http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article1079516.ece
A Times Editorial
Keep recordings of 911 calls public
In Print: Monday, March 15, 2010
Florida's accidental House speaker, Larry Cretul, has not left much of an imprint since taking over last year in the wake of the Ray Sansom scandal. Now the Ocala Republican is manipulating the legislative process on behalf of a powerful constituent — at the expense of sound public policy. Cretul is fast-tracking a bill that would exempt recordings of 911 calls from public records laws, which would make it more difficult to hold law enforcement agencies accountable for the way they respond to emergencies. It is an effort driven more by emotion than clear-headed reason, and lawmakers who embrace open government should reject this effort to keep these recordings secret.
Proposed House Government Affairs Policy Committee Bill 10-03a would allow only public safety officials — and no one else — access to 911 recordings, including recordings made before the bill became law. The measure might as well be called the Relieve Police Officers, Firefighters and 911 Operators From Accountability Act. Exposing the failures of ill-trained, bungling or malicious police, fire and emergency personnel would become infinitely harder.
The bill would silence the voices of victims like Denise Amber Lee, whose horrific abduction in Sarasota County at the hands of a murderer was captured in a series of 911 calls that revealed a dispatcher's mistakes that likely cost Lee her life. Lee's husband, Nathan, courageously opposes the bill and notes that "911 issues need more transparency and not less if we are ever to learn from past mistakes."
Cretul's sudden interest in secrecy stems from the drug overdose death last year of the 16-year-old son of the president of the Florida Farm Bureau, a powerful advocacy group of growers and ranchers headquartered in Cretul's district. The father, John Hoblick, told Cretul his family was traumatized when local television stations played the 911 recording of his older son's call after he found his younger brother unresponsive. No one enjoys hearing tapes of their relatives' anguished calls for help in a crisis. But as Nathan Lee notes, there is a greater public issue at stake.
For example, after recordings from Lee's murder became public, the Legislature passed the Denise Amber Lee act two years ago, establishing voluntary statewide certification for emergency dispatchers. If lawmakers embrace this latest bill, citizens would only be allowed written transcripts of 911 calls. Those transcripts would be available 60 days later, with the individual seeking the record paying for the transcription.
A belated, written transcription is not enough. Transcripts can be ambiguous, and they lack tone and context. As Lee's father, Mark Lee, said about recordings: "It's like a song. . . . Hearing a song is a lot more powerful than reading the lyrics." He also opposes Cretul's bill.
Cretul stacked the House committee last week to make sure the bill passed, 8-5. But two-thirds of both the House and Senate are required to approve a public record exemption, and the speaker is still trying to recruit an influential Senate sponsor. It is never easy for many lawmakers to stand up to a House speaker who has control over the fate of their own bills and budget issues — particularly when initial public sentiment may be on his side. But emotional responses to specific incidents often make bad law. Making recordings of 911 tapes secret would cloud Florida's legacy of government-in-the-sunshine and make it more difficult to hold emergency personnel accountable for their actions in the minutes when residents need them most.
[Last modified: Mar 15, 2010 08:33 AM]
Showing posts with label Representative Larry Cretul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Representative Larry Cretul. Show all posts
Monday, March 15, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Stay in the Sunshine
And editorial on today's tallahassee.com
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20100314/OPINION01/3140308/1006/opinion
Openness can be messy, but it's essential
House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, no doubt is a man of character. Keeping his promise to a friend and constituent who was horrified to hear a 911 call linked to his son's death broadcast on TV, Mr. Cretul is working to exempt 911 calls from Florida's public records laws.
We are sympathetic to his friend. This had to be horrifying. It provides yet another example of how open government and freedom can be messy. It is that freedom, as messy as it might be, and our history of government transparency that we celebrate today on Sunshine Sunday in America, an event created and popularized in the Sunshine State.
The proposed bill would be a blow to open government and to citizen efforts to watch over the actions of government.
The House might actually pass the bill, if Mr. Cretul decides to force it through, as he did in earning an 8-5 passage in a House committee. We urge that it die there, that the House not approve it. While there is currently no Senate version of the bill, that could change in the blink of a political deal come budget crunch time.
If the bill somehow works its way through the full Legislature, as unlikely as it might seem, we would urge Gov. Charlie Crist, who says he opposes it, to use his veto.
While this is a kind and sympathetic gesture on Mr. Cretul's part, it would be awful public policy.
Already under current law, personal identifying information about callers is redacted when 911 tapes are released. That's what exemptions do: They protect inappropriate intrusions into the privacy expectations of individuals in order to allow citizens to know what their government is doing.
But exempting all 911 tapes is not like most other exemptions. This one would remove from citizen review one of the most crucial interactions of the public and its government. Lives and property are at stake when the call is made to emergency dispatchers. How well they and other public safety workers respond might not be the only time a citizen interacts with government, but it might be the only one that ultimately matters.
