911 from a convenience store about six miles away.

When Mininci called 911, he didn't know the exact street name — Lovering Avenue — of where the man and his pickup were located, calling it "Lovesong" or "Lovebird." However, he gave detailed directions on how to get to the area.

Around 6:30 p.m. the next day, a curious Mininci returned to the area and saw the man was still there. Mininci went to a nearby house and asked the residents to call police.

Officers arrived and found Wood, the longtime owner of Suncoast V-Twin motorcycle repair in North Port, dead. On the way to visiting his friend and business partner, Ricky "Railroad" Johnson, Wood had apparently crashed his pickup into a power pole. He managed to get out of the truck after the crash but could not get help before succumbing to his injuries.

In the 911 call, Kashitskaya explained to Mininci the system doesn't work without giving a specific street name.

But Lewis said earlier this month that other techniques could have been used to assist the caller.

"We use maps similar to Google Earth to find streets and locations," he said. "We should have gone to the area where the caller described, despite not having a proper street name."

The Sarasota County Medical Examiner has not yet completed Wood's autopsy report.

link: http://sunnewspapers.net/articles/llnews.aspx?articleID=15232&bnpg=0

Christmas can be so damn difficult

2009-12-28T13:53:00.006-05:00

Not many people think about the stresses and anxieties 9-1-1 call takers face and the tragedies they listen to. I've met hundreds perhaps thousands of telecommunicators and believe me, they do not have it easy. I believe they go through their own form of post traumatic stress. I've listened to many calls now where the outcomes have been tragic. Yet, these call takers have to listen to it and sometimes never know what happened to the person on the other end. I couldn't do it. Yes, I believe there are some out there that are only in it for the paycheck but the majority are compassionate, diligent and dedicated.

Anyhow, I do not know this young man's story. But do, please, keep his family in your prayers and send condolences if possible.

Audrain County (MO) E-911 Joint Communications lost a dispatcher to suicide on Christmas Eve. The 23 year old dispatcher left behind a 1 year old son, family, friends, and co-workers. All of the Joint Communications staff and public safety officials in Audrain County are mourning the loss, especially the dispatchers that handled the frantic 911 call and those who responded to the scene after his
body was discovered. Prayers and support are appreciated. Anyone wishing to send condolences can direct them to the PSAP. Condolences for the family will be passed on to the family.
--
Daniel G. Barnett
Assistant 911 Director
Audrain County E-911
1854 East Liberty Street
PO Box 415
Mexico, MO 65265

Call For 911 Improvements/ today's Herald Tribune editorial

2009-12-28T09:16:00.002-05:00

Calling for 911 improvements

Legislation would help create a seamless system
Published: Monday, December 28, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 1:48 p.m.

In a recent editorial about the latest local breakdown in 911 communications, we posed the question: What must Florida -- and its counties and cities -- do to create a seamless system designed to ensure that all emergency calls receive an appropriate, prompt response?

The first step would be to recognize key findings and implement important recommendations contained in "Florida 911: The State of Emergency." That report, funded by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, was released in August.

"Florida does not have a 911 'system,' but rather a patchwork of agencies, protocols and technologies cobbled together," the report concluded. The report criticized state funding policies that sever "the call-taking function from the inherently linked function of dispatching emergency personnel."

Another report on the 911 "system" is in the works, we recently learned from state Rep. Ken Roberson, a Republican from Port Charlotte. Roberson and Sen. Nancy Detert, a Sarasota County Republican, gained approval for an arm of the Legislature to analyze the 911 process statewide. The study, conducted by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, is scheduled to be completed next month.

If the OPPAGA report reflects the typical depth of its work, the analysis will help Roberson and Detert gain passage of identical bills they've filed (HB 355 and SB 742.)

The bills seek to sensibly authorize the use of an existing 911-access fee for certification, training and oversight of "public safety communicators." The bills would redefine the term "emergency dispatcher" to include anyone who answers, receives or transfers 911 calls -- including those who dispatch law enforcement officers, firefighters or emergency-medical personnel.

The authorization of funding for these efforts will be vital; that may require increasing the fee. As well-publicized incidents in our region have shown, the inclusion of police dispatchers in statewide certification, training and oversight of the 911 system is crucial to the creation of a seamless system.

The proposed legislation, if adopted, won't prevent human error from occurring. But the Detert-Roberson proposal would lower the odds and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency communications in Florida.

This story appeared in print on page A10

All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091228/OPINION/912281006/2198/OPINION?Title=Calling-for-911-improvements

my opinion? This needs to be done. I highlighted the word "oversight" because I imagine this is what the sheriff's and police chief's across the state will struggle with.

Chief Terry Lewis and the North Port Police Department

2009-12-18T10:21:00.003-05:00

Gosh, lots going on in the past week. At the forefront, another 9-1-1 tragedy in Southwest Florida. Sadly, it occurred in North Port. For those of you that do not know North Port is where Denise was kidnapped, raped and murdered. During the abduction the convicted murderer, Michael King, drove over the county line into Charlotte County. After an eye witness spotted Denise and called 9-1-1 the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office failed to dispatch a car and missed several BOLOs (Be On the Look Outs). Their 9-1-1 center (CCSO) failed miserably in several areas on just that one call. Then they were not forthcoming with the information. They tried to cover up. It was not until 2 days AFTER Denise was abducted that North Port found out about the call. Denise was found that same day, 2 days after her abduction, in a 4' hole in a fetal position having been shot in the head. Where? On a side street off Toledo Blade, the last street the eyewitness saw the kidnapping on. It still disgusts me, and most like always will, that the CCSO 9-1-1 center failed, and worse they were not forthcoming. They chose to try a shove it under the rug. To me, that department is being run by politicians and not sheriffs.

Anyhow, now North Port has their own 9-1-1 tragedy. Brian Wood was seen outside his truck last Friday evening. He appeared in distress. A young couple drove to the nearest 7-11 and called 9-1-1 on a payphone. The young man, Mark Macinski Jr, did not get the name of the street properly. He knew it began with "love" but could not remember whether it was Lovebird or Lovesong. But he had directions to the spot. He gave them to the call taker. She said the system does not work that way and she could not find a road beginning with "love". The next day in the early evening, Manisci went back. The road was "Lovering" and the man was still there. 18 hours later and he was now dead.

The similarities of the cases are how tragic they are. The loss of life. The breakdown. Something gone wrong. Another person dead due to 9-1-1 inefficiencies. Who is at fault? Some blame the caller for not going back yet he was uncomfortable going back. He was not sure of the danger. Others blame the call taker. Others blame the supervisors. All I know is we have to do something because people are dying.

The differences? The most glaring difference in my opinion is the leadership. Having worked with Chief Lewis throughout Denise's case, we have great confidence that he will do the right thing by finding out what went wrong and doing something about it unlike Charlotte County who still does not admit doing anything wrong.

God be with you, Chief Lewis, and give you guidance, courage and strength to do the right thing.

What would I do? I would probably not fire the call taker. But, I would remove her from the 9-1-1 center and transfer her to a different job. Having listened to the 9-1-1 call, I really do not think she should be in there accepting calls. Unlike the call taker in our case, Millie Stepp, who had received previous reprimands for not using the CAD appropriately, it appears this call taker has an unblemished record. So, transfer her. Not all people are cut out to be call takers. But that's just my opinion.

articles in today's paper December 5, 2009

2009-12-05T08:57:00.004-05:00

Herald Tribune

It's death for the man who killed Denise Lee

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091205/ARTICLE/912051043/2416/NEWS?Title=It-s-death-for-the-man-who-killed-Denise-Lee

Paying the price

Justice in Denise Lee case, but harsh realities remain

Published: Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, December 4, 2009 at 8:10 p.m.
There are crimes so heinous, with guilt so certain, that they melt opposition to the death penalty.

The 2008 abduction, rape and murder of North Port mom Denise Lee is one such crime.

Friday, a Sarasota judge sentenced Lee's killer, Michael King, to the ultimate punishment. The sentence followed the unanimous recommendation of the jury that found King guilty of first-degree murder and other horrible offenses.

By most measures, the sentence is just. But any satisfaction that may be taken from it must be weighed against harsh realities.

The first and most tragic of these is that King's execution will not bring back the murdered woman, nor restore the normal life that her husband and two young children once had.

The second is that a death penalty automatically triggers procedures that could delay execution for years, putting the family on an agonizing merry-go-round of appeals.

The third is that this and dozens of other capital cases drain the resources of Florida's criminal justice system.

Because of heightened constitutional requirements, death penalty cases are far more expensive than murder trials in which life with no possibility of parole is sought.

In Florida, the difference between death-penalty and life-without-parole adds up to tens of millions of dollars per year, studies indicate.

It is wrong to put a price tag on justice. But at a time when recession has forced serious budget cuts on law enforcement agencies and the courts, who can feel good about spending so much on a punishment that does so little for crime prevention?

Studies indicate that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent to violent crime, especially in comparison with the less expensive life-without-parole option.

The millions spent on death-penalty pursuits could pay for important crime prevention measures. They could fund additional police, probation and corrections officers, investigators and prosecutors.

They could fund additional crime labs to process large backlogs in DNA samples and evidence.

They could fund substance-abuse programs and facilities for handling severe mental illness.

The dollars could even fund better 9-1-1 emergency communications -- a critical lifesaving link that was disastrously mishandled in Lee's case, causing a missed opportunity to save her.

Budgets aside, the trial and conviction of Michael King stand as proof that, even amid cuts and shortages, the justice system worked. Law enforcement found, analyzed and preserved crucial evidence; the killer was caught; and a jury of his peers convicted him.

Jurors, the judge, and probably the vast majority of Southwest Florida residents agree that King deserves the death penalty.

The punishment fits the crime. It's the cost -- not the penalty -- that is out of line.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091205/OPINION/912051031/2198/OPINION?Title=Paying-the-pricee

From the Sun

King sentenced to death

SARASOTA -- Sobs reverberated across the courtroom Friday as family members of Denise Amber Lee reacted to Michael King getting the death penalty for her murder.

An elderly man sitting in front of King's parents at the Sarasota County Courthouse, who wore a button of Denise smiling, raised his fists in the air twice and grinned as 12th Circuit Judge Deno Economou read from his 45-page decision.

A clean-shaven King stared ahead and didn't move.

The 38-year-old also showed no emotion when the judge read how, on Jan. 17, 2008, King kidnapped Lee from her North Port home at gunpoint. He brought her to his home for about three hours, raped her, then drove her to his cousin's house to borrow a shovel, a flashlight and a gas can to dispose of her body. He promised to let the 21-year-old mother of two young sons go, but then shot her and buried her remains in a wooded area off Toledo Blade Boulevard.

Denise's widower, Nathan, was joined by his parents, Mark and Peggy, as well as her parents, Rick and Susan Goff, and other family members. At times they cried as the judge read graphic details of the rape and spoke of her bruising and the fatal gunshot wound above her eyebrow.

Economou's voice cracked several times as he read Denise's words from her desperate 911 call. He said Denise managed to call 911 without King knowing. She gave the operator valuable information, such as her address and that she was bound and could not see where she was. She repeatedly begged for King -- who was a stranger to her -- to let her go.

The judge said King's "words and actions" revealed a crime that was "conscienceless, pitiless and unnecessarily tortuous with an utter indifference to Denise's suffering.

"His telling her that he would let her go as soon as she gave him the cell phone was a lie, knowing full well that he was going to take her to a secluded area and murder her," Economou said.

The judge weighed little consideration for the arguments that King had a low IQ, suffered an alleged brain injury when he was 6, and was paranoid, which may have been contributing factors to him killing Denise.

Assistant State Attorney Lon Arend said Denise's actions helped solve the case.

"She was the best witness we had," Arend said of Denise leaving her heart-shaped ring and strands of her hair in King's Camaro for investigators to link her to her killer.

Arend said he didn't buy King's bizarre, catatonic-like behavior during his three-week trial.

"I think he faked a mental illness," Arend said.

Outside the courthouse, Nathan joined the Goffs to thank everyone who has been supportive. He said he made "lifelong friends" through the process.

"I want to thank Denise," he said. "She was the most awesome person I've ever known. She was a wonderful wife and mother."

Rick Goff, a 26-year veteran with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, agreed, adding several longtime friends from out of state came to support them in court. For some of them, it was the first time hearing the judge's overview of the murder.

"We wouldn't have found Denise or him (King) if it weren't for Denise leaving behind clues," Goff said. "I could not have done what she did. She was a great detective."

Goff said he understands there will be appeals -- but said he cannot wait until King is executed.

"I will rent the bus for us to go up there and watch that man die," he said. "I may have to go in a wheelchair (following years of appeals), but myself and my family will be there."

Several jurors, who have formed a bond with each other and have met with Nathan and his sons, Noah and Adam, following the trial, were in court Friday.

"I'm so happy that he is going to pay for what he did to that beautiful girl," said Pat O'Quinn, who was one of 12 jurors who recommended the death penalty for King in September.

O'Quinn says she has been following Nathan's fight against the CCSO in a wrongful death lawsuit he filed in October. Nathan contends the CCSO was negligent in not sending any deputies to Toledo Blade Boulevard on the night Denise was kidnapped, despite receiving a 911 call from Jane Kowalski saying there was a person screaming and banging on the window in the back seat of the Camaro next to her.

Reached by phone Friday night, Kowalski, of Tampa, said she was pleased with the judge's decision.

"If there was any case for the death penalty, this was one," she said. "It shouldn't be anything else."

After most left the courthouse Friday, North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis returned to Nathan the ring and necklace -- that was marked as "evidence" for nearly two years -- that Nathan had given to Denise.

Sun staff writers Carol Sakowitz and Anne Klockenkemper contributed to this report.

E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com

By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH

North Port Community News Editor

http://sunnewspapers.net/articles/tsnews.aspx?ArticleID=448590&pubdate=12/5/2009

Case Ends, Appeals Begin

SARASOTA -- Twelfth Circuit Judge Deno Economou handed down the death penalty Friday for convicted killer Michael King in the 2008 murder of young mother of two, Denise Amber Lee.

For those connected to the case, one question remains.

What's next?

* King's death sentence automatically will be appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, according to Dennis Menendez, spokesman for the 12th Judicial Circuit. The process could take at least three years, and if upheld, there is a likelihood that it will be 15 years before King is executed.

There are 387 inmates currently on Florida's death row. King makes it 388.

* King himself will wait in a Sarasota County Jail cell until he is transferred to a state penitentiary, according to Maj. Jim Lilly, who oversees county corrections operations. No date has been scheduled for the transfer.

* Denise's younger sister, Amanda Goff, answered, "Yes and no," when asked Friday if the judge's decision puts the case to rest for her.

"(There's an) end in the sense that the trial is completely over," she said. "But it's not over until the day he dies."

For now, she said, "I can put it out of my mind."

Amanda will return to the University of Central Florida, where the school semester will end next week. She also holds two jobs in Orlando.

Friends at school have been great, she said, and added one of them came to the Sarasota County Courthouse to support the family.

She had one final thought before leaving the courthouse: "I want to thank the jury. They were great."

* North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis said his department is starting to prepare for the Coralrose Fullwood murder trial, scheduled to begin in April. Patrick Murphy, 28, is accused in the 6-year-old's 2006 slaying.

