the media has been kind. This was printed in today's Sun. Also read an article by Nathan's former little league coach Eric Ernst printed in the Herald Tribune this past week:
05/16/10
Lee's legacy now assured in E-911 bill
OUR POSITION: A deep bow to the people from our communities who worked to pass an E-911 bill that will make everyone safer in the future.
It took two sessions for the Florida Legislature to muster enough political will to pass a no-brainer of a bill improving the state's emergency 911 call operations, but that sorry fact was low on the list of concerns this week at a press conference acknowledging those whose hard work finally resulted in the bill's passage.
The bill came about primarily through the efforts of the family of Denise Amber Lee, whose 2008 murder in North Port after a botched 911 call provided the strongest possible example of the need for improvements in state emergency response standards. As noted in a report conducted by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, emergency call centers in the state may handle as many as 15 million 911 calls in a year, but a mistake in one or two highlighted the enormous, tragic consequences that come when the system fails.
The Lee case is exactly why the public needed to be assured that call centers were being operating with a high level of professionalism. Clearly, there was room for improvement.
Denise Lee's husband, Nathan Lee, took the lead role in the drive for higher standards in Florida, and has continued his outreach throughout the nation. Other family members have joined in. Many in the community have worked for reform through the Denise Amber Lee Foundation.
The result here has been a bill that will require all 911 call-takers and dispatchers in Florida to take a set level of training and pass a certification test in order to do their jobs. It also calls for training updates and renewal every two years. The full law will not take effect until 2012, giving all police agencies time to come into compliance.
As Nathan Lee said during during a press conference at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, the bill is far from perfect, but it is an important step. It does focus attention and begin to plug a critical hole in the public safety system. For the future, Nathan Lee and the Lee Foundation will aim at moving official oversight of dispatch training into the Department of Law Enforcement. They also will work at developing one statewide curriculum for training.
Both are extremely worthy goals.
For now, however, congratulations are extended to the Lee family and the Lee Foundation. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation also helped drive the process. And our local legislators deserve a nod for their efforts to push the bill through, despite opposition from legislators who thought additional costs outweighed public safety considerations.
Rep. Paige Kreegel, R-Punta Gorda, took up the bill last year. But Rep. Ken Roberson, R-Port Charlotte, and Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, managed to complete the job this session. A no-brainer from our perspective, but, amazingly, it took some heavy lifting, as well as a bit of compromise, to get it done.
A long time coming, yes. And a proper legacy for Denise Amber Lee. The improved training that will come as a result of this law just may help ensure another family and other communities will not see a repeat of this type of tragedy in the future.
http://sunnewspapers.net/articles/edStory.aspx?articleID=457156
Widower took his pain and made a difference
By Eric Ernst
Published: Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 1:00 a.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 9:18 p.m.
In most ways, Nathan Lee is an ordinary person. He's a salesman at Best Buy in Sarasota. He represents no special interest group. But this year he accomplished something unusual; he got a bill passed through the state Legislature.
The bill, awaiting the governor's signature, will elevate the first link of emergency response by requiring 911 operators at all of the state's 258 emergency call centers to undergo standardized training to earn certification.
It comes too late to help the woman who served as its catalyst. Lee's wife, Denise, was kidnapped, raped and killed in January 2008 in North Port. She might have been saved if a witness' call to 911 had been handled properly.
As Lee and others analyzed what went wrong, they realized the 911 system had deep flaws, starting with operator training.
Those shortcomings became Lee's cause. He set out to save others by pushing for mandatory, uniform 911 training statewide.
The heroic way he chose to deal with the pain speaks to his character and should be a point of pride for the two young boys he is raising on his own, state Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, said Wednesday. Detert joined the cause, with state Rep. Ken Roberson, R-Port Charlotte, to push companion bills through the Legislature.
It took three legislative sessions and a lot of behind-the-scenes backing.
Englewood businessman David Dignam advised Lee, helped him set up the Denise Amber Lee Foundation and used his Republican Party contacts to open doors.
Lee and his parents, Mark and Peggy, started traveling to Tallahassee to testify or visit with lawmakers.
The Herald-Tribune published a series that exposed breakdowns in 911 responses statewide. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice commissioned a $43,000 study of 911 responses that found a system fundamentally failing the public in key respects.
The articles and study became exhibits in legislative committee testimony.
People helped in other, unexpected ways, too. Bill Stiver, who runs an automotive shop in Englewood and is a pilot, flew local contingents to Tallahassee.
North Port City Commissioner David Garofalo and his peers sent 411 letters to other cities, encouraging them to support 911 reform.
Garofalo also pushed legislators. One day he left home at 3 a.m. to attend a 10-minute meeting in the state capital, then returned home for a meeting. "That's a day I drank a lot of coffee," he says.
Supporters organized phone banks to call lawmakers and anyone who could influence the process to keep the legislation on track.
Lee had a compelling story to illustrate a legitimate public safety shortcoming. The story also resonates nationally. Lee has traveled coast to coast -- sometimes at his own expense -- addressing many of the same problems exhibited in Florida.
On Wednesday, as the bill's backers gathered at a news conference in Venice, it was evident Lee has not found closure.
Maybe he never will. There are still others to save.
Eric Ernst's column regularly runs Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Contact him at eric.ernst@heraldtribune.com or (941) 486-3073.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100513/COLUMNIST/5131072/2273/NEWS?p=1&tc=pg
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
today
Today I was searching google. I do this almost on a daily basis. I really shouldn't do it, but I do. Why? I do not know. I search Denise's name usually just to see if anything new has been written.
But today I am sorry I did it. I searched Denise's name and audio. For some reason I wanted to see if it was possible to get access to her call. I really did not want to listen to it but I wanted to see if it was out there to be found.
There have been so many news stories that I have missed. Hence my previous post. As I came across the newstories I came across some of the stories I had missed. Stories that were aired during King's trial. Remember I was a zombie during her trial and fairly traumatized already. Anyhow, I did indeed find her call. It was played on FoxNews. I was appalled.
I started to listen to it and got through about 60 seconds of it.
Oh sweet beautiful baby....... I am still horrified thinking of how you suffered. Oh sweetheart.....
People really do no not understand "drama". There are so many people out there that create their own "drama" for whatever reasons. I despise those people. They look for "drama" and have no clue as to what true "drama" is.
In any case, no matter how I suffer listening to Denise's call it does not compare one iota to what Denise suffered.
I feel sick.
We have taken "alot of arrows" in the past several weeks. The foundation and my family have been criticized for whatever reasons. Would I like to shoot arrows back? Damn right I would. But I will not.
So many people just do not understand what it is like watching our son struggle, suffer and try to salvage his own shattered life. People criticize him. And all he is doing is trying to survive. Also, I realize these people truly do not understand and hopefully NEVER will. Because if they do come to understand that will mean they will have suffered a loss in truly horrifying fashion. Some members of our own family have shot arrows. And if our own family sometimes does not get it, how can we expect others to?
People say "move on"...... well, it is not so easy. We have been given an opportunity to help the world become a better place. We have met some truly wonderful, amazing and inspirationally truly good people. We truly do not ever want to see a family suffer in this way again.
We cannot bring Denise back. But the way she fought, the way she loved and the way she lived is all the reason we need to keep her memory and spirit alive.
