Judge Allows Sheriff to Hold Back Full Report in Lee Lawsuit

By JACKIE BARRON

jbarron@wfla.com

Published: September 25, 2009

PUNTA GORDA - Nate Lee has to wait a little longer for answers about the mishandling of a 911 call in the January 2008 death of his wife, Denise.

This morning Charlotte Judge James Shenko granted a motion to dismiss a request by Lee for an unedited copy of the internal investigation into the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office 911 Center.

Judge Shenko cited a technicality when Lee's former attorney failed to file some paperwork on time as the reason he won't grant Lee's current request for discovery.

He recommended instead that Lee immediately file his lawsuit then come back to the issue.

The sheriff's office has admitted it messed up when dispatchers failed to alert deputies about a call from Tampa resident Jane Kowalski, a few hours after Michael King had kidnapped Denise Lee from her North Port home.

Charlotte 911 operator Mildred Stepp hand wrote the information instead of entering it into her computer. Stepp then yelled the details of the call to a pair of supervisors nearby.

Kowalski reported seeing a person in distress in the back of a car matching the description of King's Camaro detailed in a "be on the lookout" bulletin already sent to the sheriff's office.

Detectives now believe Kowalski was the last person to see Denise Lee alive. About a half-dozen deputies posted along Toledo Blade Boulevard between U.S. 41 and Interstate 75 never knew about Kowalski's call. Before King reached the interstate he pulled off, shot Lee in the head and then buried her in a 4-foot grave.

The sheriff's office launched an internal investigation after Kowalski called North Port police to ask why no one had followed up with her. Charlotte gave two employees minor reprimands. Stepp kept her job.

Today the sheriff's office argued about protecting a 911 caller's identity as one of the reasons for blacking out big chunks of the internal report. But Kowalski has spoken out several times on local and national television. A sheriff's office attorney also cited appeals in an ongoing criminal case.

A Sarasota jury recently convicted King and recommended he receive the death penalty for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Denise Lee. After erroneously calling Denise Lee by her middle name, Amber, attorney Bruce Jolly called Nate Lee's request for a clean copy of the report a "fishing expedition."

Lee's attorney, Patrick Boyle, pointed out the sheriff's office inconsistent behavior when it comes to the stack of public records. While Lee's copy of the internal report has large swaths of black marker blocking information, a copy given to a producer for NBC's "Dateline" show does not.

Boyle said the "Dateline" copy reveals a statement from a sergeant where he admits "standard procedure would have been to stay with the caller until a unit arrived on scene."

That didn't happen with Kowalski.

"We are in the untenable position of knowing negligence was involved but now knowing how," Boyle said to Judge Shenko. "Every piece of information and every scrap of paper is what we desire.
"Almost two years later we still don't have those documents."

Boyle wrapped up by saying, "There is nobody in this courthouse, nobody in this town, nobody in this state and probably half the people in this country that would argue there isn't a good faith basis for a lawsuit."

Judge Shenko then instructed Boyle to file the suit and fight again for the records. The sheriff's office captain responsible for redacting or removing much of Lee's copy of the internal report offered a small smile on the opposite side of the courtroom.

Lee left frustrated yet determined to find the answers he says his wife and two young sons deserve from Charlotte's public servants.


Reporter Jackie Barron can be reached at (813) 221-570

North Port Sun

Judge denies Lee's request for complete 911 report


By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH
North Port Community News Editor

PUNTA GORDA -- A judge ruled Friday against Nathan Lee's request to get a "clean copy" of the 2008 Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs report explaining the breakdown in communication between 911 call takers on the night his wife, Denise Amber Lee, was murdered.

Lee says he needs the report for a wrongful death lawsuit he intends to file against the Sheriff's Office.

Based on a technicality, 20th Circuit Judge James Shenko ruled that Lee's attorney's request for the unredacted Internal Affairs report -- with nothing crossed out -- was premature because it came before the end of the six-month waiting period legally required before filing a lawsuit. Had the request been filed in court after the Sept. 12 deadline, the judge would have ruled on the merits of both sides' arguments.

However, Lee's attorney, Patrick Boyle, argued that more than a year ago, the CCSO provided a reporter with the TV show "Dateline NBC" a less redacted copy of the report than the one Nathan was given after he announced his intention to sue.

"Dateline" paid more than $125 for a copy of the report after it was completed.

Nathan Lee retained an attorney last year and announced he was going to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the CCSO. However, the attorney failed to file the proper paperwork with the state on Lee's intention. Lee said he fired that attorney and had Boyle refile the documents.

Lee claims his wife, Denise, 21, could have been saved if law enforcement officials -- who were on a massive manhunt for her since about 4:30 p.m. Jan 17, 2008 -- would have known about the 911 call made by witness Jane Kowalski at 6:42 p.m. that same day. The call was never dispatched to officers.

Kowalski told a dispatcher she saw a person screaming and slapping a window in the Camaro driving next to her on U.S. 41. The car turned left onto Toledo Blade Boulevard and Kowalski was unable to follow. Denise's body was found buried off Toledo Blade two days later.

According to the IA report, a deputy should have met with Kowalski, who pulled into the Toys R Us parking lot in Port Charlotte during her nine-minute call. She even asked if there was a "be on the lookout" for anyone in the area.

Michael King -- the driver of the Camaro -- was found guilty in Denise's kidnapping, rape and murder in August. Jurors unanimously recommended the death penalty for King earlier this month. A judge will decide his sentence in October.

In court, Boyle said the IA report, which is a public document, included the names and specific information about "who did what wrong." However, more than 50 percent of the report provided to Nathan was redacted.

Boyle said the exact report given to "Dateline" is only slightly redacted. He said the report should only have small sections redacted, such as the 911 caller's personal information; instead, all of Kowalski's call and all other pertinent information from the call takers is blacked out.

The CCSO's Fort Lauderdale attorney, Bruce Jolly, told the judge it wasn't relevant that the document was a public record because Lee did not make a public record's request for it.

Jolly said in his 35 years as an attorney, he has only seen two requests for "pure discovery" -- completely unredacted documents -- before a lawsuit is filed.

"Who does this?" he asked the judge. "You don't need this to file. If you believe facts are arguably sufficient that this was neglectfully handled, than that's enough to get through the courthouse door."

Read more on this story in Saturday's Sun.