"We'll move to the next case and, sadly, the next case is Coralrose," he said.

Preparations will involve up to five detectives, he said, and the department has been given "incredible assistance" almost daily by members of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.

Looking over to where journalists waited for a press conference by the Lee and Goff families, a somber Lewis said they "are now part of the North Port police family."

"That's not a cliché," he added.

* In October, Nathan filed a wrongful death suit against the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. He contends the CCSO was negligent for not sending any deputies to Toledo Blade Boulevard on the night Denise was kidnapped, despite receiving a 911 call from the area saying a man driving a dark Camaro had a person screaming and banging on the window for help in his back seat. Last month, the CCSO filed a motion to dismiss the suit. A judge will determine if the case will continue.

* David Garofalo, North Port City Commission chair, attended Friday's hearing. Garofalo has been part of the local movement to set standards for 911 operators.

Friday, Garofalo said he has 411 letters ready to send to other Florida municipalities asking them to support legislation making its way to law in Tallahassee.

That legislation, he said, could "pave the way for the rest of the country."

* Bonnie Turgeon of Sarasota is a stranger to the Lee and Goff families but she was in court Friday, just as she had been for King's trial.

Turgeon said she was there to support the man who sold her and her family a TV set at Best Buy in January. When she went home, she saw the salesman -- Nathan Lee -- on that TV.

During the trial, Turgeon said she met Nathan's mother, Peggy, and learned of a cookbook that she and Denise's mother, Susan, were compiling as a fundraiser. Turgeon said she bought one.

Turgeon spoke Friday of Denise's two young sons. She said Peggy told her the 2-year-old, Noah, remembers the last words his mother said to him: "Goodbye ... and I love you."

E-mail: csakowitz@sun-herald.com

By CAROL SAKOWITZ

North Port Assistant Editor

http://sunnewspapers.net/articles/pnnews.aspx?NewsID=448608&a=newsarchive2/120509/ew5.htm&pnpg=1

Michael King Sentencing Order

2009-12-04T21:43:00.003-05:00

http://www.heraldtribune.com/assets/pdf/SH18992124.PDF

My heartfelt thanks to Judge Economou for his fairness, diligence, professional and thoroughness. My heartfelt thanks to Lon Arend and his prosecuting team. My heartfelt thanks to all the jurors. My heartfelt thanks to the North Port Police Department.

Job well done.

Oh, sweet Denise, you brave brave girl. The world needs more people like you. Let God know that. Miss you, baby.

the sentencing

2009-12-04T20:38:00.004-05:00

was truly hell on earth.

For those of you who have never witnessed something like this, let me tell you, I've had quite a few truly horrific days in my life and this can be counted right up there with the worst.

First the judge was awesome and yes we are very pleased with the judicial system. Justice has not been as swift has KathyK stated. It's been almost two years. But all in all justice was swift with the trial lasting only a week, the verdict coming in less than two hours, the sentencing phase of the trial only lasted a week with the jury's recommendation coming in less than 3 hours.

Today the judge pronounced his sentence. It took probably around 45 minutes. First he listed all the aggravating factors and then stated one by one how these were proved beyond a reasonable doubt by the prosecution. To do this he recited the entire story with graphic detail of how Denise was taken, brutally raped, sodomized, terrorized and then shot in the head. He had to state (to keep appeals at bay) how she was terrorized. He read Denise's 9-1-1 call. We had to sit and listen to it all, all over again. It was unbearably painful. Sue, me, Amanda, Nathan and most of the audience was openly sobbing.

Then the judge goes over the mitigating factors presented by the defense one by one and in this case most were given little merit.

Then the sentence.

By this time we are numb. Literally numb with emotion.

A reporter asked me if I was "happy" with the sentence and I just gave him a blank stare. Happy? What's there to be happy about?

Closure? What's closed? Today brought nothing to us but more pain. No joy.

Had he been taken out right then and there and shot, maybe there would be some closure. No happiness but maybe closure.

This man deserves what he got. All you have to do is listen to Denise's 9-1-1 call. The man had ample opportunity to let her go and allow her to live. And he made a choice.

My friends all wanted to celebrate. Celebrate? We just witnessed a man sentenced to die.

So, I told the reporter I was "satisfied" with the justice served. But, happy? I'm too damn numb to be happy.

Also, the state sentenced him to death. Not me or my family.

I have to say after listening to the judge (and he himself got choked up talking about the events) it's going to be a very long while before this man gets any forgiveness from me. He's scum.

Sorry to sound so angry. But it is what it is and I'm sorry you all have to share it. And that I've been so angry.

I posted this in a piano forum earlier this evening. I would like to add that IMHO Denise was the best witness the prosecution had. It's interesting the 9-1-1 could not save Denise but it did give King the death sentence. Judge Economou clearly stated how unusual it is to hear a victim's last words. You, Denise, were so smart and clever. I miss you dearly. Kudos to Lon Arend and the prosecuting team, the North Port Police Department, the jurors and Judge Economou. God bless you all.

quote from Vern Buchanan

2009-11-21T09:49:00.006-05:00

I want to share a quote from Congressman Vern Buchanan:

"The abduction and murder of Denise Amber Lee of North Port was a horrific crime," said Congressman Vern Buchanan (FL-13). "The fact that her death could have been prevented makes it all the more tragic.

"Most of Florida's 911 calls are handled correctly, but any mistake can mean the difference between life and death," added Buchanan. "Standardized training and testing for 911 operators and dispatchers is a worthy concept that could help save lives in the future."

There have been several articles this week in the paper and i have not had the time to post them all.

from today's Sun papers. I'm so grateful that Rick spoke up.

Charlotte Sheriff Speaks Out

CHARLOTTE COUNTY -- One week after learning Denise Amber Lee was found dead in the woods, then-Charlotte County Chief Deputy Bill Cameron says he went on TV and apologized to Denise's father, Rick Goff, and her widower, Nathan Lee.

Cameron, who was not the sheriff at the time when Denise was murdered on Jan. 17, 2008, was second in command to then-sheriff John Davenport.

Since becoming sheriff in 2008, Cameron says it's simply "not true" that the Charlotte County Sheriff's top brass has not told the families "countless times" they regret the loss of Denise and admitted mistakes were made leading up to her death.

"We have been painted as heartless monsters by Nathan Lee," Cameron said following the kidnapping, rape and murder of Denise, a 21-year-old North Port mother of two young boys. Her father, Goff, is a 25-year veteran with the Sheriff's Office.

Cameron was with Davenport at a Jan. 24, 2008, press conference that was called because the CCSO said the media kept reporting incorrect details of Denise's murder.

Davenport told the media several reported facts regarding a 911 call from eyewitness Jane Kowalski of Tampa weren't true.

On the night of Denise's death, Kowalski called 911 after seeing a dark Camaro with someone she described as a child in the back seat banging on the window and screaming.

She gave the CCSO call taker details of every cross street the suspicious vehicle passed. She also described the driver -- later identified as Michael King -- and the left turn he took onto Toledo Blade Boulevard back toward North Port. Denise's body was found buried off Toledo Blade two days later.

Following an Internal Affairs investigation, CCSO telecommunications staff members were disciplined for not dispatching the 911 call to North Port police officers already on a massive citywide manhunt for Denise and the Camaro.

Believing CCSO telecommunications didn't follow protocol, Nathan notified the CCSO he intended to sue for negligence and wrongful death on behalf of himself, Denise's estate, her two young sons and Denise's parents, Rick and Susan Goff.

In October, his attorney filed the lawsuit at the Charlotte County Justice Center in Punta Gorda.

Nathan has held several news conferences since Denise's death. After filing the lawsuit, he said he "never" received an apology for the critical information not reaching deputies on the night of his wife's murder.

Cameron said he couldn't speak for Davenport, but said he did apologize to the family and gave Rick and Nathan $100,000 collected by Sheriff's Office employees last year.

"After the press conference we held (on Jan. 24, 2008), we heard Rick Goff was upset because we did not apologize," Cameron said. "That wasn't the reason for the press conference, but I understood Rick was upset. After the press conference ended, I found a reporter from SNN and publicly on television, I said the Sheriff's Office was very sorry for what had happened."

Goff said he saw Cameron on SNN but didn't consider his remarks "real" because he was told the four people from the CCSO who wrote the speech didn't think to include an apology during the press conference.

"I was told by the (then) sheriff that sheriffs don't make a habit of apologizing," Goff said Friday.

Since Jan. 24, 2008, "I've apologized many times," Cameron said. "It was an emotional time for the Sheriff's Office. This is our family. Nate Lee is not our family, but Rick Goff is. This agency was devastated. We love Rick Goff."

Cameron said Nathan has "kicked us in the teeth."

"(Nathan) hired a public relations firm and is trying to win a lawsuit," he said. "Some of what has been done has been calculated by the firm."

Cameron said this week that Davenport apologized to the family in a "Dateline NBC" interview that aired in June 2008.

Davenport was shown twice during the hour-long special, but transcripts indicate he did not apologize to the family. He was asked if the botched 911 call was a missed opportunity, and he answered "certainly it was."

But Davenport said in the interview the handling of the call may not have changed the outcome that night. He said the assumption that Charlotte County "screwed up" and could've saved Denise's life is wrong.

If his department could be accused of anything, the sheriff told "Dateline," it would be trying too hard that night.

"Because it was one of our own (Rick Goff), and we knew it, and all the resources were being sent, it was chaos. It was stressful. I mean, in the course of trying to do too much, frankly, I think they missed the call," he said.

Davenport also told "Dateline" there was "no punishment" he could ever give the operators that they're not already facing themselves and living with every day.

"They feel terrible about this. Terrible," Davenport said to "Dateline." "I have total confidence in people that have been involved in this. I truly do. And they've been under pressure many times before. But they didn't make the mistake. This time they did. We all have."

Nathan said despite Davenport admitting mistakes were made, the CCSO continues to create obstacles for him, even before he filed the lawsuit.

He said the CCSO gave him a heavily redacted Internal Affairs report from the telecommunications employees suspensions. Nathan said he needed the report before filing the lawsuit. He also found out "Dateline" had obtained a "clean," unredacted copy of the document.

After taking the CCSO to court over the issue, the CCSO attorney told him to file a lawsuit to receive a clean copy. A judge agreed.

Cameron said he was "unaware" that "Dateline" ever requested a copy of the investigative report.

"Legally, we have to redact protected information about the case," Cameron said. "(Kowalski's) information has to be protected. At the time of Nathan's request, King was still being tried in court. It was an ongoing investigation. Rick works here. He could come in and see the report whenever he wants."

Nathan claims Kowalski wanted people to know who she is because she has gone on "Dateline" and other national TV shows to tell her story. She also testified in court during King's trial.

"That doesn't matter," Cameron said. "The law says we have to redact that part of the report. We told Nathan's attorneys that if they had any questions about the redacted information, that we would answer them."

Next, Nathan said the CCSO filed a motion last week to have the wrongful death lawsuit thrown out of court. Court records show the CCSO believes the agency didn't have to protect Denise any differently than any other citizen. However, on the day of the murder, the North Port Police Department issued a "be on the look out" for Denise two hours before Kowalski's call came into the CCSO dispatch center.

"I don't want to get into a fighting match with the sheriff," Nathan said. "It's tough for Rick because he works for the Sheriff's Office and he's part of my family. He loves his grandsons and his daughter so much.

"I expected the CCSO would try to block the lawsuit because they don't want to pay for their grievous incompetence," he added. "I just think the taxpayers need to know that their money is going to fight our family. The CCSO's actions speak louder than their words."

Cameron said he couldn't discuss the lawsuit, but the Sheriff's Office is supportive of Goff.

"Rick and I stay in touch all of the time," he said. "After this happened, I was with Rick and Nate the whole weekend. I kept them up to date with everything we knew."

During King's two-week murder trial in September, Cameron showed up for 25 minutes one day to support Goff. That's the last time Goff said he saw or spoke to Cameron.

Cameron maintains his agency "worked hard" to help with the details and police work needed to bring King to justice. A judge will sentence King to either death or life in prison in December.

"We worked closely with the North Port Police Department and other agencies to bring the case to a successful close," Cameron said. "You won't hear about that because our agency has been painted like the bad guy."

The Sheriff's Office recently lent support for proposed legislation by state Rep. Ken Roberson, R-Port Charlotte, for a 911 mandatory training bill he is confident will pass next year.

Cameron said he has been working with Roberson for "a long time" in drafting the proposed legislation.

According to CCSO spokesman Bob Carpenter, "the sheriff has been in Tallahassee a few times before, giving input on this legislation."

E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com

By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH

North Port Community News Editor

Today's Sun Herald by Elaine Allen-Emrich

2009-11-14T09:46:00.004-05:00

The nice thing about today's article is the Sun had a picture of Denise and Nathan. Usually the papers print a picture of Denise and a shot of King or they print a picture of Nathan and a shot of King. Today there was one of Nate and one of Denise. I know this sounds like a silly comment but it's been difficult and, yes, painful at times seeing Denise and King's pictures taking up the same print on the same page.

As to the article and Bill Cameron all I can say is "friggin' unbelievable".

Sheriff's Office Wants Lees Lawsuit Thrown Out

Published on: Saturday, November 14th, 2009

PUNTA GORDA -- The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office has asked that the civil lawsuit Nathan Lee filed against the agency a month ago in the death of his wife Denise be thrown out of court, according to court documents filed this week.

The CCSO states the case should be dismissed with prejudice and asks for Lee to pay court fees.

In the 13-page motion, the Sheriff's Office claims no responsibility for Denise Amber Lee's death due to a "mishandled" 911 call because her murder was committed by a third party -- Michael King.

The motion states, "Absent a special duty to protect a person from being victimized by a criminal act, a governmental agency's duty to protect a citizen is a general duty owed to the public at large, and any actions taken in fulfilling that responsibility will not be subject to scrutiny by way of a suit for damages."

A court hearing has not been set yet in the case..

Lee maintains that a 911 call taker and dispatchers failed to send any help for his wife on Jan. 17, 2008, after an eyewitness, Jane Kowalski, called to report suspicious activity in the vehicle next to her while she was driving south on U.S. 41 in Charlotte County. Denise, 21, had been kidnapped by King from her North Port home and was blindfolded and bound in the back seat of his Camaro, which was traveling near Kowalski's car.

In a detailed, nine-minute call, Kowalski told a 911 call taker that the person in the Camaro's back seat was screaming and slapping the window. King turned left on Toledo Blade Boulevard, and Kowalski was unable to follow.

Denise's body was found two days later in a wooded area off Toledo Blade.

Lee claims the botched handling of the 911 call in the CCSO dispatch center helped lead to Denise's death. He says employees proved "severe incompetence" in handling the 911 call and "breached their duties" by incorrectly performing numerous operational acts -- including failing to timely air BOLOs about King's Camaro from the North Port Police Department to deputies, failing to communicate the information from Kowalski, failing to timely log her call into the system for 12 minutes after the call was made, and failing to dispatch the information from the call.

"I just think people who live in Charlotte County should be concerned that (the CCSO) are saying they had no duty to protect Denise," Lee said Friday. "It's so unbelievable to say."

Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Cameron was named as the defendant in Lee's 17-page wrongful death lawsuit. Although Cameron was not the sheriff at the time -- John Davenport was -- Lee is required to name him on behalf of the Sheriff's Office for legal purposes, said his attorney, Patrick Boyle of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz.

Boyle said he expected the Sheriff's Office to fight the suit "every step of the way."

"It's common for challenges in most civil cases," Lee agreed.

The civil suit doesn't specify an amount Lee is seeking. State law allows only $200,000 to be awarded in a settlement of such a suit, but a jury can award more.

The CCSO conducted an Internal Affairs investigation following the incident. Two dispatchers were suspended for not following protocol.

The sheriff's motion filed this week states Lee's lawsuit puts a spin on the 911 call, saying that because Kowalski called 911 and alerted law enforcement about the situation, she didn't take any further action to help Denise (because she expected the Sheriff's Office to respond timely) -- "thereby increasing the risk of harm faced by Mrs. Lee."

In the call, Kowalski gave specific street names and explained that King turned onto Toledo Blade. She told the operator she didn't follow him because traffic was too heavy. Kowalski pulled over and asked that someone follow up with her.

The operator indicated in the call that the vehicle was headed toward Interstate 75.

Denise's body was found less than a mile from the Interstate. King was pulled over as he entered I-75 nearly three hours after Kowalski's call.

The CCSO motion also contends that no special relationship existed between the Sheriff's Office and Denise compared to anyone else in the general public -- meaning she wasn't entitled to any special protection.

The CCSO suggests the agency is only liable when a special relationship exists if employees make promises to provide assistance "uniquely responsive to someone, and the person relies upon those assurances to his detriment," according to the motion.

Jurors recommended the death penalty for King in September. A Sarasota judge ultimately will decide his fate in December.

E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com

By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH

Today's Herald Tribune

2009-11-13T10:54:00.004-05:00

Since we learned about this motion I've been holding off commenting. I am doing my best to restrain myself from saying anything unladylike. It's unbelievable. "Special Relationship"? What's that? I just cannot understand how the sheriff's department, namely Bill Cameron (who was in charge the night Denise died) refuses to accept any responsibility for this debacle. He and the sheriff before him (John Davenport) and their cronies truly do not believe they did anything wrong and are doing anything wrong. It's unconscionable. No apologies. No nothing. They just want to wash their hands of the whole thing. "She would have died anyway" according to John Davenport. They would have swept the entire incident under the rug if Jane Kowalski had not persisted in her phone calls to the North Port Police Department and had we not read the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs report. sigh.

Here's an article from today's paper by Jason Witz with the Herald Tribune.

Sheriff's Office wants Lee suit thrown out

By JASON WITZ Correspondent

Published: Friday, November 13, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 11:58 p.m.

CHARLOTTE COUNTY - Nathan Lee's wrongful death lawsuit against the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office should be thrown out because the agency gave no specific promises it would protect his wife, a motion released Thursday stated.

In a 13-page motion filed in Charlotte County circuit court, lawyers for the Sheriff's Office argued that 911 workers did not make "assurances to provide assistance uniquely responsive" to a key witness who reported seeing Denise Lee with her captor.

The motion asks a judge to dismiss Nathan Lee's lawsuit seeking damages from the Sheriff's Office in the murder of Denise Lee after her January 2008 kidnapping and rape. A hearing date for the motion has not been set.

The Sheriff's Office contends it would not be liable in Lee's death because no "special relationship" existed with her compared with the general public.

Although the operation of a 911 communication system is part of law enforcement services provided to the public, the agency is liable only when a special relationship is created, the motion states.

The Sheriff's Office contends that such relationship would exist only if, through employees, it makes assurances to provide assistance uniquely responsive to someone, and the person relies upon those assurances to his detriment, according to the motion.

Without that relationship, the attorneys contend, a governmental agency's duty to protect a person cannot be subject to a suit.

Lawyers say there is "no factual basis" to suggest any Sheriff's Office employees made any special promises during its 911 call with Tampa resident Jane Kowalski, who saw Denise Lee in the back of her abductor's car, near the Charlotte-Sarasota County line, pleading for help. Call takers failed to alert deputies, who were patrolling nearby.

Nathan Lee's suit accuses Sheriff Bill Cameron and his employees of being negligent in investigating the abduction of Denise Lee and contributing to her death.

Denise Lee, 21, was later found buried in a shallow grave in North Port, a few miles from where Kowalski had seen her in the car driven by unemployed North Port plumber Michael King, who awaits sentencing for his conviction for murder, kidnap and rape.

Lee is seeking a jury award of more than the statutory limit of $200,000. He said the motion seems contrary to the motto "To serve and protect."

"I'm just extremely frustrated," he said.

The Sheriff's Office is arguing it "had no duty to protect Denise," Nathan Lee added. "I definitely think the citizens of Charlotte County should be concerned about that."

Cameron said the agency would not comment.

Sheriff's Office lawyers say Kowalski was never told to take any action other than observe King's vehicle, court documents show.

But Lee's suit alleges that the Sheriff's Office's handling of Kowalski's call prevented her "from taking other action to help Denise Lee, thereby increasing the risk of harm faced by Lee."

Link:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091113/ARTICLE/911131037

Where to begin?

2009-11-06T12:27:00.010-05:00

Many people have been asking about me and my blog. They have expressed concern that I have not blogged lately. Where to begin? So much has happened in such a short amount of time. So many emotions have been felt. It's difficult to even know where to begin.

Life is moving forward for our family. We've had weddings, births and deaths.... Life and death are moving us forward. Joy and sorrow. Lots and lots of love. So much support. So much anger. It's been.... in a word? overwhelming and emotionally exhausting.

We've been called "killers", "media whores", "heroes", and "inspiring". Some have said we are only "in it for the money" and "publicity".

I must say the goodness in people and the kind thoughts and prayers have heavily outweighed the other less than kind comments.

As you all know, I'm very very proud of Nathan. And, Denise....... gosh, how they have both in their heroism and strength have humbled me. I thought I was a strong woman and that I've met with great hardship and tragedy in the past. But, I have never had to face or endure what Denise had to endure. And, yet, still, she rose up and maintained her grace and dignity throughout her ordeal. On her 9-1-1 call, she begged King 17 times and used the words "please". She even fought with grace and dignity. She saved Noah and Adam. Yes, I consider Denise a saint. She was nothing but pure goodness. We were so blessed to have had her as part of our family even for such a short time. Did we know it and appreciate it while she was alive. Yes, I believe we did. But did we recognize the magnitude of her goodness? No. We just took it for granted. She was a nice girl. That's all we knew. I never had a clue to as how strong, brave and smart she was. Nathan did though. Nathan knew.

And, Nathan? gosh, how he's humbled me, too. The way he's faced this horrific ordeal can only be commended. He's working so hard to turn a negative into a positive. He's working so hard to keep Denise's spirit and love alive in Noah and Adam. He's working so hard to be happy and to smile. He insists Denise would want him smiling and happy, not cowering in a corner. Not many people are aware of the pain and suffering he endured after she died. Not many people had a window into his grief. I did. Not many people have a window into how he still struggles. Why? I assume it's because he does not want to cause more pain. Pain has such a ripple affect. Pain is not easy to watch.

We went to a funeral this past Wednesday. The young man who died was Denise's age and went to school with Denise. He was 23. He spent his later years struggling with drugs and alcohol. Drugs and alcohol won out in the end. He was at a party, went in a passed out and never woke up. Watching his family's pain was horrific. Watching his mom struggle with the "whys" we continue to struggle with. Pain on display.

Shawn the young man's older brother put his pain on display. He gave one of the most moving eulogies I have ever heard. It was heartfelt. He did not hold anything back. He hit the nail on the head and did not pull any punches. We really do have to be true to ourselves and love ourselves.

I've received derogatory comments on this blog about our travels and our sharing our story with 9-1-1 calltakers and dispatchers across the country. They termed it as "fun" and referred to these trips as "vacations". They said we were not grieving and that we were causing more pain to the Goffs who were truly grieving. sigh. I finally had to shut the "comments" button off because no matter how untrue I knew it was, it was still hurtful. Pain on display. I guess I asked for the comments when I started blogging.

No. Pain on display is never easy. Only malicious people would find joy in other's pain.

I'm proud of the girl Nathan is dating. We've gotten grief about that too. Nathan dating so soon that is. Nathan started dating her last year. Yes, that was difficult for us. We weren't ready to move on. We were still and are still grieving. We did not think that Nathan should be moving on so soon. Little did we realize at the time that Nathan "needed" to move on in order to survive. This young lady has seen Nathan through a hell that I just can barely imagine even though I'm his mother. She's been there for Nathan through hell. Hopefully someday their relationship will bloom and grow and there will be marriage in sight. The boys love her. But, if it doesn't, Nathan could not ask for a better friend. I cannot say what Denise would be thinking if she were alive. She's not alive. She's dead and since she's in heaven I can only think of her thinking loving thoughts and praying for Nathan's sanity and happiness. That's the kind of person she was. She would not want to see Nathan doomed to perpetual pain or worse driven insane through pain.

It's so easy to judge other people. We judged and we were wrong to judge. Of course, for us we were only looking out for our son, his sanity and his future. Those others who have made snide comments? Who are they looking out for? Not Nate, not Denise and not Noah and Adam.

Killers

And, yes, our family was called "killers" because Michael King's jury recommended the death penalty. What's up with that? Some families members spoke out saying unequivocally that we wanted the death penalty for King. Personally, I have mixed emotions about it. Killing King will never bring Denise back. Killing King will never take the pain away he caused her, the terror, the suffering, the violation, the brutality, the callousness of him just listening to her begging for her life..... She'll still have suffered all that pain. Nothing will ever minimize it or take it away. Well, I take that back. If there is indeed a heaven, Denise is there, and no one can ever hurt her again. But killing King is not going to help her. But killing King will do a couple of things that will help me. One, I feel better knowing he'll NEVER be able to hurt another person once he's dead. Two, he'll never be able to think of his crime and fantasize over it. He won't be able to dream about it or glory in it. And I believe he does think about it and fantasize about it. He should have Denise wiped completely out of his brain. I don't even want him visualizing her. So, if wishing King dead makes me a killer than so be it. Some people need killing. Some deserve mercy. King does not.

9-1-1

We've been doing a lot of positive stuff in helping 9-1-1 and it's industry. These trips we go on..... The lives that are touched. And it's Denise who is touching them. We're just the tools and the story tellers. We share her story in hopes that other 9-1-1 call centers can learn from it. You can see how apprehensive they all are about hearing the story. You can see their apprehension as far as talking to us. They don't know what to say. But, once the ice is broken and they hear the story, everyone just rises up and wants to do better. And some (most really) are already doing fantastic jobs. Then they take Denise's story back with them to the other call takers and dispatchers in their comm centers. They wear their bracelets with pride. They feel appreciated and thank us! We should be thanking them. It truly is a thankless job. Most of the general public still think of them as telephone operators without brains that just place the call to the appropriate department. These people have to multitask, think out of the box, listen to all kinds of horrific situations, listen to all kinds of crap, maintain control or gain some control..... all this while trying their damdest to figure out where a cell phone call is coming from. It's crazy! But still... one guy in Illinois told me of a woman in his call center that "is" just like our call taker was. She's been there 20 years or so and does not like typing into the CAD. She "still" writes things down. I did not know what to say. I wanted to yell at him. "WHAT! ARE YOU WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO DIE!" But I didn't. I thought my goodness. Even after hearing our story this supervisor is "hoping" Denise's story will help his call taker see the light. sigh. Some people get it, some don't.

I better go. My emotions are starting to run away with me. I did not re-read this so, please, forgive any errors. Everything was typed off the cuff.

Tomorrow's Sun Paper

2009-10-19T21:45:00.002-04:00

Lee, Kowalski slated to appear on 'Good Morning America' Tuesday

By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH
North Port Community News Editor

Tuesday, Nathan Lee and Jane Kowalski are scheduled to appear on "Good Morning America" to talk about life after the 2008 kidnapping, rape and murder of Nathan's wife, Denise Amber Lee.

Nathan recently filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, alleging the handling of 911 call made by Kowalski was botched by CCSO dispatchers, leading to Denise's death.

The 21-year-old mother of two was abducted from her North Port home Jan. 17, 2008, by Michael King, who raped and murdered her. The 38-year-old was convicted on Sept. 4. Jurors unanimously recommended the death penalty, which a judge will decide later on this year.

Kowalski, of Tampa, testified during King's trial that she saw him driving a dark-colored Camaro with someone screaming and slapping the window in the back seat on the night Denise was kidnapped. After she called 911 to report the strange incident, call center staff did not dispatch deputies to Toledo Blade Boulevard, where Kowalski saw King turn off.

Denise had been trapped in King's car. Her body was found buried off Toledo Blade two days later.

"They called me to be on the show and tell Denise's story," Nathan said Monday. "I've always said Denise did not die in vain. She would want me to do this to help prevent anyone else from being hurt, and to fix the 911 system."

Following Denise's death, Nathan, his family and friends created the Denise Amber Lee Foundation to strengthen the 911 system and create universal, mandatory training for all call takers. Lee has been to 10 states talking representing the foundation telling Denise's story and lobbying for minimum standards for training, protocol and equipment for all call centers.

"Good Morning America" begins at 7 a.m. on ABC, Comcast channel 7.

This isn't the first time Nathan has been on national TV promoting a "much needed" 911 overhaul. He's also been on the "Dr. Phil" show and "Dateline NBC."

Denise's story is also featured in this month's Reader's Digest. The article, by Michael Crowley, cites several examples of "911 Calls Gone Tragically Wrong," including an Orlando woman who called 911 after she was kidnapped. In that case, the operator lectured the woman for not telling him where she was during the call. Her ex-boyfriend shot and killed her before turning the gun on himself, Crowley wrote.

The article leads off: "One afternoon in January 2008, Nathan Lee returned home from work to find his two little boys crammed into the same crib, crying. Their mother had left behind her cell phone and purse and disappeared."

The article goes on to state: "A spate of recent cases reveal shocking flaws in our national emergency response system -- at a cost measured in lives."

E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com

http://sunnewspapers.net/articles/llnews.aspx?articleID=14696&bnpg=o

Sun Paper editorial today

2009-10-17T15:38:00.001-04:00

County should move quickly to settle Lee lawsuit

OUR POSITION: There are no defensible reasons for Charlotte County to engage in a long, ugly battle in the Lee family civil lawsuit.

We see four good reasons the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office should move as quickly as possible to settle the wrongful death and negligence lawsuit brought by the family of Denise Amber Lee:

* It is the right thing to do.

* We look very bad.

* It may well cost more in the long run.

* Some small good may come of all this.

Nathan Lee filed the long-expected lawsuit Wednesday, a month and a half after a jury in Sarasota found Michael King guilty of kidnapping his wife, Denise, from her North Port home, then raping and murdering her. The jury also recommended the death penalty for King.

The question of the culpability of the Sheriff's Office remains, though. From all evidence so far, we can only conclude that the 911 dispatch center terribly botched a call from an eyewitness that might have saved Denise Lee's life. Nathan Lee contends the breakdown in communications showed "severe incompetence." We can't argue otherwise. Whether it was a matter of improper protocol or operator error, the bottom line is that we -- that is, the Sheriff's Office acting on our behalf -- bear some responsibility.

