An open email written by me yesterday

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

Testimony of Assemblyman David Koon from New York

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.

Today's Herald Tribune Editorial

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

Thursday's Murphy Monitor

added edit:

God bless Michael and Ave Cantrell with much love and peace. I can't imagine their pain and suffering. Please, I'm not sure how I feel about prayers sometimes, but if you're a praying person, please pray for this family. If you are not praying person? Please send them as many postive uplifting thoughts as you can. They have a young family to raise. They need your love and support. My heart, which is already broken to pieces, breaks for them. Thank you. I feel this family's pain. I understand innately what this man is saying. He just doesn't want this to happen to another family. Losing a child or any loved one violently and through tragic circumstances is heartbreaking enough. To know they could have been saved is, yes, emotional torture of the worst kind.















Suit filed following child's strangulation death

Family wants standards set for 911 first responders

by Jamie Engle
Staff writer news@csmediatexas.com

In October 2007, 21 month old Matthew Cantrell accidentally strangled himself in a backyard soccer net. Last week, the boy's father, Michael Cantrell, filed a federal lawsuit naming the City of Murphy and the East Texas Medical Center as defendants due to what Cantrell called their "complete failure to try to save a 21 month old boy."

"My goal is to make sure someone who calls 911 receives the proper help, the proper response from the 911 operator," he said. "First responders should help the injured child or person and provide medical care. We're doing this so another family does not have to endure what we're going through."

When Matthew's mother called 911, the suit alleges the 911 operator did not instruct her how to administer CPR, nor did the East Texas Medical Center when she was transferred to them, nor the first responders on the scene, two Murphy police officers, administer first aid.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Cantrell said he felt he had two options: do nothing or do something to help prevent this from happening again. Cantrell said he has never before been involved in a lawsuit and that it was a long process occurring over a long period of time. While researching, he said he found some things disturbing, such as the fact that following nationwide 911 procedures is optional at the state level.

There are two main changes Cantrell is seeking. First, he wants to see that people get the help they need over the phone when they call 911.

Second, Cantrell wants to ensure that first responders, even if they are not EMTs, are going to help an injured person. He plans to begin at the local level, then state and nationwide.

"I'm driven and will make sure that people know and learn the appropriate response to learn and do. I would think that anybody who enters a home and sees an injured child would try to help an injured child, no matter who they are and especially a police officer whose job it is to protect and serve," he said. "We want to get the message out that something has to be done to make sure this doesn't happen to another family. A lot of work has already been done. This is the beginning of being able to make change in a lot of different areas."

One of the first changes Cantrell was able to effect was the recall of the backyard soccer net, recalled by the Consumer Safety Commission in September 2008.

"You think about it, most any job you have to be certified, qualified, trained etc., and it is just about bizarre that such a critical job doesn't require a set of mandatory training and skills and test or evaluation for competency before and someone is given such a critical role that can be the difference between life or death," Cantrell said.

"We're going to be working with the 911 national training system called NENA as part of our calls (sic) to make sure those national standards are known and followed everywhere," he said. "For medical emergency phone calls, operators need to be knowledgeable and follow those protocols."

NENA is the National Emergency Number Association. They are having a conference in Fort Worth in June.

Cantrell is joining with the Denise Amber Lee organization to lobby for change. Despite four different 911 calls, Nathan Lee's wife Denise was abducted in broad daylight then assaulted and murdered. The case was on "20/20" and Nathan has been on "Dr. Phil" and spoken in other cities.

"We've talked multiple times. And he, like me, is very driven to make sure what happened doesn't happen to someone else. We'll meet for the first time face-to-face in Fort Worth at the NENA conference.

"He's dedicated his life to making sure that this doesn't happen to someone else, that 911 call centers are reformed to make sure that, nationwide, when somebody picks up the phone and calls with a medical emergency, or for that matter an abduction or whatever else happens, that things are handled properly to make sure that people receive the proper medical care, proper police care or whatever happens in his situation."

A 911 reform bill in Florida in Lee's wife's name was recently passed. The mission of the Denise Amber Lee organization is, "to raise awareness of 911 call center inefficiencies, promote improvements to 911 call centers, and offer assistance to families of murder victims," according to the organization's Web site.

The site continues "Currently, most states have no kind of standards set for the training of 911 dispatchers. Although Florida is making an effort (a bill for 911 reform was recently passed in Denise's name), it is still considered a voluntary measure to participate in the training standards. We would like to see proper training become mandatory, not voluntary. We'd like to learn from the mistakes made, move forward and fix the inadequacies. 911 is here to save lives, and when it doesn't because of confusion and procedural breakdowns, that is unacceptable.

"We need to restore confidence in the 911 system. That is the most important thing. 911 operators and dispatchers should be praised for doing their job correctly. Not everyone can handle the high stress conditions of the job. God bless all the 911 operators out there who care and are working so hard to do their job and keep us all safe. May God give them the strength and guidance needed to do their job to the best of their ability."

"You can only deal with what's ahead of you, or try to at this point, and make sure it doesn't happen again," Cantrell concluded.

A Call to Improve 9-1-1/Editorial in yesterday's Herald Tribune

My opinion to start with article to follow.


FWIW, as our foundation (The Denise Amber Lee Foundation) continues our fight for 9-1-1 improvements in Florida and now across the country, we would never want people to lose faith in 9-1-1. Call 9-1-1 in an emergency. 9-1-1 is wonderful. But it's my opinion it needs standards so that all 9-1-1 centers are on the same page and that they be equipped with the best technology available. 9-1-1 should be evolving along side of consumer communication technology. And we should all learn what our cell phones can and cannot do.

Do you realize many students during the Virginia Tech massacre were all texting 9-1-1? Sadly, you can't text 9-1-1. They didn't know. We need to be educated, young people, old people, middle aged people all need to know what their phones can and cannot do.

Dispatchers are getting a lot of heat. Sadly the dispatcher in Plant City lost her job during this horrific economy. But even more sad and tragic is Jennifer Johnson's family lost a loved on. Jennifer lost her life. Denise lost her life. Olidia Kerr Day lost her life.

Something has to be done. I'm so glad the Herald Tribune stepped up and took on this story. They should be commended.

God bless all call takers and dispatchers out there with compassion, diligence, guidance and patience. We're on your side and we only want to make your jobs easier. You are our front lines, LITERALLY.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090409/OPINION/904091053

Published: Thursday, April 9, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, April 8, 2009 at 6:18 p.m.
The skill, or lack of it, in handling a 911 call can mean the difference between life and death. It can also mean the difference between employment and job loss, as Plant City emergency personnel recently learned.

Their treatment of a 911 call on Nov. 15, from a kidnapped woman who was later found dead, brought the firing this week of a dispatcher and the resignation of her supervisor. Two other people connected to the case resigned or retired.

As the Tampa Tribune reported, an internal investigation concluded that the dispatcher and her supervisors failed to follow up appropriately on the victim's desperate call from the trunk of car.

"This was a human breakdown, not an equipment failure," Plant City Police Chief Bill McDaniel was quoted as saying. "Our emergency communication center is state of the art," he said, noting that dispatchers undergo a 16-week training course.

In this case, errors were punished by job loss. But statewide, 911 mistakes tend to draw light reprimand, the Herald-Tribune's Zac Anderson reported in a series earlier this year.

The Denise Lee aftermath

That series marked the anniversary of the kidnapping and slaying of Denise Lee, a young North Port mother. In her case, a witness's call to Charlotte County's 911 center was mishandled.

Ever since, Lee's grieving survivors have pushed the state to institute reforms, such as standardized training and certification for 911 operators, to help prevent other tragedies in the future.

Currently, Florida has no statewide requirements for training. Standards vary widely by jurisdiction, Anderson reported. Sarasota County's 911 call center is accredited, but it is in the minority.

A bill pending in the Legislature would change that by requiring all emergency 911 dispatchers to earn certification by October 2012. The measure (CS/SB 2040 in the Senate, and CS/HB 769 in the House) gained committee approval, but it still has a long legislative gantlet to run as the clock ticks down on the annual two-month session.