I will live every day of my life remembering Denise and what a selfless person she was. She IMO is a saint.
Dear Denise, please, help Nathan in anyway you can. Talk to some people up there. Talk to God if he exists. Guide him, give him strength and courage, and please, show him the way.
sigh
But today I am sorry I did it. I searched Denise's name and audio. For some reason I wanted to see if it was possible to get access to her call. I really did not want to listen to it but I wanted to see if it was out there to be found.
There have been so many news stories that I have missed. Hence my previous post. As I came across the newstories I came across some of the stories I had missed. Stories that were aired during King's trial. Remember I was a zombie during her trial and fairly traumatized already. Anyhow, I did indeed find her call. It was played on FoxNews. I was appalled.
I started to listen to it and got through about 60 seconds of it.
Oh sweet beautiful baby....... I am still horrified thinking of how you suffered. Oh sweetheart.....
People really do no not understand "drama". There are so many people out there that create their own "drama" for whatever reasons. I despise those people. They look for "drama" and have no clue as to what true "drama" is.
In any case, no matter how I suffer listening to Denise's call it does not compare one iota to what Denise suffered.
I feel sick.
We have taken "alot of arrows" in the past several weeks. The foundation and my family have been criticized for whatever reasons. Would I like to shoot arrows back? Damn right I would. But I will not.
So many people just do not understand what it is like watching our son struggle, suffer and try to salvage his own shattered life. People criticize him. And all he is doing is trying to survive. Also, I realize these people truly do not understand and hopefully NEVER will. Because if they do come to understand that will mean they will have suffered a loss in truly horrifying fashion. Some members of our own family have shot arrows. And if our own family sometimes does not get it, how can we expect others to?
People say "move on"...... well, it is not so easy. We have been given an opportunity to help the world become a better place. We have met some truly wonderful, amazing and inspirationally truly good people. We truly do not ever want to see a family suffer in this way again.
We cannot bring Denise back. But the way she fought, the way she loved and the way she lived is all the reason we need to keep her memory and spirit alive.
I will live every day of my life remembering Denise and what a selfless person she was. She IMO is a saint.
Dear Denise, please, help Nathan in anyway you can. Talk to some people up there. Talk to God if he exists. Guide him, give him strength and courage, and please, show him the way.
sigh
Friday, May 7, 2010
The things we miss
The past two years have seemed to go by in a blur. The things we miss. We just received a very supportive email that was full of condolences and heartwarming thoughts and support. The man was from Texas and had seen Denise's story on 20/20 last night. I searched for the story on the internet having not remembered it featured on 20/20. I found this:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/denise-lees-widower-911-reform/story?id=8867033
I guess I had watched it when it was aired but I truly do not remember.
My sister sent me a couple of books via mail that I received yesterday. Last night when I thanked her on the phone, I mentioned that I would have to send her a book I had read recently and I thought she would enjoy it. She said "Peggy! I already read it! I sent it to you!!!"
sigh
I remember while reading it thinking "Gosh, I wish could remember who sent me this book." Sometimes I wonder if I am going crazy.
We have received so much heart felt support over these past two years. I cannot count the hugs, letters, notes and emails etc... Not to mention all the other support would be just wrong. We had a gentleman in Britain (York, England) work on Denise's Widipedia page and he spent countless hours sourcing her article to bring it up to Wiki standards. That could not have been easy. Poring over the articles.... ugh! Awful job. So depressing. He was not even aware of her existance until I wrote Wiki asking if someone could clean up her article. You can see it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Amber_Lee
What an awesome job he did.
Anyhow, last night I was thinking about all the hugs etc..... all the kindness and support.... thinking how wonderful it was. People tell us we need to move on and many do not understand why we keep this us. It truly is as Nathan said in the above interview "how can we not?"
No matter how much we suffer by reliving and retelling the story over and over again, it is NOTHING compared to how she suffered.
Also, evil entered our family in the most horrific way imaginable. All this will NEVER bring Denise back. We cannot let the evil win. Look at all the good people who have stepped up through the challenges we have been facing. Think of all the goodness. Surely, that has helped us in realizing that good does trump evil.
I met the supervisor who was on duty in the Sarasota County 9-1-1 center the night Denise was taken. What a wonderful young woman. I think of how this has effected her. I think of all the call takers and dispatchers and trainers from across the country and I just breathe in their goodness.
Sure, there are people out there like the call taker who took Jane's call. Hopefully our foundation will help weed those out. They have no business being call takers.
I think of the media who has also been kind.
sigh
Anyhow, just wanted to get some thoughts out there.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/denise-lees-widower-911-reform/story?id=8867033
I guess I had watched it when it was aired but I truly do not remember.
My sister sent me a couple of books via mail that I received yesterday. Last night when I thanked her on the phone, I mentioned that I would have to send her a book I had read recently and I thought she would enjoy it. She said "Peggy! I already read it! I sent it to you!!!"
sigh
I remember while reading it thinking "Gosh, I wish could remember who sent me this book." Sometimes I wonder if I am going crazy.
We have received so much heart felt support over these past two years. I cannot count the hugs, letters, notes and emails etc... Not to mention all the other support would be just wrong. We had a gentleman in Britain (York, England) work on Denise's Widipedia page and he spent countless hours sourcing her article to bring it up to Wiki standards. That could not have been easy. Poring over the articles.... ugh! Awful job. So depressing. He was not even aware of her existance until I wrote Wiki asking if someone could clean up her article. You can see it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Amber_Lee
What an awesome job he did.
Anyhow, last night I was thinking about all the hugs etc..... all the kindness and support.... thinking how wonderful it was. People tell us we need to move on and many do not understand why we keep this us. It truly is as Nathan said in the above interview "how can we not?"
No matter how much we suffer by reliving and retelling the story over and over again, it is NOTHING compared to how she suffered.
Also, evil entered our family in the most horrific way imaginable. All this will NEVER bring Denise back. We cannot let the evil win. Look at all the good people who have stepped up through the challenges we have been facing. Think of all the goodness. Surely, that has helped us in realizing that good does trump evil.
I met the supervisor who was on duty in the Sarasota County 9-1-1 center the night Denise was taken. What a wonderful young woman. I think of how this has effected her. I think of all the call takers and dispatchers and trainers from across the country and I just breathe in their goodness.
Sure, there are people out there like the call taker who took Jane's call. Hopefully our foundation will help weed those out. They have no business being call takers.
I think of the media who has also been kind.
sigh
Anyhow, just wanted to get some thoughts out there.
Monday, May 3, 2010
I think I am going to be sick. Read on:
Officer logs show why aid came too late in slayings
Records in slaying of four conflict with claim that deputies were too busy
By CINDY HORSWELL
Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle
March 14, 2010, 7:28AM
Four months ago, San Jacinto Sheriff's Capt. Carl Jones offered a simple reason why his deputies couldn't respond to a mother's plea for help with her mentally ill son who was having bizarre hallucinations. His deputies were too busy with high-priority calls.
“We were busier than a cat covered in Meow Mix,” Jones stated then.
Gloria Bills, a 71-year-old widow, would be among those killed by the time a deputy was finally dispatched to the family's home near Coldspring on Nov. 7, seven hours after her first desperate phone call to the sheriff's department.