From the beginning, the Sheriff's Office has reacted to public accusations of wrongdoing with a defensive stance that only seemed arrogant and offensive. That has been counterproductive. It rubbed salt in a deep wound. It was wrong.

As Nathan Lee told the Sun's Elaine Allen-Emrich Tuesday, "The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office should be our biggest ally in trying to fix the 911 system, but instead they just want to fight us every step of the way."

He is right, and we need to put a stop to this as soon as possible.

For one thing, it's simply the right thing to do. We need to admit that we bear some responsibility.

A protracted civil court battle will only compound past mistakes. It prolongs the pain for the family. It makes us look even worse than we already appear. The longer we fight, the higher the legal bills. The county is in the position of fighting an extremely sympathetic plaintiff. A jury might always chose to "send a message" with a harsh judgment. There is no defensible reason to string this along until a last-minute jury drawing, a common legal tactic. There is no reason to believe the Lee family would accept one at that point.

Instead, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office should:

* Work on a swift settlement. The sooner the better.

* Admit responsibility for mistakes and apologize.

* Agree to become a working model for top-flight 911 emergency operations.

* Work with the Denise Amber Lee Foundation in its effort to reform and improve emergency call standards nationwide, including higher levels of mandatory training for call takers.

We need to admit errors, reach a fair settlement and embrace change. We need to do the right thing. It would help to create a proper legacy for a young woman whose life might have been spared if the department had done its job properly. It could bring something good and decent from this horror.

link: http://sunnewspapers.net/articles/edStory.aspx?articleID=445936

Reader's Digest November 2009

2009-10-15T16:20:00.005-04:00

911 Calls Gone Tragically Wrong

http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/911-calls-gone-tragically-wrong/article166229.html

One afternoon in January 2008, Nathan Lee returned home from work to find his two little boys crammed into the same crib, crying. Their mother had left behind her cell phone and purse and disappeared. Within a couple of hours, police in her southwest Florida town had a pretty good idea of what had happened to Denise Amber Lee. She'd been spotted tied up with rope—had even managed to briefly call 911—while in the backseat of a car owned by a 36-year-old unemployed plumber named Michael King.

Some calls aren't taken seriously because the system is burdened with stupid calls, especially now that everyone has a cell.Around 6:30 that evening, a woman placed an urgent call to 911 reporting the precise location of King's Camaro. It had pulled up alongside her car at a traffic light, and she could see someone crying out for help and banging on the back window. (She thought it was a child.) Just a few miles away, police were desperately searching for Denise with dogs and a helicopter.

But tragically, the 911 center never passed along the motorist's report. One officer later told Denise's father he was "sure" the Camaro had driven right by him, but no one had told him to watch out for it. The next time anyone saw Denise Lee was a few days later. She was lying naked in a shallow grave; she'd been sexually assaulted and shot. "There is no doubt in my mind that if the 911 call had been handled properly, she would still be here," Nathan Lee says. "It will haunt me for the rest of my life."

If there's one thing we think we can count on, it's that a frantic call to 911 will bring a swift and effective response. Government's first priority, after all, is protecting its citizens. But a spate of recent cases reveal shocking flaws in our national emergency response system—at a cost measured in lives. It's a system overstressed by boneheaded calls about everything from hangnails to poor restaurant service, weakened by state governments raiding its funds, and hobbled by the incompetence of a few bad apples.

"You roll the dice" when making a call for emergency help, admits Ronald Bonneau, who runs a 911 center 30 miles south of Chicago. "Frankly, there are centers out there where the operators are not very well trained."

One of those inadequately trained operators was the Pittsburgh-area 911 worker who took a call from a woman last April asking police to remove her 22-year-old son from her home. When the operator asked whether the man, Richard Poplawski, had any weapons, the mother responded, "Yes, but they're all legal."

"Okay, but he's not threatening you with anything?" the operator asked.

"Look, I'm just waking up," the woman said. "I want him gone."

The operator reported the call to the police dispatcher with a note indicating that the son had "no weapons." As a result, police walked into a death trap. Poplawski, a former Marine recruit who'd been tossed out of boot camp, had donned a bulletproof vest and set up an ambush. He opened fire with an AK-47 rifle and two other guns, killing three officers and wounding a fourth.

Then there's the case of Brittany Zimmermann. In May 2008, the 21-year-old University of Wisconsin student dialed 911, then hung up without saying anything. Never mind the audible screams and sounds of struggle in the background—all caught on tape—the operator insists she heard no noise on the line. She neither informed police nor tried to call back. Later that day, Zimmermann's fiancé found her stabbed and beaten to death in her apartment. The call, police later acknowledged, "should have resulted in a Madison police officer being dispatched"—an action that might have saved the young woman's life.

Human error might also have cost the life of Darlene Dukes, an Atlanta woman who called 911 last August gasping for breath. Dukes, 39, reached a dispatcher who already had a string of mishandled calls on her record and who, according to her supervisor, had once fallen asleep so deeply at her desk that she tumbled from her chair. (She claims she fell as she leaned to pick up a paper.) That dispatcher sent paramedics to the wrong address, 28 miles from the caller's home. By the time an ambulance reached Dukes, an hour later, she was nearly dead from a blood clot in her lungs. She died soon after reaching the hospital.

At least the operator in the Dukes fiasco was finally fired (she's appealing her termination). Incredibly, most of the 911 personnel involved in the other tragedies are still on the job. One of the two operators found to have botched the Denise Lee case was suspended without pay for 60 hours; the other, for only 36. The woman who gave the "no weapons" message to Pittsburgh cops was given paid leave. The operator who failed to act on Brittany Zimmermann's call was allowed to transfer to another county position.

This lack of accountability doesn't just allow incompetent operators to remain on the job—it gives workers with bad attitudes license to abuse the people they are paid to protect. When a Nashville woman called 911 last spring because her boyfriend was threatening her with a knife, an operator was caught on tape muttering to himself after hanging up, "I don't give a s— what happens to you." The call center apparently took its time forwarding the information, and police arrived three hours later. But at least the victim in that case survived.

Last January, a 911 operator fielded a call reporting that an Orlando woman, Loyta Sloley, had been kidnapped. The operator was able to reach Sloley on her cell phone, but she wouldn't—or couldn't—tell him where she was. He then brusquely lectured her that she was "going to be in some serious trouble" and could be charged for the expense of a manhunt if she didn't cooperate. It took nearly a half hour in all for the operator to dispatch police. By the time the cops arrived, Sloley's ex-boyfriend had shot and killed her and turned the gun on himself.

Maybe the most heartbreaking case of all was the one involving five-year-old Robert Turner . He called 911 in Detroit twice when his mother collapsed. But the dispatchers thought the call was a prank.

Police arrived to find the boy's mother, 46-year-old Sherrill Turner, dead on the floor. A jury convicted the first operator of willful neglect. But she appealed her firing, and it was overruled this past summer. She is already back on the job.

Bad operators are not the only issue. It's amazing how many idiots burden the system with stupid calls, especially now that nearly everyone carries a cell phone. In February, a Boynton Beach, Florida, man called 911 because Burger King did not have lemonade. He didn't get his drink, but he did get a court summons. In 2006, an Oregon woman called to ask the police, who had responded earlier to a noise complaint at her home, to return to the house. Eventually, she admitted why: One officer was "the cutest cop I've seen in a long time." She saw him again soon enough—when he arrested her for the dumb call. A California study found that as many as 45 percent of the emergency calls placed from cell phones in the state were frivolous or prank calls.

You can imagine what that does to the 911 system. It creates delays and overworks operators. And this is happening at a time when states are cutting back in every category and, worse, have begun raiding funds intended to keep 911 centers fully staffed and well equipped. More than $200 million in fees collected from cell phone users and earmarked for upgrades to the 911 system around the country have been diverted by state governments to pay for needs outside emergency response, according to a recent Associated Press investigation. In Wisconsin, $100 million meant for 911 upgrades will be used to plug other holes in the budget. In New York, a new fee instituted to fund 911 services will pay for general budget items and new police uniforms. Emergency budgets are getting "hammered," says Craig Whittington, president of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA). "It's ridiculous."

Fortunately, people determined to protect the quality of our 911 service are out there. California recently enacted legislation that will impose penalties running up to $250 per call for needless 911 calls. Groups like NENA have begun publicly rebuking politicians who attempt to divert 911 funding to other purposes.

And some of the victims of 911 failures are turning their tragedies into crusades. Among them is Michael Cantrell, whose toddler accidentally strangled in a soccer net. Cantrell's wife called 911, but the operator could not, or simply would not, tell her how to perform CPR. Together with Nathan Lee, Cantrell has launched a campaign for a minimum training standard like the one required for paramedics nationwide. At the very least, our 911 operators should be willing and able to explain lifesaving procedures, warn police about weapons at a scene, and treat any child's call seriously, unless there's good reason to think it's a prank.

Maybe it's time we declared a 911 emergency. After all, what could be more urgent than making sure our national security safety net is up to the task of saving lives?

A Cry for Help
A tragic misunderstanding may have contributed to the 2006 death of Sherrill Turner, 46, who collapsed in her Detroit home. Her five-year-old son, Robert, called 911 twice. Help never came. Excerpts from the tape:

Robert: My mom has passed out.

Dispatcher: Where's Mr. Turner at?

Robert: Right here.

Dispatcher: Let me speak to him.

Robert: She's not gonna talk.

Dispatcher: Okay, well, I'm going to send the police to your house and find out what's going on with you …

Three hours later, Robert tried again.

Robert: My mom has passed out in her room.

Dispatcher: Where's the grown-up at?

Robert: In her room.

Dispatcher: Let me speak to her before I send the police over there.

Robert: She's not gonna talk.

Dispatcher: Okay, well, you know what? Then she's gonna talk to the police because I'm sending them over there.

Robert: [Inaudible]

Dispatcher: I don't care. You shouldn't be playing on the phone. Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there … and you're going to be in trouble.

Robert's mother, who suffered from an enlarged heart, was dead by the time police arrived. The first operator appealed her termination and is back on the job answering calls.

3 Things You Can Do
DON'T BE THE PROBLEM Call 911 only in true emergencies. Remind children that the punishment for a prank 911 call is serious.

SUPPORT THE CAUSE Find out how you can help Nathan Lee fight for change—and get involved in your own state—by visiting the foundation he started in his wife's memory (www.DeniseAmberLee.org).

SPEAK UP Is your state diverting 911 funds for other purposes? Find the number for your state legislator (votesmart.org) and call to find out. Does your area have training standards for 911 operators? If it doesn't, ask local officials why.

Denise Amber Lee Timeline January 17, 2008

2009-10-15T16:12:00.003-04:00

reposted from January 9, 2008

For those who have already read this, please, forgive my repeating the story. I've written several time lines for several different people. I can't remember who knows what. And, so, I'm writing as much as I can down here. So, that it's clear and if anyone wants to dispute any of it, they can. What I'm about to write is part what we experienced and part of what I got out of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs report. No part of my timeline has come from the newspapers because as we learned from them erroneously printing about Denise being at the post office, newspapers can be wrong. I'll try to be as objective as possible and not let anger seep through.

Here goes:

The last time Nathan talked to Denise was just shortly after 11AM. His last words to her were "I love you".

Nate was working for the Florida Power and Light Company as a meter reader. His days started early by leaving the house so early it was still dark out. Denise and the boys would still be sleeping. Noah had just turned two years old. Adam was 6 months old and still being breast fed.

They had been over Mark's and my house the evening before. We had dinner together. After dinner Mark and Nate worked at the dining room table going over Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" book. They were working on a budget. Nathan had been working evenings as well as for FPL. He worked at Winn Dixie stocking shelves whenever he could. He played trumpet in the evenings for the Venice Symphony when they had concerts. He played every Christmas at our church. During the summer he would umpire Little League games for $50 a game. So, Denise didn't get out much. She stayed home with the boys.

Because she was quiet and shy or maybe just because she loved Nathan so much, she rarely went out without him. That and the two babies were and still are a handful for one person to lug around. She wrote a beautiful passage on her myspace the previous August about going to the mall and trying to purchase sunglasses. You'll have to check out her and Nate's family myspace page. www.myspace.com/leefamilyndn It's speaks of what kind of a mother she was. Her babies always came first.

Here's the story I'm talking about quoted from myspace:

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The joy of having two boys...

Today I thought it might be fun to take the boys to the mall... by myself. It started off really well. Noah and I ate lunch in the food court while Adam slept. I let Noah go on one of those rides that cost 75 cents. Then we went to Old Navy. Noah started getting a little hyper and wouldn't stay with me so I had to hold him and push the stroller at the same time. At the check out both of them started crying. Adam was hungry so we went back out to the car where I fed Adam ('cause he's breastfeeding) and Noah played in the car rolling the window down. Finally we went back in the mall and I let Noah play in the play area so I could get a chance to just sit. Noah was knocked down twice by older boys running around wild. Of course then Adam needed changing and I couldn't take my eyes off of Noah or else he'd run out of the play area. So I put them both on the changing table and changed both their diapers. Fun fun. Then we went to JCPenny. I was trying on sunglasses when Noah tried to run away. So I had to carry Noah while trying on sunglasses and then Nathan called. Both of the boys start crying once again so I put Noah down and picked up Adam. Noah thought it would be funny to try to run away again. So i caught him while holding Adam and put Noah in the stroller. An old man commented that I must have my hands full and said he checked in the bottom basket of the stroller to make sure I didn't have a third one in there. LOL, can you imagin if I had three? So I finally bought my sunglasses and we went home. Something so simple as going to the mall to buy new sunglasses is a thousand times harder when you have two boys under two. But it was still fun. Anytime I get to leave the house is a treat for me.

We also have a few new pics of the boys. I made a new album of Noah and Adam and there's a couple new ones in Adam's album. Check 'em out.

Denise

As far as I know she didn't leave the house that day. Nate says she gave Noah a haircut out on the lanai. And when he got home around 3:30PM her clothes were laid out as if she was getting ready to take a shower. She had probably just laid the babies down for naps. When Nate arrived home he found both babies in the same crib. That was odd. Noah's voice was hoarse. All Denise's belongings were still there, cellphone, purse, keys etc... But no Denise. The windows were shut but not latched. Nathan and she had spoken earlier about opening the windows to save on air conditioning bills. January in Florida is one of the best times weather wise in Florida. And living so close to the coast we have some wonderful breezes. So, the windows being closed without the air on was also odd. It was stuffy. Searching frantically for Denise, Nathan called Sue (Denise's mom) first to see if she knew anything. Of course, she didn't and he immediately called 9-1-1 to report Denise missing. Then he called Rick and Rick went into action.

Normally in a missing adult case, they wait to start searching. There's usually a credible explanation as to why the person is not there or the person has left willingly. Rick and Nate both stressed, of course, that this wasn't the case. That there was just no way Denise would leave her kids. So, I believe, in deference to Rick, the North Port Police Department took this more seriously than they probably would normally have. (that's just opinion on my part). Rick works for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office and has for the past 25 years. It had to be terribly frustrating for him to watch the neighboring agency handle the case. But Nate and Denise lived in North Port which is in Sarasota County. So North Port had jurisdiction.