The bill deserves full consideration. Training certification is no cure-all, but it would bring needed consistency to the 911 system. Consistency, in turn, could simplify and improve emergency communication.

High stress, low pay

As we have said before, any discussion of 911 problems should recognize the good work that dispatchers do and the extraordinarily stressful conditions they face, often for relatively low pay.

These workers are tasked with making urgent, knowledgeable decisions, even if the caller is incoherent or panicked. They must be able to use technology, classify calls, select proper codes, find the nearest available police cars, and sometimes talk a person through lifesaving measures.

These are important skills. Statewide certification requirements would be a step toward ensuring that they get the professional respect -- and wage compensation -- they deserve.

Last night News Channel 8, Jennifer Johnson and Denise Amber Lee

Sorry, I still don't know how to embed a video story. There were actually two stories last night on the news. Channel 10 www.10connects.com and News Channel 8.

Here's channel 8's story:

http://www2.tbo.com/video/2009/apr/01/victims-husband-perusing-legislation--47652/#comment

Dear Anonymous

this post was edited by me on April 1, 2009. (I had difficulty sleeping last night after mulling over what I posted. No sense everyone in the world knowing our personal finances but the trips are important.)

This question was asked on one of the comments to my blog. I wanted to address it.

"Peggy, I was wondering if you were going to address the question regarding the washington trip and who is paying? Is it coming from the donations that were meant for the kids? "

You can see it here:

http://toosad4words.blogspot.com/2009/03/pins-and-needles-and-work.html

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for your comment and question. I'm having difficulty wondering why you would ask such a question. But in answer, there is a trust fund that was set up for Nathan and the boys which you can donate to at any SunTrust Bank. And there is the foundation fund which is used for 9-1-1 mishap awareness and to help other families with loved ones who died due to a 9-1-1 mishap.

We would never consider using the money that has been raised for Nathan and the children.

The Denise Amber Lee Foundation was launched in June 2008 as a result of the January 2008 tragic abduction and murder of Denise. The Foundation is a nonprofit initiative of my son, Nathan, Denise's widowed husband, who felt the need to honor the memory of Denise. The amazing response of the community to this senseless tragedy touched Nathan and our family so deeply that he felt compelled to return that support by helping to improve the 9-1-1 system.

It is the Foundation’s intention to raise awareness and promote more efficient 9-1-1 call centers through improved training and better technologies. We also intend to help other families who may have lost loved ones through 9-1-1 mishaps.

If you'd like to donate so that more of these trips are possible please send a check to:

The Denise Amber Lee Foundation
P. O. Box 639
Englewood, FL 34295-0639

Thank you.

"When is Governor Charlie Crist going to step up"

Be prepared for a rant.

Seriously, how can we wait? Right now there are two bills being proposed up in Tallahassee both requiring some sort of mandatory 9-1-1 dispatcher/call taker training. Both bills are flawed.

Both bills expect us to wait until 2012 before persons need to be certified. The bill headed to the house states that police and sheriff departments can submit to the Department of Health their training standards before 2012 and have them approved. This essentially means that the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office can submit for approval their training program and may not have to change their "business as usual".

Either way 2012 is way too far away.

Someone asked me just this morning (and it's what got me fired up even more than usual, I'm always fired up over this but still....) "Can we find out how many people die due to 9-1-1 mistakes?"

NO! There's no possible way to find this out without someone (preferably a regular citizen) overseeing the 9-1-1 community in Florida. How many people have died in Florida due to 9-1-1 mistakes? We have no idea.

We would never have known about Denise's mishandled 9-1-1 call if it hadn't been for Jane Kowalski. See bottom paragraph of this post http://toosad4words.blogspot.com/2009/01/denise-amber-leetop-ten-reasons-i.html


Jane, God bless her, hounded the NPPD until they figured out who she was. Once they figured it all out they had to REQUEST the information on her call from the CCSO. Why? Because they knew they not only mishandled the call and didn't dispatch a car but they weren't monitoring their Teletype and several BOLO's issued by the NPPD were ignored describing the suspect and his car. They were covering it up.

Their side of the story is one person thought the other person called the NPPD while the other person said the other one did. Yeah. Just like the one dispatcher said she thought the other dispatcher dispatched a car and the other dispatcher thought.....................

WE WOULD NEVER HAVE KNOWN.

Who's overseeing the 9-1-1 community in Florida?

Yep. 9-1-1 industry people.

As Nathan said in his speech YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?????

PEOPLE ARE DYING. And it's not just because of human errors. It's because we have a system where all the counties, townships etc... have different protocols and procedures.

We're not using technologies that are available to us. More and more people are using cell phones to report emergencies and we can't find them!!! The two most glaring examples are of course, Denise and Olidia Kerr Day. But how many others aren't being found? How about those football players lost in that boating accident? And how about the errors being made in these 9-1-1 centers? Olidia asked the dispatcher to have police waiting for her outside the station! Our call taker had a CAD and didn't use it! Or at least didn't use it properly because she wrote things down on a piece of paper! And then handed the piece of paper to a dispatcher! Huh? Florida's 9-1-1 "system", if you will, is flawed! Big time.

And more people are going to die. Some we'll hear about and others will be swept under the rug.

When is Governor Charlie Crist going to step up and say "This is wrong. We need to have someone OUTSIDE OF THE 9-1-1 INDUSTRY looking into these tragedies. And then 9-1-1 industry experts from many companies (not just one) looking into the problems, then suggesting and providing solutions! Our citizens are dying and we can do better!"

Having 9-1-1 industry peeps watchdogging their own industry is like having the fox watch over the henhouse.

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to North Port City Commissioner David Garofalo, Senator Nancy Detert, Representatives Paige Kreegel and Ken Roberson for their hard work, dedication, diligence and compassion for our cause. You are our heroes and I'm in tears just thinking about all you are doing for us. You all have been simply wonderful.

But it is my opinion that we can do better. WE HAVE TO DO BETTER.

And to those lobbyists and companies with agendas to make more money and garner more control, I say........ shame on you. People are dying.

Today's Top Story in the Sun

Published on: Thursday, March 26, 2009


Area legislators sponsor 911 training bill

Kreegel, Roberson have authored a bill requiring certification of dispatchers.

House 0769: Relating to 911 Emergency Dispatcher Certification
Senate 2040: Relating to 911 Emergency Dispatcher Certification
Florida House of Representatives
Florida Senate


With the help of all five North Port city commissioners, state representatives Ken Roberson and Paige Kreegel pushed a bill through committee Wednesday that would require certification standards for 911 operators in Florida.

House Bill 769, titled "911 Emergency Dispatcher Certification," is a measure pushed by the Charlotte County Republicans in reaction to the murder of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee, who was kidnapped from her North Port home last year. The Lee family believes the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office botched a 911 call to dispatch units to the intersection where Denise was last seen by a motorist.

"I think it's going to go a long way to improve the public's confidence in the 911 system and hopefully save lives here in Florida," Roberson, of Port Charlotte, said from Tallahassee Wednesday. It was one of three bills he had which successfully passed through committee.

If it completes the committee process and becomes law through the Legislature, the bill would require any person serving as a 911 emergency dispatcher to be certified by the Florida Department of Health by Oct. 1, 2012, through a set of statewide standards. Currently, each emergency dispatch call center mandates its own criteria.

A similar bill also is being pushed by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Sarasota.

The bill was given unanimous approval by the Health Care Regulation Committee after an impassioned speech by North Port City Commissioner David Garofalo, who also is on the board of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation. Roberson said Garofalo told the harrowing tale of Lee's demise to a captivated audience of around 200.

"You could hear a pin drop when he was telling the story," Roberson said.

No one was more surprised than Garofalo by his speech -- the commissioner did not expect to address the committee in his visit Wednesday. But seeing the bill face opposition from Tallahassee lobbyists, Garofalo said he felt compelled to give his all for Denise.

"I'm not going to have her name die in this committee right here," the commissioner, still fired up from the meeting, recalled himself thinking Wednesday.