Ask the family of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old mother of two who was kidnapped from her North Port home, raped and murdered. Her call to 911 was not forwarded to police. The dispatchers were eventually disciplined.
Her family opposes the exemption.
Mrs. Lee's father-in-law, Mark Lee, called it "a bad, bad bill." Her family has worked to provide training to emergency dispatchers across the country, and to hold them accountable. This bill would work against everything his family is trying to accomplish, Mr. Lee said.
We are equally sympathetic to this father.
In our region, local emergency radio traffic already has been taken off the air waves and encrypted, blocking immediate public access and review; now comes this bill, which would exempt review after the fact as well.
The legislative leadership has talked about wanting to make government more efficient. If that is just code for smaller, that is one thing. But if it truly wants government to work smarter and better, it must understand that this must occur in the open, in full public view with provisions that allow the public to identify failures and to fix them.
We are sympathetic to those who want to block nosy neighbors from intruding in family matters. It should not, however, be the job of government to help with problematic neighbors or to compromise all of our rights to access and watch our government.
It is, as we said earlier, another example of the messiness of free and open government. Government in the Sunshine is less than perfect, but as Florida has long known, better than any alternative.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20100314/OPINION01/3140308/1006/opinion
Openness can be messy, but it's essential
House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, no doubt is a man of character. Keeping his promise to a friend and constituent who was horrified to hear a 911 call linked to his son's death broadcast on TV, Mr. Cretul is working to exempt 911 calls from Florida's public records laws.
We are sympathetic to his friend. This had to be horrifying. It provides yet another example of how open government and freedom can be messy. It is that freedom, as messy as it might be, and our history of government transparency that we celebrate today on Sunshine Sunday in America, an event created and popularized in the Sunshine State.
The proposed bill would be a blow to open government and to citizen efforts to watch over the actions of government.
The House might actually pass the bill, if Mr. Cretul decides to force it through, as he did in earning an 8-5 passage in a House committee. We urge that it die there, that the House not approve it. While there is currently no Senate version of the bill, that could change in the blink of a political deal come budget crunch time.
If the bill somehow works its way through the full Legislature, as unlikely as it might seem, we would urge Gov. Charlie Crist, who says he opposes it, to use his veto.
While this is a kind and sympathetic gesture on Mr. Cretul's part, it would be awful public policy.
Already under current law, personal identifying information about callers is redacted when 911 tapes are released. That's what exemptions do: They protect inappropriate intrusions into the privacy expectations of individuals in order to allow citizens to know what their government is doing.
But exempting all 911 tapes is not like most other exemptions. This one would remove from citizen review one of the most crucial interactions of the public and its government. Lives and property are at stake when the call is made to emergency dispatchers. How well they and other public safety workers respond might not be the only time a citizen interacts with government, but it might be the only one that ultimately matters.
Ask the family of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old mother of two who was kidnapped from her North Port home, raped and murdered. Her call to 911 was not forwarded to police. The dispatchers were eventually disciplined.
Her family opposes the exemption.
Mrs. Lee's father-in-law, Mark Lee, called it "a bad, bad bill." Her family has worked to provide training to emergency dispatchers across the country, and to hold them accountable. This bill would work against everything his family is trying to accomplish, Mr. Lee said.
We are equally sympathetic to this father.
In our region, local emergency radio traffic already has been taken off the air waves and encrypted, blocking immediate public access and review; now comes this bill, which would exempt review after the fact as well.
The legislative leadership has talked about wanting to make government more efficient. If that is just code for smaller, that is one thing. But if it truly wants government to work smarter and better, it must understand that this must occur in the open, in full public view with provisions that allow the public to identify failures and to fix them.
We are sympathetic to those who want to block nosy neighbors from intruding in family matters. It should not, however, be the job of government to help with problematic neighbors or to compromise all of our rights to access and watch our government.
It is, as we said earlier, another example of the messiness of free and open government. Government in the Sunshine is less than perfect, but as Florida has long known, better than any alternative.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Charlotte Sun
Bill approved by House Governmental Affairs Committee Wednesday
By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH
North Port Community News Editor
A bill to keep 911 audio recordings from being made public was approved 8-5 in the House Governmental Affairs Policy Committee Wednesday in Tallahassee.
The bill was introduced after John Hoblick, the CEO of the Florida Farm Bureau's 16-year-old son, was found dead on May 30. The teen allegedly died of an accidental overdose following a night of drinking games and experimenting with prescription drugs, according to investigative reports. The next day, a portion of the one-minute 911 call made by Hoblick's 20-year-old son was aired on DeLeon Springs, Fla., TV news.
Hoblick told Government Affairs Policy Committee House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, that hearing the 911 tape brings back painful memories. He asked Cretul to ban the release of 911 tapes to the public.