I have already written in an earlier blog how Mark called me and my mad rush to get out to the house. I was at work and my phone was turned off so I was missing calls. Finally Mark called on the store phone. Sue had already picked up the babies. So, I stayed with Nate. You could see Rick's frustration with the NPPD. You could see NPPD 's frustration with Rick. In a word? It was heartbreaking. Nathan was a suspect. A helicopter was overhead. It was getting dark. The thoughts that run through your head. We all knew (our family knew) that there was no way Denise would leave willingly. It was just impossible. Doubts enter but they are quickly brushed aside. Because we knew her. And, she worshiped the ground Nathan walked on and those babies were her life. Nathan I believe, wanted me to leave to help Sue with the boys but I wouldn't. I kept my distance and didn't want to be in the way. But, I so wanted to be there for my baby. I can't describe the pain and agony on Nathan's face. On Rick's face. It's damn difficult watching your son's world fall apart.

Sometime around 4:20PM (I'm estimating times because I don't have the report in front of me. If I'm way off, I'll correct later but I've got this stuff pretty well memorized. I live it over and over again) NPPD requested a K-9 from the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. This is the first time the CCSO 9-1-1 center became aware that Rick Goff's daughter is missing and that the children may have been involved.

At 3:30PM the CCSO had sent it's Teletype operator home early as to save paying overtime. At 4:59PM the first BOLO (Be On the Look Out) is broadcast over the Teletype from North Port mentioning a green Camaro, a description of the suspect and Denise. They give her name, age, haircolor etc... The next door neighbor had seen a green Camaro cruising up and down their road and then parked in Nathan and Denise's driveway.

Now since the Teletype operator went home the dispatchers were to monitor the Teletype every 5 or 10 minutes. Sadly, this BOLO was ignored.

At 5:38PM the CCSO says they issued their own BOLO but oddly, it's not in the CAD system which would have notified the deputies in the field immediately on their computers. The CCSO deputies were all over the place along the Sarasota County/Charlotte County border. But they don't know what they are looking for and they are frustrated they don't have any leads. Again, they never saw this BOLO and testified to that. Also, this BOLO isn't listed on a pass on log the call takers and dispatchers read when coming on duty. It lists what's going on, BOLOs etc... after reading it the on coming squad initials it. I have a copy of it. There is no BOLO listed as being sent out at 5:38PM by CCSO. (Oddly the summary of the I/A report says it was sent out at 5:31PM just one of many discrepancies in the summary). So, what do we have here? Deputies unaware and the dispatchers being unaware that Denise could be in a green Camaro. 2 other BOLOs sent across the Teletype are also ignored from North Port. One at 5:58PM and one at 6:46PM. So, IMO, there's no way that Teletype was being monitored. Now is this the dispatchers fault? I don't know who's fault it is. But obviously the time between 3:30PM and 6:45PM were critical for Denise.

Interestingly a call taker (Millie Stepp) testified she knew about the green Camaro but only because she heard about it over a Sarasota County radio. The supervisor of the 9-1-1 had been busy patching radios through to North Port. This takes close to an hour to do.

Okay, so deputies from the CCSO and Rick out at the house aren't aware of the green Camaro lead (maybe Rick is but he's assuming the Teletype is being monitored and the information is getting out). He's pacing and begging for information.

Then Sabrina Muxlow's 9-1-1 call comes into Sarasota County and she describes what her father told her. This is around 6:00Pm. She says her dad saw her cousin with a girl tied up in the backseat of the car and that the girl screamed "call the cops!" You'd think this guy would call the cops but no...... It's his cousin. And instead he lends him a flashlight, a gascan and a shovel. And 20 minutes later instead of calling the cops, he calls his daughter.

hmmm... deep breath here.

Then something truly miraculous happens. At 6:14PM the Sarasota County 9-1-1 center received a call from Denise herself. She has somehow managed to get the suspects cell phone and call 9-1-1. Sweet brave smart girl. She dupes him into thinking she's talking to him all the while giving information to the call taker. She indeed confirms that she's been taken against her will and that she's in a green Camaro. Her call lasts 7 minutes. Until it's abruptly ended with Michael King looking for his phone.

Now things at the house are starting to happen. Rick and CCSO Sgt Floyd Davis listen to Denise's frantic call. Rick confirms it's indeed her. My heart breaks for him thinking of his having to listen to it. But he heard her fighting and he must have been damn proud of her. Her call ends around 6:22PM and Floyd Davis calls the CCSO dispatch and requests a BOLO to be sent out immediately to look for a green Camaro. Finally, at 6:36PM the CCSO dispatch issues it's first documented BOLO telling their deputies (who have been waiting for this) to look for a green Camaro. All along for the past hour and a half they could've been looking for it but didn't know to.

At 6:30PM Jane Kowalski is watching Denise's hand pound the back window of the dark Camaro and hears her screaming bloody murder. She calls 9-1-1 but because she's crossed the county line she reaches the CCSO 9-1-1 center. It is the only 9-1-1 call in reference to Denise that the CCSO 9-1-1 center receives. The call lasts 9 minutes but no car is ever dispatched to the location Jane has described. Jane waits to hear from the CCSO but never does.

The 9-1-1 supervisor testifies "she didn't really know what was going on".

We at the house, are unaware of this call. Jane not only sees Denise's hand and makes eye contact with Michael King, she gives the CCSO call taker cross streets. On the 9-1-1 tape you hear the call taker is rattled, not in control, asking for direction from a supervisor and completely at sea as to what to do. Instead of entering information in the CAD immediately the way she was trained to do, so the deputies can see the information in their cars on their computers, she writes it down on a piece of paper and yells it across the room.

At the same time, Sgt Davis is on the phone with one of the dispatchers requesting the BOLO I mentioned earlier. The dispatcher tells him a little about the call Millie is in the process of taking. She asks Sgt Davis if the Camaro is blue. Sgt Davis says no, he believes it's green but tells her to call the NPPD to confirm. She never does. I don't know why not. It was not asked in the report. She also fails to mention to Sgt Davis that there's another person in the car in re to the phone call Millie's taking. He testifies "if she had, things would have turned out way different".

Also, at the same time the new shift comes on duty. They all initial a pass on log listing the incidents that are occuring or have occured. Updating them as to what is going on. Sadly, none of the 3 BOLOs North Port issued over the Teletype are listed. Neither is the supposed BOLO the CCSO sent out at 5:38PM. They testify that all they knew going in was that Rick Goff's daughter was taken, that maybe children were involved and that K-9 was requested. It was never asked in the report what the on coming supervisor knew or was told considering the other supervisor "didn't know what was going on" because she says "she was patching radios".

I can't tell you what is going on with Denise at this time. I don't honestly know. I assume she's on her way to her final destination. She had been torn away from her children, taken to the suspect's home, brutally raped and terrorized but still kept enough presence of mind to snatch his phone, call 9-1-1 and in a last ditch effort, take off her precious heart ring Nathan had given to her so that he could later identify it. She saved her kids and handed the prosecution their case on a silver platter.

What a hero.

Another BOLO is issued by North Port over the Teletype sometime around 7. From Denise's 9-1-1 call to Sarasota County they glean information on Michael King, where he lives, etc.... That information along with the tag number is in the this BOLO.

Oddly, the CCSO doesn't respond to this BOLO until 8:15PM when they finally issue their own BOLO. The first mention in the CAD system about looking for a Camaro is at 7:02PM and it says gray. I figure Denise is gone by then.

At 9:15PM or therabouts, a CCSO patrol car spots the Camaro and it's Eddie Pope, with the FHP, that stops it and arrests King. There is no Denise.

I don't know what time the search was called off that night. I had Noah spending the night. And kept him the next day while hundreds of people met to search for Denise. Many from FPL are turned away. Mark described to me walking hand in hand with others and being given little red flags to place where they may spot a clue. The searchers search at the end of Salford Blvd because that's where Michael King suggests they look. They still know nothing of Kowalski's call to the CCSO 9-1-1 center telling them he was last seen with Denise in the car turning east on Toledo Blade. They are at the same time searching a small area on Toledo Blade not far from where they arrested King. The CCSO's silence in this matter is unconscionable in my opinion.

I imagine if they would have known about Kowalski's call maybe the bigger search effort would have been along Toledo Blade and not Salford. I imagine her not having to spend an extra day and a half in that shallow grave, naked and exposed to the Florida elements longer than she had to. Or us suffering that day and half agonizing over what happened to her for longer than we had to. The only thing that could possibly account for this silence is cover up. And if it wasn't cover up, it was gross negligence.

There was negligence in how they handled the BOLO's and the Teletype as well. Maybe the thought of possibly losing their Teletype machine for not monitoring it appropriately and being caught silenced them. I don't know. But they knew.

When they called off the search early Saturday afternoon we assumed they had found her but we still don't know where or how or in what condition. There is still a glimmer of hope she's still alive. Shattered but alive. But, no, we're officially informed it was her around 4PM.

deep breath here

She was shot in the head.

I really can't go on. There were several other tragic errors the CCSO made that night. The piece of paper the call taker had written on had been handed to one of the dispatchers who didn't believe her radio was working. But according to the CAD it is the entire time and she's on it. Millie testifies she yelled the info to Dispatcher A but Dispatcher A and Dispatcher B testify she yelled it to Dispatcher B. The supervisor testifies she didn't know what was going on. It was very shoddy work indeed.

We don't find out about Kowalski's call until the day of the viewing. That would be the following Tuesday. We're numb already and for me it didn't sink in right away. The only reason we ever found out about her call was because she persisted in calling the North Port Police wanting to help. They didn't know who she was. Finally they figured it out on Saturday the day Denise was found and had to "request" information from the CCSO. The CCSO wasn't going to give it to them.

Jane Kowalski's interview with the North Port Police Department. They are still not sure who she is.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090117/VIDEO01/901160374&profile=2414&template=video

We find out more from the I/A report but it takes reading it 3 times to figure it out. It's that convoluted and there are so many errors in the summary.

Then we find out that the woman leading the investigation was actually working as Director of Communications. She had been promoted to Internal Affairs just before but because Sherman Robinson was on vacation, she filled in for him.

We also find out that the CCSO treated Jane Kowalski with derision and disdain. They blamed her for giving them erroneous information. She said blue Camaro and said it was a child. They never even followed her up with a phone call.

Sweet sweet Denise. I'm trying my hardest baby to get the bigger, more important story out. I'm sure people are sick of reading about it, but I don't know what else to do. Somehow we must make people aware of what's going on at the CCSO. I just don't know how else to do it.

I really need to write next about all the good things that followed. All the people who came out in droves for your funeral. All the fundraisers. All the hugs and prayers. The on-line community (a piano forum) that raised $16K for the boys education. How everyone's hearts broke and are still breaking everytime your story is played on DateLine or PrimeTime. Of how our families have bonded and we're doing out bests for Nate, Noah and Adam. There have been thousands more angels than villains in this piece. You have your own tree now. And your own classroom! You may get a playground. So many people now look at you as a hero. I'll always remember you put those babies first. In the Catholic church I believe you would be considered a martyr and a saint. Your last thought of Nate and his ring. How your heart must have broke.

What Floridians can do to help The Denise Amber Lee Foundation

2009-10-14T11:44:00.003-04:00

DID YOU KNOW????

That Florida has no mandatory training standard for their 9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers?

YET!
Florida requires barbers, nail technicians and landscapers to be trained and certified.

DOES THIS MAKE SENSE?
9-1-1 telecommunicators are our First Line of Defense in Public Safety and Homeland Security. They cannot be our weakest link!!!

NEEDED NOW!!!

Call, write or email your Florida State Representative and demand that all Florida 9-1-1 telecommunicators be trained and certified to a uniform standard.

Go to www.leg.state.fl.us to find your representatives.

For more information about our foundation visit www.DeniseAmberLee.org

Our foundation is supported by APCO International (Association of Public Safety Communications Officials), NENA (National Emergency Number Association), NAED (National Academies of Emergency Dispatch) and 911CARES.

Dear Coward/Anonymous

2009-10-04T12:18:00.004-04:00

On Friday, I received this blog comment:

"Boy it sounds like he has it so ruff taking vacations every week with his girl friend and parents. And if I have my information right he has had the girl friend around since a yeat ago June. And if it's not a vacation then why does so many people go and who is footing the bill. "

I've recieved many comments from the above individual. I know it's the same individual because he/she seems to use the term "rough" quite often and can't seem to spell it. I don't know who this individual is but I do know that he/she is a coward. They are a coward for not posting under their real name. I also know this person is mean, angry, spiteful, hurtful and ignorant. Ignorant of the facts and ignorant as to human feeling and empathy.

Anyone who would deny my son any sense of happiness and comfort after what he's been through is heartless and they did not know Denise very well, if at all. I doubt they even met Denise. Because if they had met her and gotten to know her, they would know that Denise is the person who drives Nathan forward. Denise would not want him cowering in a corner. He did that and it wasn't very healthy for him. Denise would want him to fight for happiness and fight for change. She drives him. And if the above coward believes that "fighting" for happiness is easy and that is what we do on a daily basis or if the above coward thinks fighting for changes is easy, they are wrong.

I'm very proud of Nathan and my family.

The coward who wrote this is also very ignorant as to our cause. I do not understand how anyone could consider what we're doing as wrong. That is unless they possibly work for or run the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. Indeed, it must be someone very sour. Other than that, I cannot imagine in my wildest dreams who would write this stuff. How can anyone be so odious? So very very cruel.

I invite this coward to call me or email me directly anytime if he or she has questions as to what our foundation is doing.

Dear coward, it is you who are cowering in the corner. Not very rewarding is it?

added edit: FWIW, Nathan did not have a girlfriend as of June last year. I remember June last year and Nathan was struggling to work, living alone with the two boys. I remember going over to pick up the boys every morning and when I did? I would find 60-70 Kleenex's on the floor and videos and pictures of Denise scattered everywhere. Dear coward, you have no clue as to what my son has endured and suffered. So, get off my back. You are a loathsome and a very sad individual. God grant you peace. You need it.

October 2009, a crazy month and so emotional

2009-10-02T13:47:00.004-04:00

October is crazy for us. But it's so emotional and so moving. I'm crying.

Mark and Nathan are in Michigan. Amber and Noah went with them. They are attending another 9-1-1 conference for APCO. Mark and Nate have just returned from the Missouri APCO and are off again in Michigan. It was Noah's first plane ride. I wish I was with them but I stayed home with Adam. Adam is such a cutie. It's been wonderful but I'm missing Mark and Nathan.

Next week Mark, Nathan and I will be going to Colorado for another conference in Longmont.

The following week Mark and Nathan go to Springfield, Illinois. Yes, another conference.

And then the last week of October to Wisconsin.

Nathan is speaking at all of them. The outpouring of support has been indescribable. So many 9-1-1 telecommunicators being touched by this story. I can't describe the letters and emails we receive.

Also this month we have a float in the Sun Fiesta Parade held in Venice, Florida just north of us. We'll also have a booth. And another booth at the Placida Seafood Festival.