Garofalo said he had tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke, earning the 5-0 vote. Given that, he thinks he got through to the members of the House that this bill is about more than the Lee family's tragedy.

"It's not just a grieving family," Garofalo said. "This is what needs to happen."


See this story at www.sunnewspapers.net to read both the House and Senate bills.


E-mail: nhughes@sun-herald.com


By NEIL HUGHES

Staff Writer

Denise Amber Lee, the Foundation and making a difference

We are so honored

I feel awkward not highlighting the reasons of our trip. Nathan, Mark and Sean were there to learn all they could about 9-1-1 from the experts in the industry. The president of NENA (National Emergency Number Association) expressed a desire to meet in Washington after he met Nathan at CalNENA the 9-1-1 conference in San Diego.

I wish I knew the details and was a fly on the wall at the meetings. I did glean some information but not as much as I'd like. I believe they want Nathan and Mark to lend some help in drafting the legislation to put before Congress for improving 9-1-1. Denise would be so proud knowing that her story and tragedy has helped change laws that will help save lives.

We can't bring her back but we can do all we can to see that others don't have to suffer needlessly because of poor 9-1-1 standards.

The meeting with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children was also a much needed meeting. He helped guide us on how to expose our cause tastefully. He suggested follow up Primetime and Dateline stories. And even getting in touch with Oprah.

I didn't know that John Walsh and his wife lost their home, too, after Adam went missing. We can't blame Denise's tragedy for losing our home. The economy did that. But the loss of work certainly didn't help matters and probably sped the process a long.

The representative from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children helped us greatly with some ideas on how to handle this. We're still so new at this. But! We want to make this change happen and will do what we have to do.

We hear about so many 9-1-1 tragedies from people. Part of our mission statement is to help other families who have experienced loss of a loved one through a 9-1-1 mishap. It would break your heart to read about them all.

I may start posting some of the stories here. I already wrote about poor little Matthew Cantrell and his family. I've yet to write about Olidia Kerr Day's family and her tragic death. I hesitate even to start naming stories because there are so many important ones (they are all important) that I hate to leave any one out!

Yes, maybe later today I'll write about Olidia Kerr Day if I'm up to it. If I do this I'll be continuing to bring awareness to this issue.

The fight (for me at least) is bittersweet. Bitter because it's not easy reading all these stories and putting our pain out there for all to see. Sweet because Denise was simply so sweet and innocent and doing this for her makes it all worthwhile. And who couldn't or wouldn't do this for her? I believe this was the reason she had to go. It's the only reason I can think of.

Much love and peace.

Matthew Cantrell and 9-1-1

I thought my babies and grandbabies were adorable but look at this little guy! Isn't he or I should say wasn't he adorable. Yes, wasn't. Another 9-1-1 tragedy. And one I simply can't get out of my mind.

Little Matthew was from Murphy, Texas. He, his mom and his older brother were watching TV when Matthew wandered away. He somehow became tangled up in a play soccer net. By the time the mom noticed he was missing he was in deep trouble. Matthew's mom tried desperately to save his life. I listened to the 9-1-1 call today and you can literally hear the desperation in her voice.

It brought back some memories of my own two boys when they were little. One time Brian somehow got out of the house and he was standing in the middle of Carrollton Road. He was standing on the double yellow line wearing nothing but a diaper. I forget what I was doing. I must've been doing something. Because there he was out there in the street.

Nathan when he was two swallowed all my high blood pressure pills. He climbed up the kitchen counter and somehow got the pills. The child proof lid wasn't on tight. I thought he was upstairs napping and there he was in there eating my pills as if they were candy. We rushed him to the hospital and on the way I heard his death rattle. They saw us come in the ER and pushed everyone who was ahead of us out of the way and all the doctors started working on him.

My point is things happen. I wasn't an unfit mother.

In Matthew's case the 9-1-1 call taker can be heard saying "he either tried to strangle himself or someone tried to strangle him". What bull. The baby was only a year old! You can hear the call taker saying that as clear as day! Who did he think he was? God? Accidents and tragedies happen. Not everyone these days wants to harm their kids. Sadly there are folks out there that do great harm and actually kill their kids. But if this call taker had listened, truly listened instead of judging he would have heard the mom (who, yes, tragically was hysterical) trying her best to calm herself down. She literally begged the man to tell her what to do.

Do these call takers become desensitized through time? Do they witness so much tragedy that they don't feel it anymore?

You hear them discussing it afterwards and they're just cold. It's creepy. One says "yeah, she wasn't going to listen. I tried and she just wasn't going to listen". That's totally untrue. She did try and you can hear her telling herself "calm down. I have to calm down. Breathe."

Then the police on the scene separate this poor distraught mother from her son! Because they presumed it was a crime scene? OH MY GOD! HOW DO YOU DO THAT? WHO MADE THAT DECISION???? Then they tell the paramedics that "he is gone" and that it is "now a crime scene". Meanwhile the paramedics testified how the mom could be heard screaming her grief. Well heck yeah! The paramedics understood. I'd be screaming too if they had separated me from Nathan or Brian. Just watch the movie "Dumbo" when Dumbo's taken from his mom. Yes, I think I could become violent. The night Nathan was a suspect in Denise's death, I wouldn't leave. He wanted me to. He asked me almost begged me to go home and help Sue with the babies. Would I leave? Hell NO! Even tho' he was 23 years old, I wasn't leaving. He was in danger. His wife was in danger.

Fortunately those paramedics forced the issue and told the cop who thought he was God, that they were the ones to decide whether there was life.

Sadly and tragically because of all the wasted time any chance of little Matthew surviving was thrown away and it all began with the call taker who wasn't helping the mom. Then just as in Denise's case it all snowballed and like Denise, little Matthew didn't have a chance.

And this cop decides to play God and separate the boy from his mom and treat it as a crime scene? The call taker assumes someone tried to strangle him? Holy Hell.

Excuse my language but I'm quite distraught over this.

Also, Matthew's 4 yo older brother witnessed the whole thing. Mom sent him for the scissors to cut through the net. Does that sound like someone who just tried to strangle her child?

I just look at that beautiful face. He was beautiful! It's obvious in his face and chubby arms his parents adored him! That he was a healthy beautiful boy.

I would think that the citizens in Murphy, Texas would be up in arms saying "hey! this is wrong! We deserve better!" "We can do better!"

But, you know, just like in Charlotte County the City of Murphy doesn't think they handled anyo of this wrong. They feel they handled everything appropriately. Sound familiar?

Hah! Sorry for the rant.

Denise Amber Lee and Matthew Cantrell, In Heaven Together

Today Mark has interviews with some professional video makers. (Sean did this one and it was beautiful. There were glitches tho' in the audio). Anyhow, Mark has to watch the video 3 more times today at those interviews. Since Nathan will be speaking more and more it's important to get something polished.

sigh

Putting your pain on public display is not an easy task. I truly don't know how Nathan does it. I guess he has his purpose and he's driven. My part was reading that IA report 3 times. That wasn't easy either. But I was driven and had my purpose.

I guess the human race can endure all sorts of suffering if in the end they feel they've contributed something positive to their fellow man.

I honestly believe 9-1-1 reform is desperately needed.

I was in communication with a family from Texas last week while the guys were away in California. They lost their son, Matthew, only a year old to a tragic accident. He accidentally got caught up in a soccer net. His mother called 9-1-1. She asked the 9-1-1 call taker 8 (eight) times "what should I do?" She was never told and wasn't connected to a EMT for another 2 and a half minutes. Even after being connected to the EMT she wasn't helped. They said she was too hysterical. Ugh!

The police arrived followed by the paramedics. Shockingly the police separated the mother from her dying son. Then when the paramedics arrived the police with arms spread out blocked their entry way and said that it was a crime scene. At least that's how I read the articles. I got it wrong or the articles did (nothing unusual there) because this is what the father told me:

"The paramedics that were blocked by the police were from the fire department. The first two paramedics had already entered my house. The first two paramedics were met by one of the police officers at the ambulance. This meant that the police officer left Matthew to tell the paramedics that 'He is gone' and 'This is a crime scene'. The paramedics had to advise the police officer that they would determine if he was alive. Matthew was alive, but was left for dead by the police officer and the police officer did delay the paramedics instead of helping them come inside."