Oliver “Bubba” Bills Jr. shot and killed his mother, his girlfriend, Shara Torres, 27, and her 4-year-old child before shooting and killing himself.
But dispatch records and audio recordings recently released to the Houston Chronicle conflict with how the sheriff's department initially portrayed its handling of the incident. The records disclose that Jones prohibited his deputies from making a welfare check at the home.
The logs also raise questions as to whether the four deputies on duty that Saturday were as busy as Jones had contended.
Records show Gloria Bills called for help at 1:45 p.m. — four hours before a wreck that deputies worked on U.S. 59. The logs do not list deputies being dispatched to any other major crime scenes during those four hours, other than one deputy assigned to a harassment call.
In the initial recorded request for a deputy, Gloria Bills firmly declared, “I need some help, and I need it now.”
She stressed she had heart trouble and was unable to corral Bubba Bills, who she believed needed to be transported to a mental facility.
Her 42-year-old son was hearing voices, she stated, and hallucinating about things being implanted in his head, the entrance to hell lying under his bed and people in the trees trying to kill him.
Told to seek a warrant
While sometimes suicidal, she said, he had not hurt anybody but was showing signs of aggression.
At 1:51 p.m., the dispatcher promised to send a deputy for a welfare check to assess the situation.
“So far he's not (been violent),” Gloria Bills acknowledged. “But in his condition if he gets angry. I'm not sure what he would do.”
The dispatcher then contacted Jones for advice on how to handle the call. In the recorded conversation, the dispatcher stated his intention to have a deputy make a welfare check.
To which, Jones responded, “Ohhh, no! We don't want to do that!”
Jones objected to sending an officer because: “All you going to do is wind up creating a issue … that may hurt us in the long run.”
The dispatcher then informed Gloria Bills that a deputy won't be coming, and advised her to ask a judge on Monday for a mental health warrant to transport her son.
Jones declined to comment on the recorded conversation because the department faces a possible lawsuit from Torres' family.
San Jacinto Sheriff James Walters, who conducted an internal investigation, said none of his employees was disciplined. He said he could not release his report because of the possible lawsuit.
“Nobody knows how terrible we feel. Our dispatchers and officers made a judgment call and have to live with it,” he said, noting that none of the calls about Bubba Bills were to 911, and that dispatchers called several times to check on the Bills' family.
Bubba was ‘freaking out'
After Jones stopped the welfare check, records show that a family friend, Mark Campbell, placed three calls to urge deputies to go out there. The calls came a few minutes after the major wreck occurred on U.S. 59 about 6 p.m.
Campbell reported Bubba Bills was “scaring his girlfriend to death” by growing more aggressive — kicking over barbecue grills and throwing things.
The dispatcher then called Torres, who said Bubba Bills was “freaking out” and that she feared for her daughter because he had guns.
For the second time, a dispatcher promised to send a deputy
Thirty minutes later, a mental health representative from the Burke Center's hotline called the dispatcher to make yet another plea for a welfare check. The dispatcher again replied that deputies were “swamped” but one would be out “soon.”
An hour later at 7:22 p.m., a dispatcher called to check on Torres. The wreck had just been cleared, and deputies would spend another 20 minutes working on a reported “assault in progress,” but no other major crime would be listed during that time.
At this point, Bubba Bills' mental state had deteriorated. He was outside talking to himself and saying “he's fixing to take all Jesus' children to heaven,” records showed.
Torres told the dispatcher that this remark, combined with his other hallucinations, terrified her: “In his right mind, he would never hurt me … but the way he's looking at me … Looks like he's going to hurt me. I've never seen him look like that. Never.”
Similar call a year before
For a third time, a dispatcher said a deputy was on his way, but one did not arrive for more than two hours.
During this interlude, a Liberty County 911 dispatcher called San Jacinto's dispatch to make sure an officer was on his way.
Torres' sister, Rachael Clark, had alerted Liberty County that she had been talking to Torres on the telephone and then suddenly heard her say, “Oh, no! Not my baby!”
A deputy would not pull up at the small white wooden house on Outlaw Lane until about 9 p.m., and then found only bodies.
Records show dispatchers had to search for about an hour and a half before finding the short dirt road on a map. Walters said dispatchers were confused by another road with the same name.
A year earlier, deputies needed only 10 minutes to respond to a similar call for help from the Bills' family that ended with Bubba Bills being transported to a mental facility in Spring, records showed.
Surviving members of the Bills and Torres families, incensed by the delayed response, believe they've been stonewalled.
“We've been kept in the dark,” said Bubba Bill's daughter, Cassie Daniels. “It's made me feel like the sheriff's department has something to hide.”
mailto:cindy.horswell@chron.com
try{magazineSetup("Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle");}catch(e){}
/**/
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6912414.html
Records in slaying of four conflict with claim that deputies were too busy
By CINDY HORSWELL
Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle
March 14, 2010, 7:28AM
Four months ago, San Jacinto Sheriff's Capt. Carl Jones offered a simple reason why his deputies couldn't respond to a mother's plea for help with her mentally ill son who was having bizarre hallucinations. His deputies were too busy with high-priority calls.
“We were busier than a cat covered in Meow Mix,” Jones stated then.
Gloria Bills, a 71-year-old widow, would be among those killed by the time a deputy was finally dispatched to the family's home near Coldspring on Nov. 7, seven hours after her first desperate phone call to the sheriff's department.
Oliver “Bubba” Bills Jr. shot and killed his mother, his girlfriend, Shara Torres, 27, and her 4-year-old child before shooting and killing himself.
But dispatch records and audio recordings recently released to the Houston Chronicle conflict with how the sheriff's department initially portrayed its handling of the incident. The records disclose that Jones prohibited his deputies from making a welfare check at the home.
The logs also raise questions as to whether the four deputies on duty that Saturday were as busy as Jones had contended.
Records show Gloria Bills called for help at 1:45 p.m. — four hours before a wreck that deputies worked on U.S. 59. The logs do not list deputies being dispatched to any other major crime scenes during those four hours, other than one deputy assigned to a harassment call.
In the initial recorded request for a deputy, Gloria Bills firmly declared, “I need some help, and I need it now.”
She stressed she had heart trouble and was unable to corral Bubba Bills, who she believed needed to be transported to a mental facility.
Her 42-year-old son was hearing voices, she stated, and hallucinating about things being implanted in his head, the entrance to hell lying under his bed and people in the trees trying to kill him.
Told to seek a warrant
While sometimes suicidal, she said, he had not hurt anybody but was showing signs of aggression.
At 1:51 p.m., the dispatcher promised to send a deputy for a welfare check to assess the situation.
“So far he's not (been violent),” Gloria Bills acknowledged. “But in his condition if he gets angry. I'm not sure what he would do.”
The dispatcher then contacted Jones for advice on how to handle the call. In the recorded conversation, the dispatcher stated his intention to have a deputy make a welfare check.
To which, Jones responded, “Ohhh, no! We don't want to do that!”
Jones objected to sending an officer because: “All you going to do is wind up creating a issue … that may hurt us in the long run.”
The dispatcher then informed Gloria Bills that a deputy won't be coming, and advised her to ask a judge on Monday for a mental health warrant to transport her son.