Many still ask what our purpose is. Well, Nathan tells Denise's story. Then he goes into problems in the 9-1-1 industry that need addressing. That call takers and dispatchers, in many places, are underpaid, underappreciated and the first to be thrown under the bus when tragedies and/or cut backs occur. 9-1-1 telecommunicators are our "true" first responders and deserve respect where in many places there is none. Without them the firefighters would never get to the fire, the EMTs would never get to the medical emergency and the police cannot prevent certain crimes in progress. He explains why he thinks they needs standards and certification. How they DESERVE that. It's not fair that some counties and townships do not have the same technologies and training standards others do. Also not everyone is capable of doing the 9-1-1 telecommunicators job. Some people are just not cut out for the job! It takes a special person to be a 9-1-1 telecommunicator. A person who has compassion, can think outside the box, make quicker than quick decision, multi-task, and work with dilegence. To get these people and "retain" them they need to be recognized. That there should be quality assurance always. A CELL PHONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE LOCATED BY 9-1-1. Sadly, it takes a tragedy such as Denise's to bring this to light to the general public. The general public needs to be educated as to the proper use of 9-1-1. They need to know that consumer cell phone technology has advanced at such a rapid rate that the 9-1-1 centers cannot keep up unless they receive more funding. Oh, boy. I really ran away with that but as you know I could talk about 9-1-1 24/7.

All good things.

Then at the very end of the month is the Spencer Hearing. Ugh! Apparently Spencer Hearings are unique to Florida. The jury found King guilty and "recommended" to the judge he receive death. Now the prosecutors and the defense go before the judge without the jury and go over the mitigating and aggravating factors all over again. We all get to read our impact statements and we have to go through it all again. I could just scream.

So.... October is busy. It's good. Denise will not die in vain. Michael King cannot hurt anyone else. Noah took his first plane ride. Adam can count to ten and recite his ABCs. Adam refuses to let me read to him and insists reading to me even though he's just turned two. And life goes on. I think and pray Denise would be proud.

Thank you

2009-10-02T13:01:00.012-04:00

It's been a while since I've blogged. I'm not sorry for that. My thoughts have been going every which way and much of them would not make much sense to most people. We wrote a letter to the local editors with a thank you but I need to write more. I wrote that letter out of a sense of duty laced with heartfelt gratitude but much was left unsaid.

You would think things would get easier now that the trial is over. Having the trial over is a major relief. We were very blessed and still are in so many ways.

The judge was so thorough. He crossed every t and dotted every i. He was determined that there should be no mistrial.
The prosecuting team was in a word awesome. I could listen to Lon Arend speak all day. His professionalism was exceptional. He never lost his cool and slowly and methodically presented the state's case against Michael King. His sensitivity was incredible. He had to present the horrific facts all the while knowing our family was sitting there and reliving the pain.
The defense team did their utmost and everything they could to save Michael King. And even though they irritated the hell out of me and listening to them was like nails running down a chalkboard, I was grateful they did all they could. Why? Because there will be less likelihood that this case gets overturned. It was that solid.
The jury, like the judge did all they could to cross every t and dot every i. They sat there in stoic silence listening and paying the closest attention to every that was said. They listened to Denise's tragedy with such strength. I commend them and thank them for performing their civic duty with such dignity.
Police Chief Lewis who sat their every day with the lead detective. Job well done. They too were as sensitive as possible. I was so moved.
And, of course, our family and friends. Oh crap. I'm tearring up thinking about them. My sister, Chris, who came in from Indiana... our friend, Kevin Willett from the 9-1-1 industry from California... Nancy and Kathy who were there everyday... Connie and Sherry from different chapters of Parents of Murdered Children. Dave Dignam who drove Nate back and forth everyday and kept Nate's nerves calm. Nathan could not ask for a better mentor and friend. Sean, Nate's best friend who came all the way from Minnesota. Mark's brother, Steve, who kept the home fires burning for us when we got home. Joan and Jackie who I know I would have been friends with even if this tragedy never happened. Tammy and Jeanine who are always there for us.
The King family, especially the brother who is raising King's son. I know this sounds odd but they treated our family with dignity and respect. I'm so saddened and heartbroken for them. They kept their distance and tried their best not to make us uncomfortable.
The press also treated our family with sensitivity, respect and dignity. The North Port Sun and the Sarasota Herald Tribune reporters were especially sensitive, yet, were able to retain their objectivity.
The hundreds of people we've never met who wrote letters and sent cards from not just across the country but from around the world. I could read and feel their pain. They were truly that touched by Denise's story. Total strangers....... It's humbling.
And, last but not least, Denise. Denise. Denise. Denise. The prosecution's best witness. Her bravery and courage. Her beauty and goodness shining through that horrific 9-1-1 call. Her presence everywhere. Oh, sweetie, you humbled that entire room all except for that one creep who showed no remorse. But, you did it, baby. He'll never hurt anyone else ever again.

I'm sure there's many people I'm forgetting. I did not mention Rick and Sue's friends and family. I'll leave that for them but I thank them, too.

As I said, it's all very humbling to be touched by so many people.

Thank you.

And this on SNN 6 on Friday by Jackie Barron

2009-09-28T19:43:00.002-04:00

Somehow I missed this about Denise

2009-09-28T19:37:00.001-04:00

For Emergency Use Only

By Laura Sperling

Published: Friday, September 25, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 6:40 p.m.

When I called 9-1-1 the other night, my heart was galumphing like an off-kilter washing machine.

I wasn't dying. I was simply freaking out.

I had been driving the inside lane down a dark, crowded, rain-slicked U.S. 41. As the clot of cars and trucks headed south near Sarasota Memorial Hospital, the air suddenly ripped with the odd but unmistakable blast of a wailing locomotive -- so close-range that I thought impact was imminent.

The left half of my brain knew there are no train tracks anywhere near the hospital. The right half was screaming, "SWERVE OR YOU'RE GONNA DIE!" Somehow I didn't do either. Instead, I froze until I realized that the noise from hell was emanating from an adjacent pickup truck.

Apparently the driver was having a little "fun" with his train horn -- an add-on car accessory that seems to have no purpose other than to explode eardrums. One Web site that sells the horns warns that they can "ruin your hearing if you happen to be too close to them when they blow."

I'm reasonably certain that this level of noise violates a state statute, and I'm absolutely sure it can scare the daylights out of anyone who unexpectedly hears it from a few feet away, as I did. It could even trigger a bad accident.

As the panic subsided, I heard laughter, which made me want to tear the horn off that truck and twist it around the driver's neck. But he kept moving south and I turned toward home. On a side street I pulled over, dug out my cell phone and -- heart racing -- dialed 9-1-1.

On second thought ...

"What is the nature of your emergency?" the operator asked.

It was an unexpectedly tough question. Illegal and potentially destructive though the horn blast was, nobody was hurt. So did this really amount to a 9-1-1 "emergency"?

The operator didn't think so, I sensed. She was polite but unfamiliar with train horns. When I tried to describe one, she seemed more interested in getting my name down.

The knowledge that everything I said was being taped made me feel sheepish -- and a bit irrational. What if the hooligan tracked me down and blasted his horn in my driveway at 4 a.m.? My elderly neighbor might have a heart attack. Heck, I might. That would be 9-1-1 worthy, but I'd rather not go through it.

By the time the call ended, the truck/locomotive was long gone and I was perplexed. When I got home, I looked up state law on car horns. Florida Statute 316.271 bans "unreasonably loud or harsh sound," but it's only penalized as a moving violation, not a crime.

It's easy -- maybe too easy

I now realize I should have called a non-emergency line of the Sarasota Police Department. But I don't know that number and, on the road, 9-1-1 is so much easier to remember.

Indeed, it may be too easy. According to a recently released report sponsored by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, nonemergency contacts make up an estimated half of all calls to Florida 9-1-1 centers.

Some calls are just idiotic, like the ones from goofballs complaining about a disappointing fast-food meal.

But even people who should know better sometimes make questionable use of 9-1-1. As you may have read in the Herald-Tribune last week, an off-duty Longboat Key police officer dialed the emergency line to complain about cars on her Sarasota street. The traffic apparently was due to parents waiting to pick up their children at a nearby school.

The story took a darker twist when parents then called 9-1-1 on the officer, who was accused of aggravated assault in a conflict with one of the mothers.

The three threads that run through these examples -- mine included -- are frustration, easily accessible cell phones, and a mind-set that 9-1-1 is the best way to seek help. I doubt any of us were thinking about the collective impact on the emergency communications system.

Experts say a high volume of nonemergency calls can distract 9-1-1 staff and contribute to the kind of chaos seen -- to devastating effect -- in the Denise Lee case.

Lee, a North Port mom, was kidnapped and killed despite urgent 9-1-1 calls from her and witnesses. The information was relayed to Charlotte County dispatchers, but they failed -- for several reasons, including distractions and communication breakdowns -- to pass it on to deputies who might have been able to save Lee.

That outcome is too sad for words. I think of Lee often, but -- judging by my misguided 9-1-1 call -- not often enough.

E-mail: Laura.Sperling@heraldtribune.com

Judge Allows Sheriff to Hold Back Full Report in Lee Lawsuit

2009-09-25T23:46:00.003-04:00

By JACKIE BARRON

jbarron@wfla.com

Published: September 25, 2009

PUNTA GORDA - Nate Lee has to wait a little longer for answers about the mishandling of a 911 call in the January 2008 death of his wife, Denise.

This morning Charlotte Judge James Shenko granted a motion to dismiss a request by Lee for an unedited copy of the internal investigation into the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office 911 Center.

Judge Shenko cited a technicality when Lee's former attorney failed to file some paperwork on time as the reason he won't grant Lee's current request for discovery.

He recommended instead that Lee immediately file his lawsuit then come back to the issue.

The sheriff's office has admitted it messed up when dispatchers failed to alert deputies about a call from Tampa resident Jane Kowalski, a few hours after Michael King had kidnapped Denise Lee from her North Port home.

Charlotte 911 operator Mildred Stepp hand wrote the information instead of entering it into her computer. Stepp then yelled the details of the call to a pair of supervisors nearby.

Kowalski reported seeing a person in distress in the back of a car matching the description of King's Camaro detailed in a "be on the lookout" bulletin already sent to the sheriff's office.

Detectives now believe Kowalski was the last person to see Denise Lee alive. About a half-dozen deputies posted along Toledo Blade Boulevard between U.S. 41 and Interstate 75 never knew about Kowalski's call. Before King reached the interstate he pulled off, shot Lee in the head and then buried her in a 4-foot grave.

The sheriff's office launched an internal investigation after Kowalski called North Port police to ask why no one had followed up with her. Charlotte gave two employees minor reprimands. Stepp kept her job.

Today the sheriff's office argued about protecting a 911 caller's identity as one of the reasons for blacking out big chunks of the internal report. But Kowalski has spoken out several times on local and national television. A sheriff's office attorney also cited appeals in an ongoing criminal case.

A Sarasota jury recently convicted King and recommended he receive the death penalty for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Denise Lee. After erroneously calling Denise Lee by her middle name, Amber, attorney Bruce Jolly called Nate Lee's request for a clean copy of the report a "fishing expedition."

Lee's attorney, Patrick Boyle, pointed out the sheriff's office inconsistent behavior when it comes to the stack of public records. While Lee's copy of the internal report has large swaths of black marker blocking information, a copy given to a producer for NBC's "Dateline" show does not.

Boyle said the "Dateline" copy reveals a statement from a sergeant where he admits "standard procedure would have been to stay with the caller until a unit arrived on scene."

That didn't happen with Kowalski.

"We are in the untenable position of knowing negligence was involved but now knowing how," Boyle said to Judge Shenko. "Every piece of information and every scrap of paper is what we desire.
"Almost two years later we still don't have those documents."

Boyle wrapped up by saying, "There is nobody in this courthouse, nobody in this town, nobody in this state and probably half the people in this country that would argue there isn't a good faith basis for a lawsuit."

Judge Shenko then instructed Boyle to file the suit and fight again for the records. The sheriff's office captain responsible for redacting or removing much of Lee's copy of the internal report offered a small smile on the opposite side of the courtroom.

Lee left frustrated yet determined to find the answers he says his wife and two young sons deserve from Charlotte's public servants.

Reporter Jackie Barron can be reached at (813) 221-570

North Port Sun

2009-09-25T23:43:00.004-04:00

Judge denies Lee's request for complete 911 report

By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH
North Port Community News Editor

PUNTA GORDA -- A judge ruled Friday against Nathan Lee's request to get a "clean copy" of the 2008 Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs report explaining the breakdown in communication between 911 call takers on the night his wife, Denise Amber Lee, was murdered.

Lee says he needs the report for a wrongful death lawsuit he intends to file against the Sheriff's Office.

Based on a technicality, 20th Circuit Judge James Shenko ruled that Lee's attorney's request for the unredacted Internal Affairs report -- with nothing crossed out -- was premature because it came before the end of the six-month waiting period legally required before filing a lawsuit. Had the request been filed in court after the Sept. 12 deadline, the judge would have ruled on the merits of both sides' arguments.

However, Lee's attorney, Patrick Boyle, argued that more than a year ago, the CCSO provided a reporter with the TV show "Dateline NBC" a less redacted copy of the report than the one Nathan was given after he announced his intention to sue.

"Dateline" paid more than $125 for a copy of the report after it was completed.

Nathan Lee retained an attorney last year and announced he was going to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the CCSO. However, the attorney failed to file the proper paperwork with the state on Lee's intention. Lee said he fired that attorney and had Boyle refile the documents.

Lee claims his wife, Denise, 21, could have been saved if law enforcement officials -- who were on a massive manhunt for her since about 4:30 p.m. Jan 17, 2008 -- would have known about the 911 call made by witness Jane Kowalski at 6:42 p.m. that same day. The call was never dispatched to officers.

Kowalski told a dispatcher she saw a person screaming and slapping a window in the Camaro driving next to her on U.S. 41. The car turned left onto Toledo Blade Boulevard and Kowalski was unable to follow. Denise's body was found buried off Toledo Blade two days later.

According to the IA report, a deputy should have met with Kowalski, who pulled into the Toys R Us parking lot in Port Charlotte during her nine-minute call. She even asked if there was a "be on the lookout" for anyone in the area.

Michael King -- the driver of the Camaro -- was found guilty in Denise's kidnapping, rape and murder in August. Jurors unanimously recommended the death penalty for King earlier this month. A judge will decide his sentence in October.

In court, Boyle said the IA report, which is a public document, included the names and specific information about "who did what wrong." However, more than 50 percent of the report provided to Nathan was redacted.

Boyle said the exact report given to "Dateline" is only slightly redacted. He said the report should only have small sections redacted, such as the 911 caller's personal information; instead, all of Kowalski's call and all other pertinent information from the call takers is blacked out.

The CCSO's Fort Lauderdale attorney, Bruce Jolly, told the judge it wasn't relevant that the document was a public record because Lee did not make a public record's request for it.

Jolly said in his 35 years as an attorney, he has only seen two requests for "pure discovery" -- completely unredacted documents -- before a lawsuit is filed.

"Who does this?" he asked the judge. "You don't need this to file. If you believe facts are arguably sufficient that this was neglectfully handled, than that's enough to get through the courthouse door."

Read more on this story in Saturday's Sun.