The bill would make transcripts of a 911 tapes available after 60 days and allows a judge to decide if a tape can be released "upon a showing of good cause."
Not everyone believes the bill is good for Floridians.
"Can I go to the House Speaker and ask for an exemption to the Florida Sunshine Law?" said Barbara Peterson, president of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee. The foundation is a nonprofit group that lobbies for open government. "I'm no one, so I wouldn't get preferential treatment. There is someone who is well-known -- Nathan Lee, who is lobbying for 911 standards, and he is against this bill. He too has been impacted by a family member's death, and he believes 911 calls should be transparent."
Lee, who could not attend Wednesday's hearing because he was receiving a national citizen advocacy award from the E911 Institute in Washington, D.C., wrote a letter to the committee.
"We believe 911 issues need more transparency and not less if we are everto learn from past mistakes," he wrote. "Five 911 calls were made the day my wife, Denise Amber Lee, was kidnapped from our home (in January 2008 in North Port) by a complete stranger. One was made by Denise herself when she dialed 911 with her killer's cell phone without his knowledge.
"During the recent murder trial, we had to listen to over six minutes of this painful call where she begged for her life, desperately pleading to come home to me and our two boys," he wrote. "I understand the pain and suffering of having to listen to tragic 911 calls. Another nine-minute 911 call was made that day from a bystander. She provided the exact location ... (but the call) was never dispatched."
The bill is on a fast track to the House floor.
Gov. Charlie Crist said he thinks the tapes ought to remain available but backers of the legislation say they're an invasion of privacy. Crist has indicated he would not sign the bill if it makes it to his desk.
The News Service of Florida and Associated Press contributed to this report.
By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH
North Port Community News Editor
A bill to keep 911 audio recordings from being made public was approved 8-5 in the House Governmental Affairs Policy Committee Wednesday in Tallahassee.
The bill was introduced after John Hoblick, the CEO of the Florida Farm Bureau's 16-year-old son, was found dead on May 30. The teen allegedly died of an accidental overdose following a night of drinking games and experimenting with prescription drugs, according to investigative reports. The next day, a portion of the one-minute 911 call made by Hoblick's 20-year-old son was aired on DeLeon Springs, Fla., TV news.
Hoblick told Government Affairs Policy Committee House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, that hearing the 911 tape brings back painful memories. He asked Cretul to ban the release of 911 tapes to the public.
The bill would make transcripts of a 911 tapes available after 60 days and allows a judge to decide if a tape can be released "upon a showing of good cause."
Not everyone believes the bill is good for Floridians.
"Can I go to the House Speaker and ask for an exemption to the Florida Sunshine Law?" said Barbara Peterson, president of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee. The foundation is a nonprofit group that lobbies for open government. "I'm no one, so I wouldn't get preferential treatment. There is someone who is well-known -- Nathan Lee, who is lobbying for 911 standards, and he is against this bill. He too has been impacted by a family member's death, and he believes 911 calls should be transparent."
Lee, who could not attend Wednesday's hearing because he was receiving a national citizen advocacy award from the E911 Institute in Washington, D.C., wrote a letter to the committee.
"We believe 911 issues need more transparency and not less if we are everto learn from past mistakes," he wrote. "Five 911 calls were made the day my wife, Denise Amber Lee, was kidnapped from our home (in January 2008 in North Port) by a complete stranger. One was made by Denise herself when she dialed 911 with her killer's cell phone without his knowledge.
"During the recent murder trial, we had to listen to over six minutes of this painful call where she begged for her life, desperately pleading to come home to me and our two boys," he wrote. "I understand the pain and suffering of having to listen to tragic 911 calls. Another nine-minute 911 call was made that day from a bystander. She provided the exact location ... (but the call) was never dispatched."
The bill is on a fast track to the House floor.
Gov. Charlie Crist said he thinks the tapes ought to remain available but backers of the legislation say they're an invasion of privacy. Crist has indicated he would not sign the bill if it makes it to his desk.
The News Service of Florida and Associated Press contributed to this report.
Palm Beach Post
House leader pushes bill to keep 911 calls private, at behest of GOP contributor
By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Updated: 8:16 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Posted: 7:13 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2010
TALLAHASSEE — House Speaker Larry Cretul is pushing a measure to make 911 calls secret, on behalf of the president of an association that has contributed nearly $30,000 the state GOP in the past two years.
The controversial proposal has angered some crime victims, who object that it's taking attention away from their efforts to require training for emergency dispatchers.
Cretul used an uncommon procedural maneuver to ensure the bill's passage this morning. He temporarily assigned one of his top lieutenants, House Speaker Pro Tem Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton, to the Government Accountability Policy Council meeting to cast a vote in favor of the measure (PCB GAP 10-3).
The committee approved it with an 8-5 vote this morning. To date, the bill lacks a Senate sponsor.