Can you imagine? The boy wasn't dead. And he lived for another 3 days until the family decided to take him off life support. He was only a year old. sigh.

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa081119_lj_slater.1ca3c0112.html

It's bad. Bad things happen. And the little Texas town where this happened should be outraged. It was PRESUMED that the young mom intentionally hurt her child! It's just too horrific to think about. It's literally worse than a family's worst nightmare.

The dad says he relives all the facts over and over again. I do the same thing with the IA report. People say "don't dwell on it". Heh! Like we're trying to dwell on it.

Good for this young family from Texas! They are advocating changes in the 9-1-1 system. They already have had success getting the soccer nets recalled. They are driven to seeing that this never happens again to another little boy. God bless them for that and keep them strong.

Nathan is looking forward to meeting this family when he goes to Texas. Denise will not have died in vain and neither will have little Matthew.

Okay. I have to go pack. What a depressing day. Everyday without Denise is sad. And for this Texas family, everyday without Matthew must be as equally heartbreaking.

I don't know how their call taker was reprimanded. I should find out. The heartbroken family doesn't believe they were reprimanded at all.

The dad is supposed to send me a link to the 9-1-1 call. If I get his permission I'll post it.

Our call taker only had to take 12 hours of remedial training. heh. As if that's going to help. Some people are simply untrainable.

Much love and peace.

In other news:

We are moving this weekend. I don't know how we're going to do it. The piano was picked up today. We sent it over to Nathan's house. So, it's not too far away.

Again, much love and peace and please pray for the Cantrell family in Texas.

Little Matthew Cantrell. Sweet angel.

Nathan Lee welcomed with open arms at California convention

I can't describe how moving it is to be working towards improving our 911 system and helping to save lives. I've never been involved with emergency services. I've volunteered for different things in the past. I've been involved with the community. But this is so different. Maybe it's because we're doing it for Denise.


In today's Sun Herald

Published on: Saturday, February 28, 2009

Nathan Lee welcomed with open arms at California convention


NORTH PORT -- Earlier this week, Nathan Lee, his father Mark, North Port businessman Dave Dignam, and City Commissioner David Garofalo -- all members of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation -- flew to California to attend the annual California National Emergency Number Association conference, where Nathan was the keynote speaker.

Although Nathan has spent a lot of time speaking to the media and other groups since his wife Denise's murder, he admitted to being "a little nervous" about speaking about the foundation's efforts to improve the 911 system in front of more than 600 people, but said, "It went really well."

"Before I even started speaking, and after I gave a 10-minute video presentation with the headlines and stories, I basically got a five-minute standing ovation," he said, adding his 45-minute speech was very emotional. "And I got another huge ovation afterward. Everyone is extremely happy that we're trying to change the industry."

The story of 21-year-old Denise's kidnapping and murder made national headlines last year. Jane Kowalski, of Tampa, called Charlotte County dispatchers on the night Denise was kidnapped in January 2008. She spent nine minutes on the phone with the 911 operator, describing what she was seeing -- someone banging on the window and screaming -- in the car behind her, reportedly driven by suspect Michael King, 37. But police searching for Denise never received the information, because the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office did not relay it.

Denise's body was found two days later off Toledo Blade Boulevard, and King was charged with kidnapping, rape and capital murder. His trial is scheduled for August.

Nathan said he met "everyone" at the conference.

"They just can't believe that I'm doing this, and expect I should be mad at the industry, because most people would be bashing it," he said. "I just told them that doesn't accomplish anything, and Denise would not want me to do that. I've been given the opportunity to change things -- how can I not try?"

By the end of the conference, Nathan said just about everyone was wearing a Remember Denise Amber Lee bracelet or pin.

"The people at the conference ... basically the dispatch community of California, everybody basically donated $5,000 to the foundation. They started to raise the money when they found out that we were nonprofit," he said. "The most unbelievable thing to me is seeing that Denise has been able to make a difference already."

Garofalo, a fire captain in Pasco County, called the trip "absolutely moving."

"For them to embrace the cause as much as they did ... Their standards are probably the highest in the country," he said, "but they look at it as they can always do better. I think there's probably a lot of that in Florida. We've been exposed for the bad, but there's a lot of good people in Florida, and I think we're all going to move forward with this."

Nathan also has been invited to speak at several other venues, including the California State Assembly.

"I believe I'll be attending the national (NENA) conference in Fort Worth, Texas, and 911 Goes to Washington, D.C., in March for a two- to three-day event to talk to legislators. I've been invited ... I'm not sure if I can go, but I want to," he said, calling the invitations a great honor. "It's amazing. Other than marrying Denise and seeing my two children born, this is probably the fourth best thing that's ever happened to me."

For more information about the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, visit deniseamberlee.org.

E-mail: annek@sun-herald.com


By ANNE KLOCKENKEMPER

My favorite quote in the article from Nathan "It's amazing. Other than marrying Denise and seeing my two children born, this is probably the fourth best thing that's ever happened to me."

Comment on the Denise Amber Lee website

It's so moving and wonderful the welcome the guys received out in California!

Since their return we have received many emails which, of course I am going to leave private. All express gratitude towards our guys! And it's we who should be expressing gratitude towards them! The people involved in 9-1-1 out in CA were so wonderful. The national representatives were wonderful. They just don't know what a boost of energy this has given us.
God bless them.

This comment was posted on the Denise Amber Lee website http://www.deniseamberlee.org/ :

John P. Says

2/26/2009 I would like to commend you for the work you are doing. It must be very hard for you and your family to relive this tragedy over again. However, you have turned it around and made it something that will hopefully open the eyes of a lot of personnel within our Government and Law Enforcement Community. I personally had a chance to meet you and David at the CAL NENA 2009 Conference in San Diego CA. Your presentation really hit home. I am a Supervisor within a 9-1-1 Communications Center and will personally challenge my Dispatchers to do everything possible with their training and technology/equipment available to them, to make sure this does not happen. Thank you for the opportunity to hear of this tragic incident and can only hope and pray that your message of hope can only save more lives. Thank you again!

Nathan Lee CalNENA press release

FOUNDING PRESIDENT NATHAN LEE DELIVERS KEY NOTE ADDRESS TO CALIFORNIAS ANNUAL 9-1-1 CONFERENCE

San Diego- After a 5 minute standing ovation from the nation's largest chapter of The National Emergency Number Association (NENA), Nathan Lee came through on his promise to not let his wife's death be in vain by delivering a 45 minute speech that left not a dry eye at the San Diego Conference.

"It was an honor to speak in front of a group of such dedicated public servants who perform one of the most noblest professions in saving lives" Lee said.

The 4 day conference attracted experts worldwide in the 911 EmergencyCommunication Industry.

Mr Lee was invited to speak to the California's State Assembly to raise awareness on the importance of 911 training, funding and uniformed standards.

"The fact that Denise's story is able to make a positive impact on such a large scale and so very far away is inspiring to many in the profession and we are beginning to see her death was not in vain" Lee continued.

Geoff Weiss who is the Training Supervisor for the Communications Division of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department was the one behind the scenes and responsible for getting Nathan Lee to California, he had reached out toNathan early on in his ordeal and said that he had hoped he could help in any way that he could, "I am proud of the way California regulates dispatch and even more proud of how the members of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation were not only here for a key note speech but embedded themselves in every aspect of this 4 day conference, they really showed that they have a passion for fixing 911, I was incredibly impressed by the way they were so involved" Weiss stated.

Nathan was accompanied by other Directors from the Foundation including his father Mark Lee, Businessman Dave Dignam and North Port City Commissioner David Garofalo.

The group was able to make many contacts and are very certain that this is "Now" a national issue and will be traveling to Washington, Texas and Nevada for future national events in which the foundation was invited to participate.


I'm so proud and grateful to all who had something to do with sending Nathan and Mark to San Diego. It was so very healthy and good for them both. Emotionally, I know, they both needed it.