Saved for posterity. Charlotte County CCSO grasping at straws IMO

2009-09-19T17:12:00.005-04:00

What a crock of you know what! What are they trying to do by saying Nathan has "unclean hands"? What the hell does that mean?

CCSO, county, Lee has 'unclean hands' in lawsuit

Widower of murder victim still plans to file wrongful death suit

Nathan Lee said he wanted to wait until after the Michael King murder trial to seek damages against the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office for not helping to save the life of his 21-year-old wife, Denise Amber Lee, on Jan. 17, 2008, after she was abducted.

On Aug. 28, King was found guilty in Denise's kidnapping, rape and murder. On Sept. 4, jurors unanimously recommended the death penalty for King. A judge ultimately will decide his fate in October.

Nathan originally hired a law firm to file a wrongful death suit against the CCSO and Charlotte County, but the necessary paperwork was not filed with the state in a timely manner. Now, in recently filed court documents, county attorneys claim Nathan has "unclean hands" in not following procedures.

Nathan claims there were numerous procedural breakdowns at the CCSO and "severe incompetence" in the way the 911 call was handled on the night Denise was murdered.

County attorneys are asking a judge to block Nathan's request for an unredacted copy of a Sheriff's Office internal affairs investigation into the handling of that call.

The CCSO launched the internal affairs investigation several days after learning that Tampa resident Jane Kowalski called 911 to report she was at a traffic light on U.S. 41 and could hear someone banging on a window and screaming from the back of a Camaro, as she was leaving North Port and entering Charlotte County. Kowalski told the 911 dispatcher that the Camaro, driven by King, made a left turn on Toledo Blade Boulevard. Denise's body was found buried in a wooded area off Toledo Blade two days later.

However, none of Kowalski's information was sent over the airwaves or relayed to the North Port Police Department, which had launched a massive manhunt for Denise earlier that afternoon. Two call center workers received suspensions and additional training as a result of their actions that night.

Nathan said several law enforcement officers were in the area where King drove on the night he murdered Denise. Had law enforcement officers been given the information when Kowalski reported it, Denise may have been saved, he said.

North Port police learned about Kowalski only after she called the department explaining what she had seen two days earlier. She questioned why her information was not shared with North Port.

Nathan's original attorneys failed to file the proper paperwork with the Florida Department of Financial Services at the same time they notified Charlotte County during the mandatory six-month notice period before a suit can be filed. Florida law sets the maximum amount a plaintiff can collect from a government entity at $200,000. If the court awards more, the Florida Legislature must approve it.

"I have new counsel now," said Nathan, who was recently on "Larry King Live" talking about the botched 911 call. "We are following all of the requirements of the law."

However, because of the paperwork snafu, in recently filed court documents, county attorneys claim Nathan has "unclean hands" in not following procedures.

According to court documents filed by Nathan's new firm, Wotitzky, Wotitzky & Ross, "Charlotte County has cited no legal authority to support its proposition that Mr. Lee has unclean hands under these, or other circumstances. This argument is not only devoid of merit, but it is offensive and should be disregarded."

"I don't even know what they mean by saying I have unclean hands," Nathan said this week. "My wife is dead, my two boys don't have a mother, yet they say my hands are unclean."

County attorneys have blocked Nathan's attempts at receiving the CCSO internal affairs investigative report that he believes contains supporting details for his wrongful death lawsuit. Their motion states that CCSO officials say they have to protect Kowalski's identity and that they are not required to release information prematurely, as it is an "ongoing investigation." Further, the motion states, the county is not "liable for the death of Mrs. Lee."

Although Nathan's attorneys could still file the civil suit without having a copy of the report they requested, they are waiting for a judge to make a ruling.

In court documents, Charlotte County contends if Nathan wants to sue and needs the internal affairs investigation as part of the discovery -- evidence made available to both sides -- he should wait until after his suit is filed.

Instead of providing Nathan with a "clean copy" of the investigation, he says the CCSO gave him a "heavily redacted," or blacked-out, copy of the report, citing it as an ongoing investigation.

Nathan's attorneys claim the investigation was complete more than a year and a half ago and is "clearly not ongoing."

E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com

By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH

Thank you, Mr Whittington of NENA for your support

2009-09-06T21:20:00.003-04:00

God bless you and other 9-1-1 industry leaders and employees who are continually trying to improve their call centers. If we can help you, please, we welcome all opportunities to do what we can.

President Whittington Sets '09-'10 Objectives

Posted: Thu, 07/23/2009 - 08:18

As I begin my term as NENA President and look towards the next twelve months, I offer you four goals for our association. It is up to all of us, every member of the NENA family, to do our part in making them a reality.

•First, we must maintain NENA’s role as a 9-1-1 and public safety leader;
•Second, we must commit to growing our association;
•Third, we should raise the standards by which 9-1-1 professionals are measured by getting behind the Emergency Number Professional program;
•And, finally, we must advocate for mandatory state and national training standards for all who serve in our nation’s 6,000 plus PSAPs.

First, we must maintain NENA's role as a 9-1-1 and public safety leader.
NENA has become the premier public safety association in North America because of our active and involved membership. For me, volunteering for chapter and national committees and attending events and conferences has always filled me with a sense of purpose and prepared me to better serve the public we are sworn to protect. With that in mind, I encourage you to expand your involvement in NENA and to be a leading voice in your center and in your community. Share your experiences and knowledge with those around you. You can be the one who re-energizes your office. You can be the one who pushes for real change in the 9-1-1 system. You can be the one who becomes a leader in moving us towards a Next Generation 9-1-1(?) system. Remember, your participation is instrumental to moving NENA and public safety forward.
Second, we must commit to growing our association.
Every emergency communications professional would benefit from joining NENA. Reach out to those who have not yet made the commitment to be part of our family – one that will embrace and utilize their unique talents and viewpoints. Tell others about the benefits of NENA membership: the support system, the operations and technical standards and best practices, the educational opportunities, the unparalleled informational resources and body of knowledge. Let them know that everyone benefits when we come together to speak with a unified voice. Help them to understand the real difference they can make for 9-1-1 every day by joining our mission.
Third, we should raise the standards by which 9-1-1 professionals are measured by getting behind the Emergency Number Professional program.
The ENP designation is, without a doubt, the premier certification in our industry. Nearly two-hundred thousand people in North America and hundreds of thousands around the world serve in public safety communications. However, currently only eight hundred of these individuals are ENP certified. We need to do better. I call on each of us to make ENP certification a priority in 2009. If you are an ENP, take it upon yourself to mentor someone and help them achieve this milestone. If you are not already an ENP, I strongly urge you to begin the course of study so that you can take the test in the fall. And even if you are not yet eligible to sit for the exam, be proactive. Start participating and accumulating points so that you can become an ENP in 2011 or 2012. It is not beyond your reach!

And, finally, we must advocate for mandatory state and national training standards for all who serve in our nation’s 6,000 plus PSAPs.
Almost every state requires certification of police officers, firefighters, paramedics, barbers, and even tanning bed operators. However, sadly, many states do NOT have requirements regarding the training and certification of emergency communications personnel. It is our responsibility to ensure that any call to 9-1-1 is received with the same level of professionalism and expertise no matter where it originates. I am very proud to say that NENA stands beside organizations such as the Denise Amber Lee Foundation in advocating coast-to-coast certification, and I ask you and your organization to lend your support. Never should anyone dial 9-1-1 for assistance and not get the very best trained public safety professional to answer their call. 9-1-1 personnel are our nation’s first first responders and their training must be viewed as an investment, not an expense. Lives depend on it

These are big goals, but I truly believe that we, the members of the NENA family, have what it takes to accomplish all of them. Like you, I am dedicated to NENA’s success and to improving public safety. If what I propose sounds difficult, let me share this quote from old police Lieutenant of mine. He was a man who loved to be tough on us, not to be mean, but because he knew it would make us rise to the occasion. He said, “There is nothing you can’t do. There are just things you haven’t done yet.” Throughout my career and my service to NENA I have always tried to keep these words and their meaning in my heart.

I thank you for this opportunity to serve NENA, and I look forward to working with you this year. Let’s begin this journey together, so that next year we can look back and say that there truly was nothing we couldn’t do.

Craig Whittington, ENP
President

From the New Mexico Independent

2009-09-03T22:15:00.001-04:00

In the battle against violent crime, we all need to be dot connectors

By Tracy Dingmann 9/3/09 1:08 AM

I was driving with my son the other day when we both saw something that made us laugh.

It was a young male driver and a female passenger traveling down Montgomery Boulevard in northeast Albuquerque in a clunker while waging an extremely physical battle. At first we saw what we thought was mutual rough tickling — but at times it looked like it might actually be slapping and punching.

At one point the woman’s flip-flop clad foot was sticking out the driver’s side window. Were they play-fighting? Re-enacting last night’s WWF title bout? It was hard to tell.

To be safe, the other drivers on the road steered clear of the car, which was weaving erratically. I watched from a distance as the car made a turn onto San Pedro Drive – with the driver and passenger still brawling – and drove out of sight.

What would you think? What would you do?

On a bright sunny Saturday I chose to interpret this odd incident as another example of the bizarre things people do when they drive. I stuffed it into that category and largely forgot about it.

Until a few days later, that is, when I heard about the case of Denise Amber Lee. She was a 21-year-old mother of two who was kidnapped in broad daylight from her home in Sarasota, Florida, and later found raped and shot to death.

A jury found Michael King guilty of her murder last week and will decide this week whether he should face the death penalty for his crimes.

What happened to Lee is horrific. But her death is even more tragic because at least two people saw her kidnapping in progress and called 911 in time to save her.

One female driver saw and heard Lee struggling with King as he drove down the street in his car.

From MSNBC:

While driving on US-41, Jane Kowalski made a cell phone call to 911 to report an emergency. “I was at a stoplight and a man pulled up next to me and there was a child screaming in the car,” she says on the call, placed at 6:30 p.m.

In chilling descriptions, Kowalski says she could hear “terrifying screaming” and that she’s “never heard anything like that.”

After she made eye contact with the driver, she says “a hand came up and started banging on the passenger window.”

She offers to follow the Camaro, but it turned before the operator could respond.

Kowalski did her best to get the operator to dispatch someone to help, but the information taken from her was never passed along to officers in the field who were actively looking for Lee. During King’s trial, broadcast live last week on TruTv, a devastated Kowalski testified about her efforts to get the attention of law enforcement that day.

Another person, a relative of the killer, lent King a shovel and a gas can as Lee lay bound in King’s car. From a few feet away, the relative saw Lee’s knee and head bob up – and saw King repeatedly push them down. He heard Lee (who he had never seen before) scream, “Call the cops,” but he thought it was just a “boyfriend/girlfriend thing.”

The relative called 911 much later, but his information was full of lies and did not help them find Lee in time. Police believe King killed Lee — who managed to call 911 herself from King’s car — and buried her within about an hour of when the calls were made.

I have no idea whether what I saw the other day in that car was a kidnapping or an incident of domestic violence. But I do know that I should have snapped out of it, taken a page from the Jane Kowalski playbook and called the cops.

It’s so easy to glide around the city in your car, whizzing past people and neighborhoods you don’t know and don’t think you have any reason to care about.

It is easy to just try to ignore murders on the West Mesa or gang-related shootings or anything else that looks weird because it doesn’t fit in with your demographic or your class or you just don’t want any trouble.

I mean, why wouldn’t you want to think only about your family and your house and your job and your car and your kids? There’s such bad news everywhere… desensitization is the logical choice, because who wants to face what’s really going on?

I think I was Exhibit A of that particular theory the other day, but I’m going to try to do better.

Hearing the horror story of Denise Amber Lee — who died because no one bothered to connect the dots — really haunts me. Not to mention the saga of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who suffered in captivity for 18 years right under the nose of her kidnapper’s parole officers and vaguely concerned neighbors.

I know it sounds a little sappy, but I think we can all do better.

Nathan's Impact Statement

2009-09-01T21:07:00.003-04:00

http://www.deniseamberlee.org/News.aspx?ID=151

In today's Englewood Sun Editorial Page

2009-09-01T20:22:00.001-04:00

09/01/09

Denise Lee's heroic efforts remain with us

OUR POSITION: There is no doubt the verdict in the Michael King case was just, or that Denise Amber Lee will be remembered by her family and community for her heroic struggle for life.

Above all reactions to the Michael King trial in recent weeks, none is so universal and powerful as the personal.

Our hearts and our prayers go to the family of Denise Amber Lee, to her children, her husband, her parents and all the relatives who loved this beautiful, heroic young woman and love her still.

Justice has been served. King was found guilty by a jury of murder, kidnapping and sexual battery. This was correct.

As the penalty phase of the trial begins this morning, we will defer comment on the question of whether King deserves to be executed for his grotesque crime.

We respect the arguments of those who oppose the death penalty and those who believe it is wrong for society to willfully take a life, no matter the circumstances. If there ever were a case that challenges the convictions of ardent death-penalty opponents, this clearly is it. King's crimes against our society are unforgivable; the family's loss is unfathomable.

Justice has been served, although the legal process seemed only to add another cruel layer to the family's pain. From the outset, the evidence against King was overwhelming. The police work was solid. No other scenario for the crime was remotely plausible.

Yet Denise's family and friends spent many excruciating hours plunged back into the nightmare of their loved one's final hours. They listened as Denise's frantic cell phone call to a police dispatcher was played, sat by as jurors looked at crime scene photos and viewed a bloodstained shirt, and they watched detailed reenactments.

Those who followed the case but didn't know Denise were no doubt revulsed by the words and images. But they, and we, only regard the suffering of others from a distance, no matter how short that distance might be and no matter how empathetic we might feel. The pain of those who loved Denise daily is immeasurable. This was horrifying. We know that much, and our hearts and prayers are with them at this time.

It is a cornerstone of our judicial system that a person accused of a crime must be presumed innocent in court, that he is entitled to the fullest defense possible, that all the evidence against him be aired in public and that he should be judged by a jury of fellow citizens. Our hearts may hate the cruelty this inflicts on a victim's family -- how they are victimized anew by the process -- but our heads understand the necessity of the process. There cannot be reasonable doubt about guilt. There is none in this case. That is how it should be.

Denise's husband and children, her extended family, continue to need our community's support. All gestures of kindness, no matter how small, do help.

The Lee family also deserves support in their effort to see legislation passed nationwide that insists on a higher level of 911 emergency training. The details of case of the botched 911 call is now familiar. But Denise's story should not end with this court case; we owe her the legacy of an improved police system that might prevent such a tragedy in the future.

Ultimately, Denise's legacy will be personal. It will be the heroism of a young woman, greatly loved, who fought as best as she possibly could for more time on this earth with her family, friends and community. No one can possibly forget that.

Yesterday's Sun Paper

2009-08-17T08:45:00.001-04:00

thank you, Elaine!

Life without Denise includes her every day, he says

By July 8, Adam Lee's 2nd birthday, he was counting to 10 and saying his ABCs.

He's so smart, his day-care teacher says, it's time for him to move up to the next class.

Denise Amber Lee would be proud of her boys' progress.

"He's got his mother's brains," said Nathan Lee, 25, of Adam, who was just 6 months old in January 2008 when his mother was abducted from their North Port home and killed.