It is unusual for a House Speaker or Senate President to take a personal interest in a bill's success, lawmakers acknowledge. And Cretul's staff, along with council chairman Rob Schenck, the bill's sponsor, had refused to link Cretul with the bill until the Ocala Republican himself said that he is backing the bill at the behest of Florida Farm Bureau President John Hoblick. The Florida Farm Bureau has contributed $29,000 to the Republican Party of Florida since 2008.
Hoblick's 16-year-old son Jake died from a lethal combination of alcohol and illegal prescription drugs. Hoblick, out of town when his son Jake died, heard his older son John's 911 call on the news and asked Cretul to do something about keeping the emergency calls out of the public domain.
Making the calls secret spares victims and their families the trauma of reliving the tragedies when they are broadcast on television or the Internet, Cretul said. Transcripts of the tapes would be available 60 days later.
"When those folks are calling in, they're generally calling in for help. In some cases, the situations are tragic. In the case of the gentleman that first brought it to my attention, his was a 16-year-old son that had been found after doing something he shouldn't have been doing, by his older brother. You know. It has to be difficult. It is difficult for those families," Cretul, R-Ocala, said.
But Rep. Rick Kriseman, a St. Petersburg Democrat, objected that the transcripts are not available to the victims of the 911 calls unless they made the calls themselves.
Kriseman, a lawyer who voted against the bill, also said automobile manufacturer Toyota may not have responded to quickly to runaway cars without the 911 tapes.
"Had it not been for the recording, the pressure that's now being put on Toyota would not have happened. Because it was through that recording that we learned about the problem with the gas pedals and all the other associated problems. That's a protection that we're losing by putting this in place," Kriseman said.
The husband of Denise Amber Lee, a Northport woman who was murdered after a botched 911 call, pleaded in an e-mail to Cretul and Schenck not to pass the bill, in a message that Cretul apparently ignored until it was called to his attention long after the vote.
Nathan Lee also asked that his message be read at Schenck's committee, but Schenck made no reference to Lee's message at the meeting.
"We believe 9-1-1 issues need more transparency and not less if we are ever to learn from past mistakes," Lee wrote.
In the e-mail, Lee details an eyewitness 911 call that could have saved his late wife's life, had it been handled correctly.
"She provided the exact location of this event and even though there were, by all accounts, four police cars within a mile of this call, it was never dispatched. This call was, obviously, grossly mishandled and would have resulted in the saving of Denise's life," Lee wrote.
"This call was hidden from the public and myself. And even hidden from the police department who was actively investigating the case and searching for my wife for two days. The subsequent internal affairs investigation shows the communication center and agency who took this crucial call were immediately aware that the call was about Denise. The call was suppressed. Had the eyewitness not contacted the North Port Police Department, we may never have known about her call. And the prosecution would have lost the last eyewitness to see my wife alive," he wrote.
Cretul said he supports the 911 training bill.
"But my whole interest in this issue has been watching what it also does to families and what it does to people that call in. They become suddenly out there for all the world to see," Cretul said in an interview. "This is a very tough, very difficult issue. Very sensitive in all respects."
The Lee family is familiar with the pain associated with the 911 calls. A six-minute 911 call made by Denise Amber Lee pleading for her life while she was held captive by the man who was later convicted of murdering her is used in training sessions throughout the nation, Nathan's father Mark Lee said.
The family often attends such sessions, he said.
"We go out of the room. We don't want to listen to it. We don't want to hear it. But if it's helping those people train and be better listeners for the next Denise that calls, it's worth it," Mark Lee said. "Now, we're going to lock those up and we're going to save somebody's feelings. The tragedy isn't the call that was made to 911. The tragedy is what happened."
Despite Cretul's clout in the House, the bill lacks a Senate sponsor.
Sen. Garrett Richter had originally agreed to run a companion for Schenck, R-Spring Hill, but backed off the bill even before controversy surrounding it -- First Amendment and civil rights lawyers also staunchly oppose it -- erupted this week. The Naples Republican said he won't sponsor the measure
By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Updated: 8:16 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Posted: 7:13 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2010
TALLAHASSEE — House Speaker Larry Cretul is pushing a measure to make 911 calls secret, on behalf of the president of an association that has contributed nearly $30,000 the state GOP in the past two years.
The controversial proposal has angered some crime victims, who object that it's taking attention away from their efforts to require training for emergency dispatchers.
Cretul used an uncommon procedural maneuver to ensure the bill's passage this morning. He temporarily assigned one of his top lieutenants, House Speaker Pro Tem Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton, to the Government Accountability Policy Council meeting to cast a vote in favor of the measure (PCB GAP 10-3).
The committee approved it with an 8-5 vote this morning. To date, the bill lacks a Senate sponsor.