Dave Dignam and David Garofalo deserve our unwavering and undying gratitude. They took time away from their jobs and more especially, away from their families to be there to support Nathan. Their presence made all the difference. Yes, Mark wrote a fantastic speech that touched all the necessary points and, yes, Nathan delivered it with truly heartfelt compassion. But both the Daves networking abilities and their support made all the difference in making the entire 4-day trip a success and not just the speech. God bless you and thank you for that.

For the first time in over a year, I feel hope. I see light. I see that Denise has not died in vain. This journey is a journey of hope for so many, many peoples. And we WILL and CAN succeed in making a difference.

Angels in blue take heart! These men did a fantastic job! The hard work is paying off.

And to all the dedicated, compassionate and diligent dispatchers and call takers across the country and around the world, thank you for doing the jobs you do. And for most of you, thank you, for recognizing we are only wanting to help.

God bless California for inviting us. I can't tell you what it's meant to my family in our grieving process. Denise would be so honored and so proud.

A year in the papers

Mark and Nate fly back from San Diego today and I'm trying to get as much done as I can while I'm still on my own. I miss them desperately. I also miss the babies. Sue (Denise's mom) has had them all week. I've picked up Adam from school a couple of the days but that's really all I've seen of them.

But it's been nice having the house to myself and getting so much done without interruptions. I've packed up both guest bedrooms, so they're pretty much done along with the dining room, my music books and I've gone through tons of old pictures. I threw many out. I mean, how many photographs of sunsets do we need? And mountains? Gee, we have tons of mountain photos. So, I threw a lot away. I'll probably regret it but I'm tired of going through them every time we move. I kept all the people pictures and IMO they are what's important. At least for me that is. I also came across a couple more pictures of Denise. That's ALWAYS a nice surprise. Gosh, I miss her.

Okay, back off of that topic or I'll start crying.

The other task at hand, as I posted a couple days ago, was going through all the newspapers and clipping the articles. That stirred up many many emotions and I guess it was best for the guys not to be here for that. Actually, I'm surprised at how well I've gotten through it.

The odd thing is the articles started on January 18, 2008. I've been clipping every night. I was hoping to finish tonight and decided if I wasn't done by 9PM I'd stop anyway. I don't want to get burned out and want to be somewhat human when Mark does get home however late that will be.

I've been placing each article in it's own plastic sleeve along with notes. At pretty much exactly 9PM I ran out of plastic sleeves. And! I had just enough sleeves to end on January 18, 2009. So, it's exactly one year of newspaper articles in the binder. I thought that was pretty cool.

Some of the emotions I experienced going through the articles:

Sadness I guess being the prominent one. Simply sadness. After a year the numbness has worn off and I've come to terms with the fact that she's not coming back and that life will go on and actually needs to go on. We'll survive without her. It's just terribly sad. I think depression is different than sadness. Depression is almost like a place and is a sort of funk people like myself get into and have a hard time crawling out of. Sadness is not a place it's a reality.

Anger probably came in second. Seeing that man's face taking up the same ink and print as Denise and on the same page. It's particularly hurtful when the papers print the pictures side by side. So, there you see sweet, innocent Denise right next to that awful picture of Michael King. One thing I do like about the papers is they always print that same picture of Michael King and it's just the worst picture imaginable of a person. I'm glad they use that picture of him. Some of the pictures of Nate bother me. There's one that the Sun Herald uses that looks like a mug shot. It drives me crazy! They have plenty of pictures of Nate that are better than that. And Nathan's not a villian, he's a good guy doing what he thinks is right. But the worst is when I see Denise and King side by side. It makes my skin crawl.

Peace was another feeling I experienced and you wouldn't expect that. But, because the guys weren't here it was as if I was spending my evenings alone with Denise. Just Denise and I. She was so quiet. I felt that I was doing something for her. I believe someday the boys may want those articles. It's different feeling having a newspaper in your hand and reading an article on line. Just as it's a different feeling actually looking a word up in the dictionary as opposed to looking it up on line. Or looking up something in an encyclopedia as opposed to Wiki. Who knows? Maybe they'll never want them. I don't know. But they are there for them.

I was upset a few times oddly not so much at the 9-1-1. Maybe that's because I feel we're able to do something about that. I no longer feel frustrated. I feel as if things are happening on that front. Slower than I'd like! but things are moving. I was more upset over the politics played last year. I came across the article talking about Nathan trying to see the governor. I would think the governor would want to see him. I honestly believe Governor Charlie Crist is going to have regrets about not seeing Nathan. But we'll see. I came across many of the letters to the editors and the interviews with the candidates for sheriff. It's extremely upsetting and disappointing that Cameron was elected. Everyone said it was a done deal. I guess it was. The good ole boys won again.

Cameron and Davenport IMO put their egos, power, money and politics before public safety. Bill Cameron actually spent over $100,000 in signs!!!! People like us are losing their houses and he's buying $100,000 in signs!!!! But I'm past ranting about it. Ugh!

Karma.

Here's an example of what I came across. Thank goodness someone responded.



Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL)


April 24, 2008
Column: Sheriff John Davenport




No Headline
Over my 30 years of working for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office I have tried to accept the fact that the media report stories the way they wish to report them whether the facts are accurate or not. I think we can all agree that the media is a powerful force who is able to shape public opinion; for most people truly believe everything they read or see in the news.

The inaccuracies have never been more evident than in the infamous "E-911 Call incident." Literally from the first story released on this call, the media has misquoted, misinformed and misled the public dealing with this entire incident.

As sheriff I am expected to be accountable for my employees' actions, and I accept that responsibility. But to paint a picture of incompetence over the entire Sheriff's Office, particularly the employees of our 911 Center is irresponsible on the part of the media and anyone else who has done so.

On the evening of this tragic event the men and women of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office went above and beyond the call of duty to try and find Denise. Remember, she is the daughter of one of our own. All available resources responded to help and everyone worked tirelessly to find this young lady and to capture the man who abducted her. The men and women working the 911 call center that evening were also working in overdrive to do everything they could to try and find Denise. Frankly, in their busy efforts to do as much as they could they made a mistake, something each of us has done on more than one occasion in our lives.

One thing I have come to realize in my thirty year career is that people don't often think of law enforcement professionals as simply being human just like anyone else. We are supposed to be perfect at all times no matter how stressful the situation and we are not permitted to make mistakes. It is very easy to Monday morning quarterback any incident when you have all the time in the world to do so, but many times when an incident is unfolding you don't have that kind of time and must make decisions immediately under very stressful conditions, and sometimes those decisions are not perfect. Sometimes the situation is hectic and confusing and mistakes can easily be made under the worst of conditions. We work in what is often a life and death business and mistakes can have consequences similar to that of a doctor making a mistake in surgery, or a soldier making a mistake in combat.

I am astounded that more emphasis has been placed on the mistake of two dispatchers than on the alleged murderer himself. One would think, based on media representation that we should be throwing the dispatchers in a cell next to Mr. King. Little has been reported of the outstanding police work that was done in this case. It was a monumental effort by so many people and so many agencies that led to this suspect being captured within six hours of the reported missing of Denise Lee, but little is said about that.

In spite of what the media has portrayed, the two dispatchers who made this mistake are good people and good dispatchers who have dedicated many years of service to our citizens. They, more than anyone else, feel terrible about the entire situation, but they are human, and because they are human they feel the hurt, the nastiness, the threats, and all the hate that has been thrown towards them. They do not deserve it and I blame the media more than anyone else for painting them in such a negative light from the beginning when all they have ever tried to do is help people, and have done so many more times than not.

This incident has not only devastated the Lee and Goff families but it has also devastated the Sheriff's Office family who grieves with them. These two dispatchers made a mistake, they admitted their mistake, they brought it forward and they apologized for it. They didn't make the mistake intentionally or maliciously. They have been disciplined and I assure you they will never make that same mistake again.

The media has shaped the public's negative opinion about this call from the beginning, and they have done so with inaccuracies, but the damage is done. I don't expect anyone to change their opinion, but I feel obligated to at least try and make our citizens understand the human side of all of this. I want to thank our citizens for their continued support.