Before she died, the softspoken, 21-year-old, stay-at-home mom spent time teaching her older son Noah, then 18 months, sign language.

Brothers Adam, now 2, and Noah, 3 1/2, are best friends.

"The two have 10,000 toys and fight over one," Nathan said jokingly of his sons' close bond. "They are doing great. They have their moments, but most days they don't have a care in the world and are smiling."

And they get a ton of love and support from their grandmothers, Peggy Lee and Susan Goff, at whose homes the boys spend a lot of time.

"When Denise was alive, we had a good relationship with our parents, but we didn't go over to their houses as often as we wanted," Nathan said. "Now the boys and I have (been at their houses) 1,000 times more. We are raising the boys together to help them be the best people they can be. We all feel our ultimate responsibility is to make Denise proud."

When Nathan, who now lives in Englewood, isn't spending time with his boys or the family, he works at Best Buy in Sarasota. Before accepting the job, Nathan explained he would need time off to travel as the president of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation. He also asked for a leave of absence during the upcoming trial of Michael King, the man accused of murdering his wife. Jury selection begins Monday in Sarasota.

The foundation was created last year to help fix the 911 system Nathan believes failed Denise the night she died.

He said none of the critical information provided by Tampa resident Jane Kowalski, the last potential witness to see his wife alive, was relayed to Charlotte County Sheriff's deputies or North Port police officers during the massive manhunt for Denise. Kowalski told the 911 operator what she was witnessing in the Camaro behind her, reportedly driven by King -- a young person screaming and slapping the car window.

North Port investigators learned about Kowalski only after she called police to share what she witnessed. Kowalski maintains that, following her nine-minute 911 call, the CCSO has never tried to call her again for any additional information.

Through the foundation, Nathan has lobbied in Tallahassee; Washington, D.C.; Texas; Orlando; and San Diego, Calif., for universal training for 911 operators and call-takers.

"Best Buy has been extremely courteous and sympathetic with me," he said. "They believe in this great cause and let me pursue traveling to conferences."

Nathan has been the guest speaker before thousands of first responders to tell Denise's story. He also has made appearances on the Today show, Dr. Phil, Dateline NBC, 20/20 and other broadcasts.

"This is an opportunity for our organization to reach across state lines and let our country know that the foundation's ultimate goal is to increase the level of training for 911 call-takers and dispatchers, eventually making these standards mandatory," he said.

In the fall, Nathan plans to travel to conferences in Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin and Illinois.

To help generate funds for more trips for foundation members, Susan Goff, Denise's mother, and Peggy Lee worked together with a committee to publish a cookbook. Because Denise was an aspiring young cook, the two moms thought it would be fitting to create a cookbook featuring Denise's favorite recipes, along with those from dispatchers and first responders throughout the country and other parts of the world. They also received recipes from homicide survivors and members of Parents of Murdered Children. Other recipes are their loved ones' favorites.

The cover of "Heavenly Recipes" has a photo of Denise looking down from heaven at Noah and Adam playing on the beach. Inside are several photos of the boys cooking. There were 180 recipe submissions. Presale orders for the $18.95 cookbook currently are being taken on the foundation's Web site, www.deniseamberlee.org.

Along with the cookbook, the foundation is organizing another fundraiser, a golf tournament Oct. 10 at Plantation Golf and Country Club.

"The money raised helps us travel and get our message out," Nathan said.

Although he is constantly working and often is exhausted when he hits the pillow at night -- or the early morning hours -- he always kisses his boys goodnight and tells them he loves them.

"There are pictures of Denise all over the boys' room," Nathan said. "After the boys tell me they love me, they look at the pictures of Denise. Noah says, 'I love you Daddy,' and says goodnight to Denise too. Adam doesn't have memories of his mom, but he knows she is in heaven."

E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com

By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH

North Port Community News Editor

There is a God

2009-08-11T18:32:00.003-04:00

911 operator in Lee murder case calls it quits

Posted:

Aug 11, 2009 6:11 PM EDT Updated:

Aug 11, 2009 6:20 PM EDT

NORTH PORT: A 911 call made during the search for murder victim Denise Amber Lee in January 2008 cast a dark shadow on the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. Now nearly 19 months later, the operator who took the call that sparked an internal investigation is calling it quits.

"She asked for a transfer into a slightly less stressful position of a district clerk," Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Cameron said.

We obtained a copy of Mildred Stepp's one-sentence letter to her supervisor, Capt. Ronald Chandler, requesting the move. Cameron says her recent performance was under review.

"Just lately her supervisor has been working with her on some performance issues, and you can imagine it's been a stressful year for her," Cameron said.

Witness Jane Kowalski called 911, describing a man driving a dark Camaro down US-41 with someone screaming in the back seat. But the call center never dispatched a deputy.

Prosecutors say it was Lee and suspect Michael King in the car.

Husband Nate Lee has criticized the 911 call center, leading an effort to bring state legislation to streamline training for 911 operators.

"I think it's long overdue and I definitely think the citizens of Charlotte County are better off without her as a 911 operator," Lee said. "She was really the last person that had an opportunity to do something to save my wife."

The failed response led to suspensions and mandatory retraining by those involved with botching the call.

Kowalski's call is back in the public spotlight as part of the state's case against King.

On Monday, Circuit Judge Deno Economou ruled the 911 call could be played for jurors.

King's trial begins Monday with jury selection at the Sarasota County Courthouse.

Meanwhile, Stepp will still be taking calls as a clerk inside the district office at the Port Charlotte Town Center mall.

"Everybody sometime in there career needs a break," Cameron said. "I think that's Millie's asking for - a little break."

Newspapers and interviews

2009-08-10T21:09:00.003-04:00

Mark and I have been asked to do an interview tomorrow on how our family is preparing for the trial.

I've been thinking about this and what is there to say? How do you prepare for something like this?

We are preparing for this with a lot of anger, a lot of tears and a lot of heartache. We want justice for Denise. I can't stop thinking of the way she suffered.

For over a year now I've done my best not to expend emotional energy on the person who did this. I've tried my damndest to not think of him. And now we have to.

I'm very proud of Nathan and how well he's doing. I can't say more than that. My heart breaks for him though.

But, there is light. The trial is just another hurdle. A painful hurdle but an important one. We have great faith in the prosecuting team. We have faith in the evidence and the case. I only wish the perpetrator could suffer the way she did.

sigh.

Unbelievable! I think I'm going to be sick. Read on...

2009-07-28T19:29:00.004-04:00

Definitely check out the video on the story. Incredible. It's an all too familiar story. These stories just have to stop. Please, write your legislations and demand mandatory certification for 9-1-1 call takers.

http://cbs4denver.com/local/jeanette.price.aurora.2.1103777.html

Aurora reprimands 911 dispatcher for call

Written by: Brian Maass
July 27, 2009

The city of Aurora has given a written reprimand to a 911 dispatcher involved in a botched call three months ago. Due to systems failures and human error, dispatcher Jeanette Price sent rescuers miles out of their way as they tried to help an elderly woman who was short of breath.

A CBS4 investigation has learned it was the second such discipline for Price for a mishandled 911 call.

Sandra Lowman, 64, died and the city of Aurora has conceded that dispatching errors may have tripled the response time.

"I think that's way off," said Robert Lowman, the woman's son, when he learned of the mild discipline. "I'm not asking for her to lose her job, but she doesn't need to be doing that job. These are life-and-death things and if she can't do that job well and perform, she shouldn't have it. For me and my family and those in my community, we deserve better."

Price did not return multiple calls from CBS4, nor did she respond to a letter sent to her home address.

The city of Aurora gave Price the same discipline -- a written reprimand -- following a 2001 call to 911 in which she argued with callers about the need for a police response.

On July 20, 2001, Price fielded a 911 call from a man reporting an apparent abduction at an Aurora strip mall. He said a man leaped into a woman's car and appeared to be carjacking her.

The caller said, "She took off squealing, I don't think she knows him," as he described the incident.

"If they come back just give us a call and let us know, okay?" responded Price.

"Would you like the car description?" asked the caller.

Price responded, "They're not fighting, they're not yelling, they're nothing."

"He jumped through her window," the caller said.

"So they may have just been playing around," Price responded.

A few minutes later, the victim's mother called in about the same incident and Price answered.

"And how do you know she was carjacked?" Price challenged the caller. "She was not fighting, screaming, did not ask for help; nothing."

The mother told Price the victim's boyfriend had been stalking her. Price's response: "A lot of times they end up making back up together, they end up making up."

Price ultimately categorized the call as non-emergency. Officers on the low priority call arrived 35 minutes later. By then Le Thu Nguyen and her abductor were long gone.

The next day, Nguyen was found dead. Her boyfriend, Omar Green, was convicted of her strangulation murder. Nguyen's family sued Aurora and Jeanette Price over the handling of the 911 call and agreed to a $150,000 out-of-court settlement with the city.

Aurora City Attorney Charlie Richardson defended the latest written reprimand for Price saying it was appropriate discipline given all the facts surrounding the Sandra Lowman case. Richardson explained it was appropriate partly because Price had successfully handled "thousands" of 911 calls since the 2001 incident.

But Jason Jordan, an attorney representing the Lowman family, expressed surprise that Price has received comparatively mild discipline for such serious incidents.

"It is our position that incident alone (2001) should have resulted in her losing her position," Jordan said.

Jordan called it "deplorable" that Price received only a written rebuke for the May incident.

CBS4 has also uncovered a strange call Price made to 911 from her own home. Watch the video clip to hear part of the more than 10 minute long conversation with Arapahoe County dispatchers.

Saved for posterity "Letters to the Editor"

2009-07-28T10:11:00.001-04:00

07/28/09

Not willing to sacrifice safety

Editor:

I hope Commissioner Duffy's colleagues join her in her support of Sheriff Cameron's budget.
The safety of our community and every family in it is at risk if further cuts are made. To reduce the budget further will mean layoffs. That, in turn, will mean increased response times.

Please ask yourself, "How long am I willing to wait for a deputy when I call 911?" Then ask, "Am I willing to take the risk that he or she might get there too late?"

I am asking everyone in Charlotte County to contact commissioners and deliver this message: We are willing to sacrifice many services due to the county's budget problems, but our safety is not one of them.

Jeff Jubenville

Port Charlotte

7/31/2009

Why are Charlotte costs so high?

Editor:

Having lived in Charlotte County for about 15 years, I have watched the typical government costs per voter rise by absurd annual rates with the new benefits provided bearing little relationship to same.

The Sheriff's Office is a blazing example of this, with new facilities and new vehicles of which four or more can show up at a fender bender. Meanwhile, sheriff's vehicles are observed watching red light runners,

speeders and no signal lane changers without any action. These visible situations are hopefully offset by more effective efforts elsewhere.

The voter outrage has dwindled to only an occasional outburst or some success at the polls in electing new players. This apathy is a sad reflection on all of us and something I hope the current commissioners and sheriff have the guts to change. Throw in the current economic

situation and one wonders how the current commissioners and sheriff can look into a mirror and be proud of their inaction.

As to the current sheriff's budget situation, using the sheriff's numbers and the current populations for Charlotte, Sarasota and Lee counties, the cost per capita for the sheriff's budget are: Charlotte, $390 per capita; Sarasota, $232 per capita; Lee, $264 per capita.

It appears that considerable fat exists in county government, especially within the Sheriff's Department. Once again, this voter is asking why.

Mike Reinhard

Port Charlotte

My thoughts: Let's see.. Charlotte spends $390 per capita, while Sarasota spends $232 per capita. Yet! Sarasota County handled four of the 9-1-1 calls regarding Denise superbly, while Charlotte County only handled one and well.... we all know by now what happened to Denise. In any case, it boggles the mind. And Mr. or Deputy Jubenville (I seem to remember seeing his name in the IA and he works for the CCSO, my bad if I'm wrong but I don't think I am) has the audacity to bring up 9-1-1 in his letter. I don't normally cuss all I can say is WTF?

Also in the news this past week was Sheriff Cameron helping a hapless boat while out boating himself. And he arrested two robbers while off duty when they ran a stop sign. What a guy! All he needs now is an "S" on his chest. I would love to see the Sun write a story on just how much this cast of characters gets paid. How much vacation time they get and any other perks they receive. Because the night Denise died they couldn't afford to pay an operator over time to watch the BOLO machine. Yet I hear and would love to have it verified that Bill Cameron is the highest paid Charlotte County employee. Hate to sound bitter but..... something stinks.

Again, all my opinions are my own and just a release of anger and frustration I feel. But Charlotte County really does need to wake up.

The Suns editorial today:

07/31/09

Growth in sheriff budget must stop

OUR POSITION: Sheriff's Office spending must be reined in.

Public safety is a basic function of local government. The men and women who protect and serve the residents of Charlotte County deserve and have our respect and admiration for the difficult and often dangerous work they do. But as work continues on next year's budget, it is clear to us that the growth of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office budget has to stop and the department's spending aligned with fiscal realities.

Over the past few years, taxpayers have revolted against rising local government spending. Budget cuts forced by legislative fiat and exacerbated by revenue losses due to the collapse of the housing market have taken a significant toll on county government. This year alone, the commission slashed $50 million in operational costs and capital projects from the county budget.

Yet the sheriff's office budget since 2004 has risen 48.5 percent, from $40.5 million to $60 million. Over the same period, the population of the county has actually fallen, from about 157,000 to about 150,000.

The sheriff's budget is made up of three elements, including law enforcement, courts and corrections. The corrections element is actually a county function that the commission contracts out to the sheriff. The construction of a new county jail and its current expansion have contributed to the growth of the sheriff's budget, so for the purposes of this analysis, we have backed out jail operational costs.

The result? The sheriff's office budget has increased by a higher percentage. From 2004 to 2008, it has ballooned by 53 percent, or $15.1 million, from $28.5 million to $43.6 million.

Earlier this month, Sheriff Bill Cameron offered to trim 2 percent from his budget in response to a request from the commission to find 15 percent in cuts. Recently the commission voted 3-2 to reject that $58.6 million proposed budget. It remains to be seen whether the stalemate will be settled here or in Tallahassee, where Cameron could appeal to the governor if the commission holds its ground.

The rise in the budget is attributable to two initiatives undertaken by Cameron's predecessor, John Davenport, and continued upon Cameron's election in 2008: pay raises and hiring. We have supported the effort to bring officer pay in line with other area departments, so we will focus on the latter issue. Both Davenport and Cameron have been seeking a ratio of 2 officers per 1,000 residents. The current ratio is 1.8 officers per 1,000 residents.

The figure is arbitrary and obviously costly. Along Florida's Gulf Coast, only Collier County surpasses the ratio, while counties like Hillsborough (1.5), Pasco (1.3) and Sarasota (1.6) fall well short. According to the Department of Justice, the average ratio for areas with populations between 100,000 and 250,000 is 1.9.

The local ratio distorts reality because it includes the population for the entire county, but excludes the 37 police officers in Punta Gorda, where the sheriff's office performs only limited law enforcement duties.

We take public safety very seriously and have no doubt Sheriff Cameron is pursuing policies he believes best achieves our common goal. But the commission is correct to finally tighten the reins on spending in the sheriff's office and we encourage the board to stand firm.