It is unusual for a House Speaker or Senate President to take a personal interest in a bill's success, lawmakers acknowledge. And Cretul's staff, along with council chairman Rob Schenck, the bill's sponsor, had refused to link Cretul with the bill until the Ocala Republican himself said that he is backing the bill at the behest of Florida Farm Bureau President John Hoblick. The Florida Farm Bureau has contributed $29,000 to the Republican Party of Florida since 2008.
Hoblick's 16-year-old son Jake died from a lethal combination of alcohol and illegal prescription drugs. Hoblick, out of town when his son Jake died, heard his older son John's 911 call on the news and asked Cretul to do something about keeping the emergency calls out of the public domain.
Making the calls secret spares victims and their families the trauma of reliving the tragedies when they are broadcast on television or the Internet, Cretul said. Transcripts of the tapes would be available 60 days later.
"When those folks are calling in, they're generally calling in for help. In some cases, the situations are tragic. In the case of the gentleman that first brought it to my attention, his was a 16-year-old son that had been found after doing something he shouldn't have been doing, by his older brother. You know. It has to be difficult. It is difficult for those families," Cretul, R-Ocala, said.
But Rep. Rick Kriseman, a St. Petersburg Democrat, objected that the transcripts are not available to the victims of the 911 calls unless they made the calls themselves.
Kriseman, a lawyer who voted against the bill, also said automobile manufacturer Toyota may not have responded to quickly to runaway cars without the 911 tapes.
"Had it not been for the recording, the pressure that's now being put on Toyota would not have happened. Because it was through that recording that we learned about the problem with the gas pedals and all the other associated problems. That's a protection that we're losing by putting this in place," Kriseman said.
The husband of Denise Amber Lee, a Northport woman who was murdered after a botched 911 call, pleaded in an e-mail to Cretul and Schenck not to pass the bill, in a message that Cretul apparently ignored until it was called to his attention long after the vote.
Nathan Lee also asked that his message be read at Schenck's committee, but Schenck made no reference to Lee's message at the meeting.
"We believe 9-1-1 issues need more transparency and not less if we are ever to learn from past mistakes," Lee wrote.
In the e-mail, Lee details an eyewitness 911 call that could have saved his late wife's life, had it been handled correctly.
"She provided the exact location of this event and even though there were, by all accounts, four police cars within a mile of this call, it was never dispatched. This call was, obviously, grossly mishandled and would have resulted in the saving of Denise's life," Lee wrote.
"This call was hidden from the public and myself. And even hidden from the police department who was actively investigating the case and searching for my wife for two days. The subsequent internal affairs investigation shows the communication center and agency who took this crucial call were immediately aware that the call was about Denise. The call was suppressed. Had the eyewitness not contacted the North Port Police Department, we may never have known about her call. And the prosecution would have lost the last eyewitness to see my wife alive," he wrote.
Cretul said he supports the 911 training bill.
"But my whole interest in this issue has been watching what it also does to families and what it does to people that call in. They become suddenly out there for all the world to see," Cretul said in an interview. "This is a very tough, very difficult issue. Very sensitive in all respects."
The Lee family is familiar with the pain associated with the 911 calls. A six-minute 911 call made by Denise Amber Lee pleading for her life while she was held captive by the man who was later convicted of murdering her is used in training sessions throughout the nation, Nathan's father Mark Lee said.
The family often attends such sessions, he said.
"We go out of the room. We don't want to listen to it. We don't want to hear it. But if it's helping those people train and be better listeners for the next Denise that calls, it's worth it," Mark Lee said. "Now, we're going to lock those up and we're going to save somebody's feelings. The tragedy isn't the call that was made to 911. The tragedy is what happened."
Despite Cretul's clout in the House, the bill lacks a Senate sponsor.
Sen. Garrett Richter had originally agreed to run a companion for Schenck, R-Spring Hill, but backed off the bill even before controversy surrounding it -- First Amendment and civil rights lawyers also staunchly oppose it -- erupted this week. The Naples Republican said he won't sponsor the measure
Politics at it's shabbiest. Tallahassee.
Thank you Palm Beach Post for bringing to light this issue. I cannot convey my disgust with Tallahassee and am ashamed to admit I am registered Repuplican.
Speaker Cretul ignores e-mail from husband of botched 911 call murder victim
Dara Kam March 10th, 2010
Denise Amber Lee’s six-minute 911 call that helped convict her killer is among the most notorious examples of 911 calls gone wrong, the calls that are now in House Speaker Larry Cretul’s crosshairs as he tries to create a public records exemptions for them.
Her husband Nathan Lee sent an e-mail to the sponsor of Cretul’s bill, House Government Accountability Policy Council Chairman Rob Schenk, pleading with the committee to shoot down the measure that would make 911 call recordings secret except for transcripts that could be available after 60 days. Lee also asked that his message be read at Schenk’s committee hearing the bill (PCB GAP 10-03) before it was voted on this morning.