Copyright (c) 2008, Charlotte Sun


Below was just one of the responses in the editorial section, written by a Sue Humphreys in Rotonda West on May 2, 2008. Imagine what she could've written if she knew all the other things that went wrong.


When will the sheriff just apologize?

Editor:

Our sheriff defends the "mistakes" made in the search for Denise Lee by comparing them to the mistakes of surgeons and combat soldiers? Are you kidding? Irresponsible surgeons generally lost their license. Irresponsible combat soldiers generally end up dead. In either case, their "mistakes" typically result in the loss of their own occupation or life.

How does this compare to those whose mistakes, even if on a solitary occasion, aided Denise Lee's murderer? Most of us comprehend that dispatching emergency calls is a stressful, hectic, mostly thankless job. But like a surgeon, solder, firefighter or EMT, you are absolutely held to a higher standard in your occupation. If that causes emotional distress may I suggest a different line of work?

Even without the sheriff's editorial lecture, we understand that mistakes happen and that the dispatchers involved are human, good, and are subject to failures, as are we all. But extra training and a brief suspension for failing to dispatch critical information to their colleagues (they are dispatchers after all) is truly unconscionable.

Yes sir, we know that Denise was the daughter of one of your own and as such we expect your office to "above and beyond the call of duty" (whatever that means). When life-and-death mistakes occur, we also expect you to readily addres them, fire or reassign those responsible, fix internal issues, and apologize to those your office failed.

Instead, you elect to chastise the media and public because your employees "feel terrible."

Are you kidding?

Sue Humphreys (Rotonda West)

So, in going through the articles I went through a variety of emotions. But I made it. And as I said, the most prominent emotion that blasted them all out of the water was sadness.

I still don't understand why Denise was taken from us. Why?

I still don't understand how so many things could go wrong in a 9-1-1 center. How? I mean I don't get it. One thing, two things... maybe. But the mistakes seemed to snowball on them. ugh!

I guess I'll never understand. I'll never get over it.

I really do need the boys home. And I need to put the binder away.

Miss you, Denise. You're beautiful in every picture. And, sweetheart, you're saving lives as I type.

Nathan Lee's speech at CalNENA San Diego, CA

I'm so very very proud of him. Just before his speech they showed a video of his and Denise's story. Practically everybody was crying. Including Nathan who just before his speech had to wipe his eyes. The video received a standing ovation! Mark said that during the speech Nathan was very emotional and had to hold back tears several times. He received a standing ovation at the end as well! After the speech everyone was hugging him and congratulating him. The legislators that were there want to help guide us and are giving us copies of their laws. They've been wonderful. Denise must've been smiling down on Nathan and giving him heart. She'd be so proud of him...........


BTW Mark wrote the speech.

Here's it is:


CalNENA Speech 2009

Good morning everyone.

I want to first say how honored I am to be asked to speak to this group of dedicated public servants.

In my eyes, you truly are the first line of defense for our Homeland Security.

What I would like to talk about today is to first tell you about the Denise Amber Lee Foundation that I started in honor and memory of my wonderful wife and second;

I would like to challenge your thinking on a different way to bring about changes and improvements to your industry.



There are 4 of us from the foundation here this week for the conference.

We hope to target several gatherings like this, this year to learn as much as we can.

We are not experts by any stretch of the imagination.

But we are energized and intensely motivated to do whatever we can to prevent any other family from experiencing the pain and heartbreak that we have suffered.

The famous anthropologist, Margaret Mead, once said:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

So we are here this week to talk to as many of you as possible, to take in the trade show and listen to how you feel we should best be focusing our efforts to make a difference.




As you saw in the introductory video, many opportunities were lost that day to save Denise.

It is not my intent to vilify an industry and a system that failed her that day.

Make no mistake about it; it was a monster named Michael King who murdered my wife.

But when you look closely at the procedural breakdowns and miscommunication of vital information that occurred in that one 9-1-1 Call Center in Florida that night, you can’t help but be outraged.

There is no doubt in my mind that Denise would be alive today if vital information wasn’t grossly mishandled that evening!

And, indeed, over the ensuing months after Denise’s death, we heard from thousands of people from around the world who were outraged.

Many of the most memorable letters and emails that we received were surprising to us, from people in this industry.

We could feel the genuine compassion in those letters for our tragic loss.




We received this touching email from Geoff Weiss, training supervisor for the San Diego Sheriff’s Department.

He wrote....... “Last Thursday I taught my first class since last being in email contact with you.

Although the class was about an unrelated dispatch topic, as promised I took about 30 minutes of it to discuss the story of Denise.

I played the opening Dateline NBC 9 minute piece prior to going on our first break.

Later in the day, I finally played the conclusion..... Nate.... after the video finished I turned around to address my class of 31 dispatchers throughout the state of California and was struck by a chill of emotion as I saw half of them were in tears.

I walked back up to the front of the room, swallowed back the lump in my throat and said, “Remember why you took this job.

Remember what a critical role you play every day in public safety.”





Captain Josh Mindick Special Services Commander of the Boca Raton Florida Police Department wrote this......

“Mr. Lee, as a law enforcement professional, Commander of a 9-1-1 center, father, and husband, I watched Dateline NBC in a stoic silence.

I ordered every Telecommunicator, Police Officer and Firefighter who works in our 9-1-1 center to attend a training block on this tragedy.

It will be watched from Day 1 for new hires so that they will understand the tremendous responsibility that comes with the career they are about to undertake.

During our first session, every one of them was in tears at one point or another during the video.

It is important for my people to hear what the families had to say.

They need to realize the impact that they can make on the outcome of a call for service.”

And he finished with........ “I think they got it!”






Since Denise was the daughter of a detective of the sheriff’s office, a trust fund was set up for the community to donate to our family.

The outpouring from the community was overwhelming. College funds were set up for my two sons, Adam and Noah.

An anonymous donor picked up the tab for the entire funeral.

I knew at this point that I had to do something to give back to the community.

So on June 8th last year, I formed the Denise Amber Lee Foundation.

I wanted to raise funds so that I could help families who experienced similar tragedies but didn’t have the enormous backing of the community like I had enjoyed.

I wanted to set-up trust funds for these families, maybe pay for funerals or help with their debts.

I’m sure many of you are aware of Kevin Willett's group at 911cares.com that provides comfort and support to members of the 9-1-1 community experiencing tragedy.

I think that is an absolutely wonderful idea.

That is what I want to provide for families experiencing tragedies from the shortcomings and inefficiencies of the 9-1-1 system.

The Denise Amber Lee Foundation also is chartered to raise public awareness of 9-1-1 issues and to promote solutions.

I started the foundation with $15,000 of money donated to our family and we are now aggressively seeking donations and sponsorships to carry out our mission.

The largest community foundation in Florida soon partnered with us in our cause. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice brings their considerable resources and influences to our disposal. In this past legislative session of the Florida legislature, Denise’s father, Detective Rick Goff and myself were called to Tallahassee to support pending legislation for a first ever training standard for 9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers.

Unfortunately, it was an unfunded and voluntary bill, although a great first step.

(Insert Nathan’s account of the event.)


Several legislators are ready to sponsor legislation in the coming session of the Florida legislature to make this training mandatory......

This is what keeps me going.....

This is my motivation....

Helen Keller was once quoted as saying....

“Many persons have a wrong idea of true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”




Most of you are familiar with the tragic circumstances of TV’s Americas Most Wanted host, John Walsh.

His 6 year old son Adam was kidnapped and brutally murdered in Florida in 1981.

In his book “Tears of Rage,” Mr. Walsh writes;


“People who haven’t been hit by crime can still enjoy what my wife and I call ‘the luxury of being naïve.’

They go around thinking that it could never happen to them. I envy those people; I truly do.

They don’t know any better.

They don’t understand that, once it happens to you, everything changes, every tiny aspect of your life.

And even though you may look the same on the outside and maybe acting the same way; on the inside you’re coming from a totally different place.”