Jones declined to comment on the recorded conversation because the department faces a possible lawsuit from Torres' family.
San Jacinto Sheriff James Walters, who conducted an internal investigation, said none of his employees was disciplined. He said he could not release his report because of the possible lawsuit.
“Nobody knows how terrible we feel. Our dispatchers and officers made a judgment call and have to live with it,” he said, noting that none of the calls about Bubba Bills were to 911, and that dispatchers called several times to check on the Bills' family.
Bubba was ‘freaking out'
After Jones stopped the welfare check, records show that a family friend, Mark Campbell, placed three calls to urge deputies to go out there. The calls came a few minutes after the major wreck occurred on U.S. 59 about 6 p.m.
Campbell reported Bubba Bills was “scaring his girlfriend to death” by growing more aggressive — kicking over barbecue grills and throwing things.
The dispatcher then called Torres, who said Bubba Bills was “freaking out” and that she feared for her daughter because he had guns.
For the second time, a dispatcher promised to send a deputy
Thirty minutes later, a mental health representative from the Burke Center's hotline called the dispatcher to make yet another plea for a welfare check. The dispatcher again replied that deputies were “swamped” but one would be out “soon.”
An hour later at 7:22 p.m., a dispatcher called to check on Torres. The wreck had just been cleared, and deputies would spend another 20 minutes working on a reported “assault in progress,” but no other major crime would be listed during that time.
At this point, Bubba Bills' mental state had deteriorated. He was outside talking to himself and saying “he's fixing to take all Jesus' children to heaven,” records showed.
Torres told the dispatcher that this remark, combined with his other hallucinations, terrified her: “In his right mind, he would never hurt me … but the way he's looking at me … Looks like he's going to hurt me. I've never seen him look like that. Never.”
Similar call a year before
For a third time, a dispatcher said a deputy was on his way, but one did not arrive for more than two hours.
During this interlude, a Liberty County 911 dispatcher called San Jacinto's dispatch to make sure an officer was on his way.
Torres' sister, Rachael Clark, had alerted Liberty County that she had been talking to Torres on the telephone and then suddenly heard her say, “Oh, no! Not my baby!”
A deputy would not pull up at the small white wooden house on Outlaw Lane until about 9 p.m., and then found only bodies.
Records show dispatchers had to search for about an hour and a half before finding the short dirt road on a map. Walters said dispatchers were confused by another road with the same name.
A year earlier, deputies needed only 10 minutes to respond to a similar call for help from the Bills' family that ended with Bubba Bills being transported to a mental facility in Spring, records showed.
Surviving members of the Bills and Torres families, incensed by the delayed response, believe they've been stonewalled.
“We've been kept in the dark,” said Bubba Bill's daughter, Cassie Daniels. “It's made me feel like the sheriff's department has something to hide.”
mailto:cindy.horswell@chron.com
try{magazineSetup("Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle");}catch(e){}
/**/
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6912414.html
Friday, April 30, 2010
from Ugent Communications
911 training legislation is a labor of love
Apr 29, 2010 2:29 PM, By Glenn Bischoff
Would require Florida call-takers and dispatchers to become certified
The state of Florida House of Representatives yesterday unanimously approved a Senate bill that would require newly hired 911 call-takers and dispatchers to compile 232 hours of training before they are allowed to handle an emergency call. The requirement takes effect in October 2012. Personnel hired before then would be required to take a competency exam. Those who fail that exam would be required to undergo the training regimen. The bill also authorizes the use of funds generated by the state’s 911 tax for the training.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ken Roberson, said an investigation revealed that although the majority of 911 calls are handled properly by Florida’s telecommunicators, “hundreds of critical errors that endanger lives” occur every year. He was critical of Florida’s lack of uniform training standards and alleged that some telecommunicators in the state start processing 911 calls within a couple of days of being hired. “This situation is unacceptable and must be rectified,” he said.
The Denise Amber Lee Foundation was a driving force behind the passage of this legislation. The 21-year-old Lee, the mother of two young children, was abducted from her Florida home in January 2008 and murdered. Allegedly, 911 personnel made mistakes on the night of her abduction that hindered search efforts. She was found in a shallow grave two days after her abduction. Her assailant was convicted and received the death penalty.
Mark and Peggy Lee, the in-laws of Denise Amber Lee who are the driving force behind the foundation, said that they were pleased with the bill’s passage and that Gov. Charlie Crist has indicated that he will sign it into law. However, the Lee’s have some concerns. They wonder where the money will be found to conduct the training throughout the state. They say that the state’s 911 fees only cover about two-thirds of the costs associated with operating its public-safety answering points.
They also say that the state is going to have to find a way.
“The call-taker is the first link in the chain, and it’s a pretty important link. If they don’t get it right, you’re not going to get firefighters to fires, EMTs to medical emergencies, or police to an abducted woman who’s in the back of a moving car,” Peggy Lee said. “So, they might have to put off that new CAD system for a year. The best technology in the world is no good if the call-taker isn’t following protocol.”
Compliance is another area of concern. “How do we know that each PSAP is going to comply with the law? We don’t want to see 253 cowboys out there doing this on their own,” Mark Lee said. “We need a stronger state 911 office for oversight.”
The Lees hope that the Florida legislation is but a stepping stone to the foundation’s much bigger goal, which is federal legislation that would standardize training and require certification for 911 telecommunicators nationwide. They said that they have had productive discussions about such a bill with the leaders of the major public-safety communications associations. “There’s a lot more that needs to be done,” Mark Lee said.
Patrick Halley, government affairs director for the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), said that a joint effort with the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials should produce standards that address 911 telecommunicator training and quality assurance, which in turn could provide a framework for the federal legislation that the Lees seek. But he said that such a bill would be a tricky proposition.
“It’s a state-sovereignty issue,” Halley said. “It would be tough for the federal government to tell the states that they have to train, and in a specific way. If anything occurs on the national level, it’s going to have to be creatively done.”
But Halley agrees with the Lees that it needs to be done.“In Illinois, for example, you have to be certified to work in a tanning center or barber shop, but not in a 911 center,” he said. “That has to be resolved. A lot of states do a great job [regarding training], but only a handful of them are required by law to do so.”
The lobbying effort to achieve such legislation has taken a toll on the Lees. Not only have they devoted much time, they also have gone into their own pockets at times. They also have had to endure numerous arrows that have been tossed in their direction. “We’ve been called ‘media whores.’ We’ve been accused of using this as an excuse to take vacations,” Peggy Lee said.
“Believe me, telling this story over and over again hasn’t been fun. We’re spent.”
Despite this, both Mark and Peggy Lee were emphatic that the effort has been worthwhile and that they have plenty of fight still left in them to reach the ultimate goal. The motivation is as simple as it is pure.