Schenk made no reference to Lee’s message and did not read it before the measure passed by an 8-5 vote. And Cretul, who used a procedural maneuver to ensure the bill passed, never read it at all. He said he received it last night. Public records show that Cretul, his spokeswoman Jill Chamberlin and Schenk received it around 3:30 p.m. yesterday.
“I haven’t read the e-mail. I’m sure that he makes some excellent points,” Cretul, R-Ocala, said shortly before the House began session at 1 p.m.
Nathan Lee and his parents are pushing a separate 911 bill that would require uniform training standards for 911 dispatchers throughout the state. His wife was killed despite five 911 calls made in two counties, including one from a witness whose call was ignored.
Lee’s e-mail uses the botched handling of the eyewitness’ emergency call made on the day his wife was killed in 2008 to demonstrate why the calls should be available to the public.
“She provided the exact location of this event and even though there were, by all accounts, 4 police cars within a mile of this call, it was never dispatched. This call was, obviously, grossly mishandled and would have resulted in the saving of Denise’s life. Two days after this call, she was found in a grave, naked and with a single gunshot wound to the head. This call was hidden from the public and myself. And even hidden from the police department who was actively investigating the case and searching for my wife for two days. The subsequent internal affairs investigation shows the communication center and agency who took this crucial call were immediately aware that the call was about Denise. The call was suppressed. Had the eyewitness not contacted the North Port Police Department we may never have known about her call. And the prosecution would have lost the last eyewitness to see my wife alive,” Lee wrote.
Cretul said he supports the training and certification bill.
“But my whole interest in this issue has been watching what it also does to families and what it does to people that call in. They become suddenly out there for all the world to see,” Cretul said in an interview. “This is a very tough, very difficult issue. Very sensitive in all respects.”
Read the entire text of Nathan Lee’s message after the jump.
“Dear Representative Schenck,
I am writing to you about PCB GAP 10-03 that has been suggested by your
committee. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend your meeting this morning.
But I would appreciate you reading this email to the committee. Thank you.
As you may or may not know, our foundation was formed out of the tragic
abduction, rape, and murder of my wife, Denise Lee.
Five 9-1-1 calls were made the day she was taken kidnapped from our home
by a complete stranger. One call was made by Denise herself when she
dialed 9-1-1 with her killer’s cell phone without his knowledge. During
the recent murder trial, we had to listen to over 6 minutes of this painful
call where she begged for her life desperately pleading to come home to me
and our 2 boys. I understand the pain and suffering of having to listen to
tragic 9-1-1 calls.
Another 9 minute 9-1-1 call was made that day from a bystander witnessing
the abduction. She provided the exact location of this event and even
though there were, by all accounts, 4 police cars within a mile of this
call, it was never dispatched. This call was, obviously, grossly
mishandled and would have resulted in the saving of Denise’s life. Two
days after this call, she was found in a grave, naked and with a single
gunshot wound to the head. This call was hidden from the public and
myself. And even hidden from the police department who was actively
investigating the case and searching for my wife for two days. The
subsequent internal affairs investigation shows the communication center
and agency who took this crucial call were immediately aware that the call
was about Denise. The call was suppressed. Had the eyewitness not contacted
the North Port Police Department we may never have known about her call.
And the prosecution would have lost the last eyewitness to see my wife
alive.
We believe 9-1-1 issues need more transparency and not less if we are ever
to learn from past mistakes.
In the aftermath of our tragedy, we have been invited around the country
to speak at state and national 9-1-1 conferences on the need for a
mandatory, uniform training standard that all 9-1-1 telecommunicators
should be required to take. There is no reason for the general public to
support or demand additional fees be approved for 9-1-1 if these types of
calls are suppressed from the public discussion. The public needs to know
the challenges of the system in order to vote for additional funding to
improve it. This bill would be totally counter-productive to that end. It
only serves to shelter the agencies from scrutiny. We are victims that
this bill purports to represent but we feel saving another family from the
pain and suffering that we have endured is far more important than saving
us from hearing Denise’s last words. Forward thinking legislators with
integrity and vision would see these calls are valuable training moments
and powerful emotional tools to change public policy to improve the system.
Please do not pass this bill.
Thank you for your time and thank you for reading this for me.
Nathan Lee
Chairman/Co-Founder
Denise Amber Lee Foundation
www.deniseamberlee.org”
Speaker Cretul ignores e-mail from husband of botched 911 call murder victim
Dara Kam March 10th, 2010
Denise Amber Lee’s six-minute 911 call that helped convict her killer is among the most notorious examples of 911 calls gone wrong, the calls that are now in House Speaker Larry Cretul’s crosshairs as he tries to create a public records exemptions for them.