He continues “To us, even back in the early days, our most basic understanding was always unspoken: Adam cannot have died in vain.

If we had not gone on to do what we eventually did, we would have remained as we were: two grief stricken hand wringing parents who other people looked at and felt sorry for.

But we both came to believe that if you are given the opportunity to change things, then how can you at least not try?”



It has only been 9 months since we started the Denise Amber Lee Foundation but we have had our successes.

Everyone has heard the saying “Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees.”

That saying means when you are involved with all of the small details, it’s hard to see the larger picture.

I feel that is one of our advantages. We don't know the details.

Our concept of 9-1-1, and I think shared by most of the general public, is that you dial 9-1-1 and help arrives fast.

In our pursuit of seeing how we can make a difference, we have taken a more in depth look at how the industry works.

From our perspective of being on the outside looking in, it is crystal clear that the 9-1-1 system is a complicated, complex array of hardware, software, telecommunication networks, personnel and procedures that must all operate flawlessly for the system to work......

It is absolutely amazing to me that the system doesn’t fail more often.





The Denise Amber Lee Foundation has initially identified five areas that we would like to focus on;

Number 1 is training.

We feel that mandatory, standardized training is a must.

The best technology in the world is useless if call takers and dispatchers aren’t trained properly on its use.

Many of you who saw the Dateline and Primetime episodes on Denise’s case know that those shows focused on the mishandled 9-1-1 call from a citizen hero, Jane Kowalski.

Believe me, if you study the Internal Affairs Investigation of that night you will see many other mistakes from lack of training and improper procedures.

It is not my intent to speak on those errors today but if anyone is interested in those details, please see one of us this week and we will be happy to disclose those to you.

From the many emails we have received, mandatory training appears to be a goal of many of you in the industry as well.





The second area of focus for our foundation is appropriate compensation for call takers and dispatchers.

We have discovered that some jurisdictions in this country have starting salaries as low as $10.50/hour for call takers.... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

(here Nathan ad libs and talks about working at Best Buy selling televisions. He points out how much he makes, which is substantially more than call takers and dispatchers in certain areas. He makes a point that he doesn't save lives.)

In emergency services it is hard to say that one link in the chain is more important than another.

Everyone agrees that the call takers job is stressful and at times heart wrenching as they try and console a hysterical caller.

Everyone agrees that if this initial contact with the caller in need of assistance isn’t handled appropriately, it doesn’t matter how good the rest of the chain is, it is going to fail and a tragedy could be the result. If not for the trained and efficient call takers and dispatchers; police would not be able to prevent the rape and murder of a young mother; fire fighters would not be able to recue a child from a burning building and EMTs would not be able reach an accident victim in time to provide life saving first aid.

In an industry where employee retention is an issue, how can we attract dedicated, compassionate, and career minded workers; ask them to endure the stress and undergo the hours and hours of training necessary to perform their duties efficiently for $10.50/hour?

We can’t.

The public has to be made aware of this... and it has to change.





The third area that our foundation would like to address is increased funding for the tremendous financial challenge of bringing Next Generation Technologies and procedures on line.

In my home state of Florida, we pay a mere 50 cents per month, per phone line for 9-1-1 services.

I am confident that if the general public was aware of all the issues we are addressing today, they would willingly pay more.





Our fourth area of concern is quality assurance.

I know that many of your agencies have quality assurance procedures in place.

But we have heard from many industry people from around the country that analysis of how calls are handled and dispatched only occur after a tragic outcome.

There needs to be an ongoing, automatic random review of calls.

It would be a valuable opportunity for continuing education and training to correct errors before they result in a tragedy.





Our fifth area of focus is cell phone location.

It is hard to say that this area of focus may be the most important as all of these items have tremendous life saving potential.

But clearly the ability to know exact location of the mobile phone making the call to 9-1-1 for help would potentially save thousands of lives annually.

This is an issue that is baffling to us and most of the general public.

This is an issue that frustrates most of the people in this room.

We, as outsiders to the industry have very basic knowledge of Enhanced 9-1-1 and basic knowledge of locating a phone caller through triangulation calculations.

This seems to be time consuming, labor intensive, and obsolete information if, as in my wife's case, an abduction is happening in a moving vehicle.

Do the calculations have to be continually revised? My wife, Denise, was somehow able to make a 911 call during her abduction using her killers cell phone. She was able to keep the line open for 7 minutes before he realized what she had done. I know Denise thought that if she could keep the line open, the police would be able to trace her location and save her.

I have a little Garmin GPS screen on my dashboard that I can activate and watch my car on a detailed map, travel down the highway.

It seems to be incredibly accurate down to a few feet and displays all of the names of the approaching streets.

In my area of Southwest Florida, I live on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.

I can hop in my friend's fishing boat for a day of grouper fishing, plug in a few GPS coordinates and head out into this vast marine wilderness of some 615,000 sq miles and find a pre-programmed reef site of maybe 30 feet across, 30 miles off the coast, where we can catch grouper all day.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

WE CAN'T FIND A CELL PHONE WHEN SOMEONE DIALS 9-1-1?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?





The members of our foundation who are here this week need your thoughts and opinions on this issue.

I can’t think of any greater opportunity to save lives than to be able to locate a person in distress that uses their cell phone to dial 9-1-1.

Tell us where the difficulties lie. Help us understand the challenges of this critical issue from your perspective.





I mentioned in the beginning that I would like to challenge your thinking on a different way to bring improvements and changes to the 9-1-1 system.

Once again, it appears to this outsider, as this industry transitions into a Next Generation Framework, there are some amazing challenges pertaining to funding, technology, training, etc…

Again, public perception of the industry is very different than the reality.


It takes the public to urge their politicians to enact laws for adequate funding and standardized procedures.







It appears to me that the industry is woefully under-funded and unprepared to utilize the new communication technologies being brought to market today for consumer purchase.

This is a huge public safety issue.

If the public was aware of this fact they would demand that the 9-1-1 system be provided with adequate funds to fully staff the centers with motivated, compassionate and appropriately paid personnel.

They would demand the center be outfitted with the tools needed to process today’s technologies.

They would demand that policies, procedures and technologies be in place to reduce the opportunity for human error.






I submit to you,... that this public outcry for improvements to the 9-1-1 system will happen at a far more rapid rate by publicizing and focusing on the mishaps in the industry as opposed to the success stories of lives saved.

I don’t know how many of you saw the Dr. Phil show that Mr. Charles Cullen and I were featured on.

And, I know many of you cringed as you watched an hour of these painful stories.

But, if you looked at the message board on Dr. Phil’s website, you would have seen that show generated more comments than almost any show aired during that 2 or 3 week timeframe.

The Dateline NBC episode featuring our tragedy was the #1 story on the Dateline website for 6 weeks.

That’s what this industry needs.

That’s the kind of public reaction and outrage that will drive public policy for change.

EMBRACE IT.






The stories of talented call takers and dispatchers who provide calming directions to a father to help birth his son or daughter are heart warming. And these 911 workers need to be recognized and rewarded. I think of these stories as being miraculous and applaud them.


But I wonder if these stories are not counter-productive to raising public awareness of the shortfalls in funding that, I am sure all of you agree, are facing this industry.



If the public just sees these “feel good” stories, they will feel no urgent need to approve an additional fee on their phone bill to improve a 9-1-1 system that appears to have no problems or challenges.





Let me tell you what The Denise Amber Lee Foundation is doing to prove this theory.

Unfortunately, in our home state of Florida, there are no shortages of 9-1-1 tragedies.

Our initiative in Florida is to build a database of these tragic instances and identify the Florida legislators who represent the victims in those legislative districts.

These legislators are willing soldiers in the fight for mandatory training, increased funding and other issues that need addressing in the state’s 9-1-1 system.

It becomes political suicide to oppose changing the system that may have contributed to the death of one of their constituents.

For those cold-hearted legislators who still don’t feel the need to act, the press is more than willing to publicize their opposition.






My father recently contacted New York Assemblyman David Koon for his advice on making changes to Florida’s laws.