“This keeps Denise from dying in vain,” Peggy Lee said. “We’ve often asked the question, ‘Why Denise.’ This is the only thing that we can think of. In doing this, we know that she’s saving lives.”
http://urgentcomm.com/policy_and_law/news/911-training-legislation-20100429/
Apr 29, 2010 2:29 PM, By Glenn Bischoff
Would require Florida call-takers and dispatchers to become certified
The state of Florida House of Representatives yesterday unanimously approved a Senate bill that would require newly hired 911 call-takers and dispatchers to compile 232 hours of training before they are allowed to handle an emergency call. The requirement takes effect in October 2012. Personnel hired before then would be required to take a competency exam. Those who fail that exam would be required to undergo the training regimen. The bill also authorizes the use of funds generated by the state’s 911 tax for the training.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ken Roberson, said an investigation revealed that although the majority of 911 calls are handled properly by Florida’s telecommunicators, “hundreds of critical errors that endanger lives” occur every year. He was critical of Florida’s lack of uniform training standards and alleged that some telecommunicators in the state start processing 911 calls within a couple of days of being hired. “This situation is unacceptable and must be rectified,” he said.
The Denise Amber Lee Foundation was a driving force behind the passage of this legislation. The 21-year-old Lee, the mother of two young children, was abducted from her Florida home in January 2008 and murdered. Allegedly, 911 personnel made mistakes on the night of her abduction that hindered search efforts. She was found in a shallow grave two days after her abduction. Her assailant was convicted and received the death penalty.
Mark and Peggy Lee, the in-laws of Denise Amber Lee who are the driving force behind the foundation, said that they were pleased with the bill’s passage and that Gov. Charlie Crist has indicated that he will sign it into law. However, the Lee’s have some concerns. They wonder where the money will be found to conduct the training throughout the state. They say that the state’s 911 fees only cover about two-thirds of the costs associated with operating its public-safety answering points.
They also say that the state is going to have to find a way.
“The call-taker is the first link in the chain, and it’s a pretty important link. If they don’t get it right, you’re not going to get firefighters to fires, EMTs to medical emergencies, or police to an abducted woman who’s in the back of a moving car,” Peggy Lee said. “So, they might have to put off that new CAD system for a year. The best technology in the world is no good if the call-taker isn’t following protocol.”
Compliance is another area of concern. “How do we know that each PSAP is going to comply with the law? We don’t want to see 253 cowboys out there doing this on their own,” Mark Lee said. “We need a stronger state 911 office for oversight.”
The Lees hope that the Florida legislation is but a stepping stone to the foundation’s much bigger goal, which is federal legislation that would standardize training and require certification for 911 telecommunicators nationwide. They said that they have had productive discussions about such a bill with the leaders of the major public-safety communications associations. “There’s a lot more that needs to be done,” Mark Lee said.
Patrick Halley, government affairs director for the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), said that a joint effort with the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials should produce standards that address 911 telecommunicator training and quality assurance, which in turn could provide a framework for the federal legislation that the Lees seek. But he said that such a bill would be a tricky proposition.
“It’s a state-sovereignty issue,” Halley said. “It would be tough for the federal government to tell the states that they have to train, and in a specific way. If anything occurs on the national level, it’s going to have to be creatively done.”
But Halley agrees with the Lees that it needs to be done.“In Illinois, for example, you have to be certified to work in a tanning center or barber shop, but not in a 911 center,” he said. “That has to be resolved. A lot of states do a great job [regarding training], but only a handful of them are required by law to do so.”
The lobbying effort to achieve such legislation has taken a toll on the Lees. Not only have they devoted much time, they also have gone into their own pockets at times. They also have had to endure numerous arrows that have been tossed in their direction. “We’ve been called ‘media whores.’ We’ve been accused of using this as an excuse to take vacations,” Peggy Lee said.
“Believe me, telling this story over and over again hasn’t been fun. We’re spent.”
Despite this, both Mark and Peggy Lee were emphatic that the effort has been worthwhile and that they have plenty of fight still left in them to reach the ultimate goal. The motivation is as simple as it is pure.
“This keeps Denise from dying in vain,” Peggy Lee said. “We’ve often asked the question, ‘Why Denise.’ This is the only thing that we can think of. In doing this, we know that she’s saving lives.”
http://urgentcomm.com/policy_and_law/news/911-training-legislation-20100429/
Friday, April 23, 2010
It's been a while
since I have blogged. We certainly have had a lot going on. I personally have been working a lot more hours than I had been. I work two part-time jobs that pretty much amount to a full-time job without the benefits. So, I have not had a lot of time to keep up with blogging all the news.
It looks as if the 9-1-1 legislation we have been supporting is going to pass. It has passed through the Senate and will be going before the House on Monday or Tuesday. It will be watered down due to compromises that had to be made with sheriff's and police chief associations. Apparently they were "covertly" not supporting the bill for mandatory training due to budget issues. So, the House Representative compromised with them and changed the date of the bill from Oct 2011 to Oct 2012. Ugh! I find that disgusting. That's another year of more tragedies in our state. Why? Because the sheriffs and police chiefs do not know how to prioritize their monies. Two House Representatives voted against the bill! Said it was a unfunded mandate! Hahahahaha! That's ridiculous. We are already paying 50 cents on our cell phone and landline bills. If Senator Bennett's bill passes they'll get even more money from prepaid wireless phones! It disgusts me that their non-support of the bill is behind closed doors. It disgusts me because they are elected officials (the sheriffs and police chiefs) and they don't have the you know what's to man up and do what is right.
Anyhow, I guess we should feel good that we even got it this far. It is better than no bill and no mandatory training.
I do want to thank all the people who worked so hard in doing their best to get something passed. I guess I just do not like politics. I am not a confrontational person. But I am not afraid to speak up when it is something this important. I wish they had left the date alone but... I am trying to understand my best to understand why our legislators felt the need to cave in on the date. I personally do not think it was necessary and the bill would have passed without it. But, I am not a politician and what do I know? sigh
Dear Denise,
It has been a strange and surreal journey losing you. I will never be able to explain to people what your death has meant to our family. What impact it has had. Wednesday night we went to a Victim's memorial for crime victims in Charlotte County. I was wearing your Fix 911 button and Noah's TBall picture button. Noah was curious about the buttons and wanted to wear his. Then he played with your's and his and he had the buttons kiss each other. I said "would you like them to kiss" and he was all excited. All the time this was happening they showed all the crime victims in Charlotte County since 1970 on a large screen. So many murders. Young women, young kids, young men... our future on a screen. Your mom and dad and Nate were there. Adam was a little rascal and would not sit still. Noah was a really good boy through it all and looked forward to placing his rose for you on the wreath with the other roses. I think of those other families all the time. I think of you 24/7. Sometimes I wish I didn't. But I do. I cannot help it. I wish I had gotten to know you better while you were here but honestly, I thought we had years ahead together watching the boys grow. It is just not right that you are gone. And that we had to lose you in order for this much needed legislation to pass. All I know is, that even in Heaven, you are making a difference. I just hope and pray we do our best by your babies. I do love them so much. Noah is a spitting image of you.
Well... I am crying now. I love you and always will. Again tell God we need more people like you down here.
Love,
Mom
It looks as if the 9-1-1 legislation we have been supporting is going to pass. It has passed through the Senate and will be going before the House on Monday or Tuesday. It will be watered down due to compromises that had to be made with sheriff's and police chief associations. Apparently they were "covertly" not supporting the bill for mandatory training due to budget issues. So, the House Representative compromised with them and changed the date of the bill from Oct 2011 to Oct 2012. Ugh! I find that disgusting. That's another year of more tragedies in our state. Why? Because the sheriffs and police chiefs do not know how to prioritize their monies. Two House Representatives voted against the bill! Said it was a unfunded mandate! Hahahahaha! That's ridiculous. We are already paying 50 cents on our cell phone and landline bills. If Senator Bennett's bill passes they'll get even more money from prepaid wireless phones! It disgusts me that their non-support of the bill is behind closed doors. It disgusts me because they are elected officials (the sheriffs and police chiefs) and they don't have the you know what's to man up and do what is right.