Her husband Nathan Lee sent an e-mail to the sponsor of Cretul’s bill, House Government Accountability Policy Council Chairman Rob Schenk, pleading with the committee to shoot down the measure that would make 911 call recordings secret except for transcripts that could be available after 60 days. Lee also asked that his message be read at Schenk’s committee hearing the bill (PCB GAP 10-03) before it was voted on this morning.
Schenk made no reference to Lee’s message and did not read it before the measure passed by an 8-5 vote. And Cretul, who used a procedural maneuver to ensure the bill passed, never read it at all. He said he received it last night. Public records show that Cretul, his spokeswoman Jill Chamberlin and Schenk received it around 3:30 p.m. yesterday.
“I haven’t read the e-mail. I’m sure that he makes some excellent points,” Cretul, R-Ocala, said shortly before the House began session at 1 p.m.
Nathan Lee and his parents are pushing a separate 911 bill that would require uniform training standards for 911 dispatchers throughout the state. His wife was killed despite five 911 calls made in two counties, including one from a witness whose call was ignored.
Lee’s e-mail uses the botched handling of the eyewitness’ emergency call made on the day his wife was killed in 2008 to demonstrate why the calls should be available to the public.
“She provided the exact location of this event and even though there were, by all accounts, 4 police cars within a mile of this call, it was never dispatched. This call was, obviously, grossly mishandled and would have resulted in the saving of Denise’s life. Two days after this call, she was found in a grave, naked and with a single gunshot wound to the head. This call was hidden from the public and myself. And even hidden from the police department who was actively investigating the case and searching for my wife for two days. The subsequent internal affairs investigation shows the communication center and agency who took this crucial call were immediately aware that the call was about Denise. The call was suppressed. Had the eyewitness not contacted the North Port Police Department we may never have known about her call. And the prosecution would have lost the last eyewitness to see my wife alive,” Lee wrote.
Cretul said he supports the training and certification bill.
“But my whole interest in this issue has been watching what it also does to families and what it does to people that call in. They become suddenly out there for all the world to see,” Cretul said in an interview. “This is a very tough, very difficult issue. Very sensitive in all respects.”
Read the entire text of Nathan Lee’s message after the jump.
“Dear Representative Schenck,
I am writing to you about PCB GAP 10-03 that has been suggested by your
committee. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend your meeting this morning.
But I would appreciate you reading this email to the committee. Thank you.
As you may or may not know, our foundation was formed out of the tragic
abduction, rape, and murder of my wife, Denise Lee.
Five 9-1-1 calls were made the day she was taken kidnapped from our home
by a complete stranger. One call was made by Denise herself when she
dialed 9-1-1 with her killer’s cell phone without his knowledge. During
the recent murder trial, we had to listen to over 6 minutes of this painful
call where she begged for her life desperately pleading to come home to me
and our 2 boys. I understand the pain and suffering of having to listen to
tragic 9-1-1 calls.
Another 9 minute 9-1-1 call was made that day from a bystander witnessing
the abduction. She provided the exact location of this event and even
though there were, by all accounts, 4 police cars within a mile of this
call, it was never dispatched. This call was, obviously, grossly
mishandled and would have resulted in the saving of Denise’s life. Two
days after this call, she was found in a grave, naked and with a single
gunshot wound to the head. This call was hidden from the public and
myself. And even hidden from the police department who was actively
investigating the case and searching for my wife for two days. The
subsequent internal affairs investigation shows the communication center
and agency who took this crucial call were immediately aware that the call
was about Denise. The call was suppressed. Had the eyewitness not contacted
the North Port Police Department we may never have known about her call.
And the prosecution would have lost the last eyewitness to see my wife
alive.
We believe 9-1-1 issues need more transparency and not less if we are ever
to learn from past mistakes.
In the aftermath of our tragedy, we have been invited around the country
to speak at state and national 9-1-1 conferences on the need for a
mandatory, uniform training standard that all 9-1-1 telecommunicators
should be required to take. There is no reason for the general public to
support or demand additional fees be approved for 9-1-1 if these types of
calls are suppressed from the public discussion. The public needs to know
the challenges of the system in order to vote for additional funding to
improve it. This bill would be totally counter-productive to that end. It
only serves to shelter the agencies from scrutiny. We are victims that
this bill purports to represent but we feel saving another family from the
pain and suffering that we have endured is far more important than saving
us from hearing Denise’s last words. Forward thinking legislators with
integrity and vision would see these calls are valuable training moments
and powerful emotional tools to change public policy to improve the system.
Please do not pass this bill.
Thank you for your time and thank you for reading this for me.
Nathan Lee
Chairman/Co-Founder
Denise Amber Lee Foundation
www.deniseamberlee.org”
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Orlando Sentinel
Crist takes issue with bill to exempt 911 calls from disclosure
2010 session, Carey Baker, Larry Cretul, Public records — posted by orlandosentinel on March, 9 2010 6:32 PM
TALLAHASSEE — A measure to exempt 911 recordings from public records laws may pit the House sponsor against the governor, a fellow Republican, as lawmakers debate whether they can protect privacy while maintaining oversight over emergency dispatcher performance.