He came across Assemblyman Koon’s story on the E-911 Institute’s website.

Mr. Koon’s daughter, Jennifer, was abducted from a suburban mall parking lot in 1993 and murdered.

Mr. Koon was aware of Denise’s story.

When he heard the pain and disgust in my father’s voice, he also heard the dedication and commitment to do something about it.

Mr. Koon offered his heartfelt condolences and then chuckled and said “I know exactly what you’re feeling and get ready for an education in politics.”

He said, you need to set up meetings with legislators in Tallahassee and appeal to their sense of compassion, fairness, and doing what is right.

And if that doesn’t work be prepared to get in their face and start yelling and screaming.

He went on to say; “Don’t underestimate the power of threats.

Tell him or her that if they won’t support this legislation, you will run against them in the next election and take their seat.”

And he was saying this from experience….This is exactly how Assemblyman Koon’s political career started.

When he asked a local official to have security cameras installed in the parking lot where his daughter was abducted, he was told no.

That local official lost the following election to.... Mr. David Koon. Thus began his political career.

One of Mr. Koon’s legislative priorities was full funding of E-911 in New York State.

His daughter made a 9-1-1 call during her abduction ordeal but, although the call lasted 20 minutes, 9-1-1 dispatchers were unable to locate her.

E-911 was not fully implemented as late as 2003 because of opposition of then governor, George Pataki.

When 4 teenagers in a row boat on Long Island Sound died because no one could locate their position after a call for help to 9-1-1, Assemblyman Koon went on state TV and called Governor Pataki a murderer for not signing this legislation.

The next time the legislation came before the governor, it was promptly signed.







When John Walsh’s son, Adam was abducted, he and his wife assumed that the FBI would come swooping in immediately to catch the bad guy and return their son.

What they found out was shocking to them.

The FBI could look for stolen automobiles but was not authorized to look for stolen children.

To their further amazement was the fact that there was no national database to keep track of the over 150,000 child abduction cases each year.

The shocking reality of their story brought much needed attention to this issue and was instrumental in the passage of The Missing Children’s Act and the establishment of the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children.






Let me give you just a couple other examples where these tragedies energized society and policy makers in a positive way for change.

In 1996, 9 year old Amber Hagerman was abducted while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas.

Four days after the abduction, her body was found in a drainage ditch.

Her parents, with the help of Marc Klaas, whose own daughter Polly had been abducted and murdered in 1993, soon established People Against Sex Offenders.

The intense media coverage and public outrage this case generated forced Congress to draft the Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act which was eventually signed into law in 1996 by President Clinton.

Of course this led to the very successful Amber Alert System that we are all familiar with today.





And this last example, unfortunately, again comes from my home state of Florida.

Jessica Lunsford was a young girl in Florida who was raped and murdered by John Couey, a convicted sex offender.

Couey lived just a few hundred yards from the Lunsford home.

Public outrage over this case spurred Florida officials to introduce and pass “Jessica’s Law.”

This is the informal name given to a law designed to punish sex offenders by imposing a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and lifetime electronic monitoring.

These are just a few, of the many examples of the power of these tragic events.

These are examples of where rapid change occurred as a result of the good people in society, rallying around cause, brought to their attention by media coverage of a tragedy.






As I wrap up my presentation here today let me reiterate that you and I know that these tragedies are truly a small percentage of all calls made to 9-1-1 every year.

I don’t have the statistics but I am sure some of you do.

But I want you to consider that this very small percentage can have a huge... positive impact on this industry if it can be channeled and focused in a responsible way.

You are on the front lines of one of the noblest causes there is; saving of human lives.

You are compassionate and dedicated people who do your best under stressful situations.






The French novelist Victor Hugo once said;

“Greater than the threat of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come.”

I truly feel that the time has come for the dedicated, committed members of this industry to embrace this idea as a powerful weapon for change.

The Denise Amber Lee Foundation wants to position itself at the forefront of this issue.

We want to not only provide comfort and support to the families of victims but also to provide hope…

That their loved one didn’t die in vain.

We want to give them an outlet and an avenue to channel their pain, anguish, and yes; sometimes anger to bring about changes and improvements to this essential service.

We envision a partnership with 9-1-1 industry members and responsible media to drive change to public policy.






It is true that media tends to sensationalize these stories to boost ratings but isn’t this what we want?....

As many people as possible to see the senseless and sometimes tragic outcomes resulting from the lack of funding that would allow you to better train and equip your 9-1-1 Communication Centers?

I have to tell you that the media has shown true compassion to us during our tragedy and seem genuine in their offers of assistance to help us anyway they can.





I want to again thank CalNENA for this opportunity.

We are excited and looking forward to the next couple of days and we are energized for this cause.

I would urge all of you to visit our website at www.DeniseAmberLee.org and we welcome all comments and suggestions and finally let me leave you with this:..

The 18th century Irish political leader and author, Edmund Burke, once said

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

I have seen the evil in our society but I have also seen the good;

and I have enough faith in human nature to predict that if people knew about the problems and challenges of this industry

AND the sometimes horrifying consequences of its failures, they would do something to stop it.

Thank you and God Bless you for your service.

Today's Sun Herald

Published on: Monday, February 23, 2009


Lee to speak at 911 conference in California



NORTH PORT -- Speaking to television crews and newspaper reporters of his wife's abduction and murder is something Nathan Lee has made a part of his mission to get the word out about what he calls a "broken 911 system."

Tuesday, Nathan will share that message with thousands in California expected at a 911 conference.

The story of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee's death last January made national headlines. Nathan, 24, spoke on the "Dr. Phil" show, NBC's "Dateline," "20/20" and on local TV news about how that fateful Jan. 17, 2008, day changed many lives.

Now during interviews, Nathan explains how a foundation of volunteers has been created in Denise's name. Its mission is to improve the 911 dispatch system and bring a state-of-the-art 911 call center to North Port.

On Sunday, members of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation -- Nathan, the president; his father, Mark, research director; Dave Dignam, advisory council director; and North Port City Commissioner David Garofalo, community relations director -- flew to California for the annual California National Emergency Number Association conference. The team will support Nathan, who was invited to be the keynote speaker.

The three-day event will offer breakout sessions and discussions on technological advances, overcoming challenges, and truths and myths about radio systems, history, regionalizing systems and numerous other lessons for 911 dispatchers.

On Tuesday, Nathan will have an hour and a half to tell his story of life after Denise's murder.

Just one year later, his story includes a lawsuit against the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office claiming "negligence leading to Denise's death." Nathan says none of the critical information provided by Tampa resident Jane Kowalski, the last witness believed to have seen Denise alive, was relayed to CCSO deputies or North Port police officers during the massive manhunt on the night Denise was killed.

Traveling on U.S 41 near the Charlotte-Sarasota county line, Kowalski told a Charlotte County 911 dispatcher what she was witnessing in the dark-colored Camaro alongside her, reportedly driven by suspect Michael King. Kowalski said she saw someone banging on the window and screaming. The car turned onto Toledo Blade Boulevard during her conversation.

Denise's body was found two days later off Toledo Blade, near Interstate 75.

The CCSO did not relay Kowalski's information to North Port police until then, when local investigators requested it. North Port only learned about Kowalski after she called city police to see if they were interested in what she witnessed. Kowalski maintains that following her nine-minute 911 call, Charlotte County has never tried to call her again for any additional information.

King, 37, of North Port, was charged with Denise's abduction, rape and murder. His trial is set for August.

"Last year, I learned that when Denise's story was told to a group of dispatchers, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Even the instructor had a difficult time continuing the class," Nathan said. "Denise should be here with our two boys (Noah, 3, and Adam, 19 months) today. I will take every opportunity offered to explain that more needs to be done about the broken 911 system.

"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. "We hope to gain a working relationship with the state of California, which already has increased levels of training."

Garofalo, a fire captain in Pasco County, said first responders should be afforded additional training.

"No one should ever worry when they call for help that a 911 operator, a police officer or firefighter is not properly trained," he said.

For more information about the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, visit www.deniseamberlee.org.

E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com


By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH

North Port Community News Editor