Anyhow, I guess we should feel good that we even got it this far. It is better than no bill and no mandatory training.
I do want to thank all the people who worked so hard in doing their best to get something passed. I guess I just do not like politics. I am not a confrontational person. But I am not afraid to speak up when it is something this important. I wish they had left the date alone but... I am trying to understand my best to understand why our legislators felt the need to cave in on the date. I personally do not think it was necessary and the bill would have passed without it. But, I am not a politician and what do I know? sigh
Dear Denise,
It has been a strange and surreal journey losing you. I will never be able to explain to people what your death has meant to our family. What impact it has had. Wednesday night we went to a Victim's memorial for crime victims in Charlotte County. I was wearing your Fix 911 button and Noah's TBall picture button. Noah was curious about the buttons and wanted to wear his. Then he played with your's and his and he had the buttons kiss each other. I said "would you like them to kiss" and he was all excited. All the time this was happening they showed all the crime victims in Charlotte County since 1970 on a large screen. So many murders. Young women, young kids, young men... our future on a screen. Your mom and dad and Nate were there. Adam was a little rascal and would not sit still. Noah was a really good boy through it all and looked forward to placing his rose for you on the wreath with the other roses. I think of those other families all the time. I think of you 24/7. Sometimes I wish I didn't. But I do. I cannot help it. I wish I had gotten to know you better while you were here but honestly, I thought we had years ahead together watching the boys grow. It is just not right that you are gone. And that we had to lose you in order for this much needed legislation to pass. All I know is, that even in Heaven, you are making a difference. I just hope and pray we do our best by your babies. I do love them so much. Noah is a spitting image of you.
Well... I am crying now. I love you and always will. Again tell God we need more people like you down here.
Love,
Mom
Sunday, April 11, 2010
He was not going to let another tragedy happen
By Todd Ruger
Published: Friday, April 2, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 9:20 p.m.
SARASOTA - Tim Roe had stopped his work pickup at a red light on U.S. 41, windows rolled down, when he made eye contact with the woman in the passenger seat in the car next to him.
"Please help me, help me," the woman said to him. She tried to get out of the car, but the man behind the wheel elbowed her in the face and held her back.
The man saw Roe grab a cell phone. Then the Dodge Shadow sped off through the red light.
With memories of the Carlie Brucia and Denise Lee murders on his mind, as well as other abductions in the news, Roe decided he had to act.
So he took off after them.
"I've heard so many of these ending in tragedy," Roe said, including when a man abducted 11-year-old Carlie from the car wash he frequently drove past. "I thought to myself, 'If I ever see that myself, I'll deal with it.'"
The Bradenton landscaper floored the accelerator in his Chevy Cheyenne to keep up as the two vehicles sped south on U.S. 41 from University Parkway. He dialed 911.
Traffic was light at 8 a.m. on that Saturday in March of 2009. Even going 80 mph and blowing through red lights, Roe, 49, did not think about stopping.
"If I had seen on the news he had killed her, I don't think I could have slept, knowing I could have stopped it," Roe said in his native British accent. "You have to go on the theory he's going to hurt her."
The suspect car suddenly turned left on Myrtle Street; Roe missed the turn, but cut through a Winn-Dixie parking lot and somehow ended up behind the car on Myrtle. Soon, a Sarasota police car pulled behind Roe's truck.
Roe told the 911 dispatcher that if the officer tried to stop him, he was not going to pull over. The dispatcher said the officer was aware of the situation and was just following to help.
When the Dodge reached U.S. 301, it lost control, and Roe pulled his truck in front, while the officer trapped the Dodge from behind.
The driver of the Dodge, Sergio Ocampos, 25, was then arrested on a false imprisonment charge.
The woman got out of the car and ran over to Roe and gave him a hug.
"She wouldn't let go, and just said, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you,'" Roe said. He was shaking himself from the adrenaline.
Ocampos was upset because the woman, his then-27-year-old girlfriend, had just told him she was pregnant and he was the father, said Assistant State Attorney Jason Miller.
It turned to be a false positive on a home pregnancy test.
Ocampos spent a year in jail before pleading guilty to the imprisonment charge this week, Miller said.
He will be deported to Honduras because of the conviction.
Roe's actions and his willingness to testify -- another witness could not be found -- basically made him a hero in this case, Miller said.
"If it wasn't for him, it might not have been a case and could have had a much more tragic ending," Miller said.
Roe, revisiting the spot of the arrest Thursday, said the police did a great job. And he said he just did what he would want anyone to do if his daughters were in trouble.
"I just did what you're supposed to do," Roe said. "You can replace a truck, but you can't replace a woman's life."
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100402/ARTICLE/4021035/2055/NEWS?Title=He-was-not-going-to-let-another-tragedy-unfold
Published: Friday, April 2, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 9:20 p.m.
SARASOTA - Tim Roe had stopped his work pickup at a red light on U.S. 41, windows rolled down, when he made eye contact with the woman in the passenger seat in the car next to him.
"Please help me, help me," the woman said to him. She tried to get out of the car, but the man behind the wheel elbowed her in the face and held her back.
The man saw Roe grab a cell phone. Then the Dodge Shadow sped off through the red light.
With memories of the Carlie Brucia and Denise Lee murders on his mind, as well as other abductions in the news, Roe decided he had to act.
So he took off after them.
"I've heard so many of these ending in tragedy," Roe said, including when a man abducted 11-year-old Carlie from the car wash he frequently drove past. "I thought to myself, 'If I ever see that myself, I'll deal with it.'"
The Bradenton landscaper floored the accelerator in his Chevy Cheyenne to keep up as the two vehicles sped south on U.S. 41 from University Parkway. He dialed 911.
Traffic was light at 8 a.m. on that Saturday in March of 2009. Even going 80 mph and blowing through red lights, Roe, 49, did not think about stopping.
"If I had seen on the news he had killed her, I don't think I could have slept, knowing I could have stopped it," Roe said in his native British accent. "You have to go on the theory he's going to hurt her."
The suspect car suddenly turned left on Myrtle Street; Roe missed the turn, but cut through a Winn-Dixie parking lot and somehow ended up behind the car on Myrtle. Soon, a Sarasota police car pulled behind Roe's truck.
Roe told the 911 dispatcher that if the officer tried to stop him, he was not going to pull over. The dispatcher said the officer was aware of the situation and was just following to help.
When the Dodge reached U.S. 301, it lost control, and Roe pulled his truck in front, while the officer trapped the Dodge from behind.
The driver of the Dodge, Sergio Ocampos, 25, was then arrested on a false imprisonment charge.
The woman got out of the car and ran over to Roe and gave him a hug.
"She wouldn't let go, and just said, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you,'" Roe said. He was shaking himself from the adrenaline.