With 911 tapes increasingly used by media outlets as prurient entertainment, calls are growing to restrict who has access to the recordings made during some of life’s most horrific moments.
Such concern has lead Rep. Rob Schenk, R-Spring Hill, to propose a measure that would shield audio recordings of the emergency calls to all but law enforcement officials. Citizens including the caller would be allowed to review the tapes only under a judge’s order.
On Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Crist told the News Service of Florida that he has yet to see the legislation, but generally said he supports keeping the records open for public scrutiny.
”I think we ought to keep it open,” Crist said. “You learn more about what happens with these 911 calls when it’s open. You have that kind of transparency where the truth is more available and easily attainable.”
The bill is scheduled to be heard Wednesday in the House Government Affairs Policy Council, its first committee stop.
“The need for emergency services bespeaks a very personal and often traumatizing event,” the bill reads. “To have the recordings made publicly available is an invasion of privacy that could result in trauma, sorrow, humiliation, or emotional injury to the person reporting the emergency or requiring emergency services, or to the immediate families of those persons.”
Law enforcement officials would have immediate access to the actual recordings. The public would not. Transcripts of the recordings would be available 60 days after the call was made. The requester would be billed the cost of transcription.
The measure has raised concerns from open records advocates who say recordings provide vital oversight of the agencies charged with responding to emergency situations. Others, however, say the tapes have too often become audio fodder in a reality-TV world.
“Quite frankly, I’m more concerned about the victims’ side of it and their ability to use 911,” Schenk said.
The issue has taken on added prominence following a highly publicized Charlotte County case in which a 911 operator sounded confused and rattled during a 10-minute called from Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old mother who was abducted and later found murdered. Her parents have since used her case to encourage more training for 911 staff.
And this week, the Palm Beach Post reported that Lee’s parents are against closing off access to the tapes for that reason. The Post also reported that the push for the measure has come from House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala.
Rep. Will Snyder, R-Stuart, and chairman of the Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council, said he’s confident a balance can be struck on the issue. While disclosure is often used for prurient motives, oversight is needed to address mishandled 911 calls that Snyder said are few and far between.
“I think there is a lot of room for compromise going forward,” Snyder said
2010 session, Carey Baker, Larry Cretul, Public records — posted by orlandosentinel on March, 9 2010 6:32 PM
TALLAHASSEE — A measure to exempt 911 recordings from public records laws may pit the House sponsor against the governor, a fellow Republican, as lawmakers debate whether they can protect privacy while maintaining oversight over emergency dispatcher performance.
With 911 tapes increasingly used by media outlets as prurient entertainment, calls are growing to restrict who has access to the recordings made during some of life’s most horrific moments.
Such concern has lead Rep. Rob Schenk, R-Spring Hill, to propose a measure that would shield audio recordings of the emergency calls to all but law enforcement officials. Citizens including the caller would be allowed to review the tapes only under a judge’s order.
On Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Crist told the News Service of Florida that he has yet to see the legislation, but generally said he supports keeping the records open for public scrutiny.
”I think we ought to keep it open,” Crist said. “You learn more about what happens with these 911 calls when it’s open. You have that kind of transparency where the truth is more available and easily attainable.”
The bill is scheduled to be heard Wednesday in the House Government Affairs Policy Council, its first committee stop.
“The need for emergency services bespeaks a very personal and often traumatizing event,” the bill reads. “To have the recordings made publicly available is an invasion of privacy that could result in trauma, sorrow, humiliation, or emotional injury to the person reporting the emergency or requiring emergency services, or to the immediate families of those persons.”
Law enforcement officials would have immediate access to the actual recordings. The public would not. Transcripts of the recordings would be available 60 days after the call was made. The requester would be billed the cost of transcription.
The measure has raised concerns from open records advocates who say recordings provide vital oversight of the agencies charged with responding to emergency situations. Others, however, say the tapes have too often become audio fodder in a reality-TV world.
“Quite frankly, I’m more concerned about the victims’ side of it and their ability to use 911,” Schenk said.
The issue has taken on added prominence following a highly publicized Charlotte County case in which a 911 operator sounded confused and rattled during a 10-minute called from Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old mother who was abducted and later found murdered. Her parents have since used her case to encourage more training for 911 staff.
And this week, the Palm Beach Post reported that Lee’s parents are against closing off access to the tapes for that reason. The Post also reported that the push for the measure has come from House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala.
Rep. Will Snyder, R-Stuart, and chairman of the Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council, said he’s confident a balance can be struck on the issue. While disclosure is often used for prurient motives, oversight is needed to address mishandled 911 calls that Snyder said are few and far between.
“I think there is a lot of room for compromise going forward,” Snyder said
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