Ocampos was upset because the woman, his then-27-year-old girlfriend, had just told him she was pregnant and he was the father, said Assistant State Attorney Jason Miller.
It turned to be a false positive on a home pregnancy test.
Ocampos spent a year in jail before pleading guilty to the imprisonment charge this week, Miller said.
He will be deported to Honduras because of the conviction.
Roe's actions and his willingness to testify -- another witness could not be found -- basically made him a hero in this case, Miller said.
"If it wasn't for him, it might not have been a case and could have had a much more tragic ending," Miller said.
Roe, revisiting the spot of the arrest Thursday, said the police did a great job. And he said he just did what he would want anyone to do if his daughters were in trouble.
"I just did what you're supposed to do," Roe said. "You can replace a truck, but you can't replace a woman's life."
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100402/ARTICLE/4021035/2055/NEWS?Title=He-was-not-going-to-let-another-tragedy-unfold
Monday, March 22, 2010
Life on the Line by: Andrew Douglas
Special Report: Life on the Line
Posted: Mar 09, 2010 4:37 PM EST
Updated: Mar 09, 2010 11:00 PM EST
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - When you dial 911, you expect a well-trained operator to help you get through an emergency. But where you live could mean the difference between immediate help, and help on the way.
911 operators have one of the most important jobs during emergencies, serving as a link to life when an injured person is waiting for help to arrive.
C. J. Walker is manager of communications for the Memphis Fire Department's 911 service. Her department is certified and accredited to give anyone on the other end of the line life-saving instructions immediately in any emergency situation.
"They do have a script that they have to go by with CPR to make sure those instructions are given properly," she said. "A drowning, cuts, people who are wounded, people who are shot - they can tell people how to stop the bleeding."
In fact, all 911 operators in Shelby County are certified to give this information. The same goes for 911 operators in DeSoto County, and the entire state of Mississippi.
"To me it's essential," said DeeAnna Davis, who works in communications for DeSoto County. "We're their lifeline...their link. Without it, I've seen many that wouldn't make it."
But the Action News 5 Investigators uncovered many Mid-South cities, as well as smaller communities, that do not train their operators to give out medical information.
Zane Boyd, the supervisor of Crittenden County, Arkansas' 911 service, said his operators are not trained to offer medical instruction immediately.
"We get their information regarding medical, get their information of where they live, their phone number and what kind of problem they have, and then we connect them to the appropriate ambulance service," Boyd said.
Crittenden County medics are then dispatched, but the person on the phone must wait for medical help until those medics arrive.
We asked Boyd how fast their average response time is.
"Average? It's probably eight to ten minutes," he said.
To some, that is too much time.
"Someone choking only has so long with air, and if your ambulance response time is eight minutes, it's too long," Davis said.
Boyd agreed that if a dispatcher is not able to give instructions over the phone, that could lead to death, whereas if there was some instruction in place, they could be save.
"Possibly," he said. "Yes sir, that is possible."
911 operators in Crittenden County are not the only ones who do not give out medical instruction over the phone. Action News 5 contacted 18 emergency 911 services in West Tennessee, and we found more agencies that do not train their operators to offer medical instruction than those that do.
Instead, many agencies pass on the call to another emergency service. And like in Crittenden County, Arkansas, they do it because there is not enough money to do things differently."
"At this point it's kind of unreasonable because of the personnel that we have," Boyd said. "We don't have enough personnel to focus on that type of deal."
Pay is a major issue.
"It's not very practical because the salaries are not enough to be competitive," Boyd said. "It's kind of like you get what you pay for."
The starting pay for a 911 operator in Crittenden County is $9.50 an hour. Across the state line in Memphis, it's almost $16.00 per hour, and in DeSoto County, operators are paid nearly $18.00 per hour.
"There is a wide gap between some," Walker said. "It just depends on the agency and municipality."
Emergency personnel say until that gap is closed, and more states start requiring 911 operators to offer medical instruction, you may find help is on the way, instead of on the line.
http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12111491
Posted: Mar 09, 2010 4:37 PM EST
Updated: Mar 09, 2010 11:00 PM EST
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - When you dial 911, you expect a well-trained operator to help you get through an emergency. But where you live could mean the difference between immediate help, and help on the way.
911 operators have one of the most important jobs during emergencies, serving as a link to life when an injured person is waiting for help to arrive.
C. J. Walker is manager of communications for the Memphis Fire Department's 911 service. Her department is certified and accredited to give anyone on the other end of the line life-saving instructions immediately in any emergency situation.
"They do have a script that they have to go by with CPR to make sure those instructions are given properly," she said. "A drowning, cuts, people who are wounded, people who are shot - they can tell people how to stop the bleeding."
In fact, all 911 operators in Shelby County are certified to give this information. The same goes for 911 operators in DeSoto County, and the entire state of Mississippi.
"To me it's essential," said DeeAnna Davis, who works in communications for DeSoto County. "We're their lifeline...their link. Without it, I've seen many that wouldn't make it."
But the Action News 5 Investigators uncovered many Mid-South cities, as well as smaller communities, that do not train their operators to give out medical information.
Zane Boyd, the supervisor of Crittenden County, Arkansas' 911 service, said his operators are not trained to offer medical instruction immediately.
"We get their information regarding medical, get their information of where they live, their phone number and what kind of problem they have, and then we connect them to the appropriate ambulance service," Boyd said.
Crittenden County medics are then dispatched, but the person on the phone must wait for medical help until those medics arrive.
We asked Boyd how fast their average response time is.
"Average? It's probably eight to ten minutes," he said.
To some, that is too much time.
"Someone choking only has so long with air, and if your ambulance response time is eight minutes, it's too long," Davis said.
Boyd agreed that if a dispatcher is not able to give instructions over the phone, that could lead to death, whereas if there was some instruction in place, they could be save.
"Possibly," he said. "Yes sir, that is possible."
911 operators in Crittenden County are not the only ones who do not give out medical instruction over the phone. Action News 5 contacted 18 emergency 911 services in West Tennessee, and we found more agencies that do not train their operators to offer medical instruction than those that do.
Instead, many agencies pass on the call to another emergency service. And like in Crittenden County, Arkansas, they do it because there is not enough money to do things differently."
"At this point it's kind of unreasonable because of the personnel that we have," Boyd said. "We don't have enough personnel to focus on that type of deal."
Pay is a major issue.
"It's not very practical because the salaries are not enough to be competitive," Boyd said. "It's kind of like you get what you pay for."
The starting pay for a 911 operator in Crittenden County is $9.50 an hour. Across the state line in Memphis, it's almost $16.00 per hour, and in DeSoto County, operators are paid nearly $18.00 per hour.
"There is a wide gap between some," Walker said. "It just depends on the agency and municipality."
Emergency personnel say until that gap is closed, and more states start requiring 911 operators to offer medical instruction, you may find help is on the way, instead of on the line.
http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12111491
It has been a while
since I have blogged. We have had a lot going on in the past few weeks. As you probably realize with all the articles I have been posting, the Florida legislators are in session. I finally had to stop posting articles because I was becoming emotionally ill. Sometimes I wonder when it all will stop. I guess we could step away at anytime but even so, I do not believe the pain will end. I do know that by going to Tallahassee, being involved, no matter how sick I feel about it all and the constant reliving of Denise's tragedy, it is the right thing to do. These pieces of legislation are so important if we are ever to see the 9-1-1 system improve. I keep thinking of Brian Wood who laid dead beside a remote road for 18 hours because a call taker dismissed a teenager's call to her. Ugh! Then I go through a litany of other victims and well..... I cannot walk away. The suffering and pain sometimes is unbearable and I feel as if I will breakdown if I go on. But, then who is stepping up? Who is speaking out? Who else is outraged? i guess I am obssessed.
Today's Sun Herald by Elaine Allen-Emrich:
http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/tsnews.aspx?ArticleID=454252&pubdate=3/22/2010
Denise Amber Lee's story captured in 911 training video
The video camera rolled as Peggy Lee fought tears. Talking about the horrific 911 call her daughter-in-law, Denise Amber Lee, made on the day she was brutally murdered is always traumatic for Peggy.
More than two years after Denise's death, Peggy still can hardly bear to hear the call. Rather, she holds on to the positive exchange the two shared the night before Denise was abducted from her North Port home on Jan. 17, 2008.
"Denise's last words were that she loved me," said Peggy, adding that the next and final time she would hear Denise's voice was in the 911 call as she cried and begged for her life. Denise, 21, had been kidnapped at gunpoint and was trapped in the back of Michael King's Camaro.
But now, Peggy says it's time for others to hear the call and hopefully learn from Denise's careful clues to the 911 operator.
Without King knowing, Denise got a hold of his prepaid cell phone and dialed 911. She gave the call taker valuable information about who she was, her address and her family before the call abruptly ended six minutes later. The call made jurors in King's trial understand her helplessness and suffering just hours before she died.
"Everyone needs to listen to the call because it has so many teaching moments," Peggy said. "If it means helping someone else, then it is worth it."
Before sentencing King to death, 12th Circuit Judge Deno Economou said it is "rare that one can actually hear such emotion in the voice of an innocent victim who is doomed to be murdered. The 911 recording of the victim tragically reveals her fear, mental state, terror and her emotional strain."
Peggy was recently interviewed for a training video and documentary about Denise by Kevin Willet, the founder of 911 Cares, which offers emotional support and financial assistance for communicators in crisis. It is part of Public Safety Training Consultants, America's largest in-service training provider, according to its Web site.
After meeting Denise's widower, Nathan Lee, who served as the keynote speaker at an out-of-state 911 conference, Willet asked if he could recreate Denise's last day alive for a training video for telecommunications operators.
Also interviewed were Denise's father, Rick Goff, a longtime Charlotte County Sheriff's Office sergeant, King trial jurors and witness Jane Kowalski who also called 911 to report details of a suspicious Camaro with someone screaming and banging on the car window for help. The 911 call taker Kowalski spoke with didn't send law enforcement despite a massive manhunt for Denise hours after she disappeared.
"I'm going to give copies of the DVD to the Denise Amber Lee Foundation (for 911 reform)," Willet said. "I expect to have the video complete next month."
Peggy said the video can be used to give to politicians and others possibly interested in supporting laws to make 911 training standards universal throughout the country.
"Every time we speak about fixing the problems with the 911 system, we have to relive Denise's story," Peggy said. "It's emotionally draining. I know before I speak in public, I reread my statement 20 or 30 times ahead of time. I relive it over and over again."
Peggy said if she had the video she would have used it Thursday after being allowed less than one minute to testify before the state House Energy and Utilities Committee. Peggy and her husband Mark traveled six hours to attend the hearing in Tallahassee. They support a House bill that would charge a small fee (1 percent) from prepaid cell phones and calling cards to pay for universal 911 training standards. The measure could generate about $11 million annually. A 50 cent-per-month fee is already applied to home and cell phones.
Due to time constraints, House members decided to delay the vote on HB 163 bill until this week.
"If I had the DVD, I could have given it to the House representatives and asked them to watch it when they had a chance," Peggy said. "We will be able to do that at conferences, conventions and dinners. We know this DVD will be shown in Canada and as far away as Samoa."
Peggy said her son Nathan could have also given U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, a copy of the DVD after the two met in Washington, D.C., last week. Buchanan helped present the E-911 Institute's 911 Advocacy Award for 2010 to Nathan for creating the Denise Amber Lee Foundation and lobbying Florida legislators to raise standards for its 235 emergency call systems.
"The fact that it (Denise's murder) may have been prevented makes it all the more tragic," Buchanan said in a statement. "I applaud Nathan for working to turn a tragedy into something positive that could help save lives in the future."
The E-911 Institute is a Washington advocacy group that promotes public education on 911 and emergency communications issues.
E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com
By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH
North Port Community News Editor
Today's Sun Herald by Elaine Allen-Emrich:
http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/tsnews.aspx?ArticleID=454252&pubdate=3/22/2010
Denise Amber Lee's story captured in 911 training video
The video camera rolled as Peggy Lee fought tears. Talking about the horrific 911 call her daughter-in-law, Denise Amber Lee, made on the day she was brutally murdered is always traumatic for Peggy.
More than two years after Denise's death, Peggy still can hardly bear to hear the call. Rather, she holds on to the positive exchange the two shared the night before Denise was abducted from her North Port home on Jan. 17, 2008.
"Denise's last words were that she loved me," said Peggy, adding that the next and final time she would hear Denise's voice was in the 911 call as she cried and begged for her life. Denise, 21, had been kidnapped at gunpoint and was trapped in the back of Michael King's Camaro.
But now, Peggy says it's time for others to hear the call and hopefully learn from Denise's careful clues to the 911 operator.
Without King knowing, Denise got a hold of his prepaid cell phone and dialed 911. She gave the call taker valuable information about who she was, her address and her family before the call abruptly ended six minutes later. The call made jurors in King's trial understand her helplessness and suffering just hours before she died.
"Everyone needs to listen to the call because it has so many teaching moments," Peggy said. "If it means helping someone else, then it is worth it."
Before sentencing King to death, 12th Circuit Judge Deno Economou said it is "rare that one can actually hear such emotion in the voice of an innocent victim who is doomed to be murdered. The 911 recording of the victim tragically reveals her fear, mental state, terror and her emotional strain."
Peggy was recently interviewed for a training video and documentary about Denise by Kevin Willet, the founder of 911 Cares, which offers emotional support and financial assistance for communicators in crisis. It is part of Public Safety Training Consultants, America's largest in-service training provider, according to its Web site.
After meeting Denise's widower, Nathan Lee, who served as the keynote speaker at an out-of-state 911 conference, Willet asked if he could recreate Denise's last day alive for a training video for telecommunications operators.
Also interviewed were Denise's father, Rick Goff, a longtime Charlotte County Sheriff's Office sergeant, King trial jurors and witness Jane Kowalski who also called 911 to report details of a suspicious Camaro with someone screaming and banging on the car window for help. The 911 call taker Kowalski spoke with didn't send law enforcement despite a massive manhunt for Denise hours after she disappeared.
"I'm going to give copies of the DVD to the Denise Amber Lee Foundation (for 911 reform)," Willet said. "I expect to have the video complete next month."
Peggy said the video can be used to give to politicians and others possibly interested in supporting laws to make 911 training standards universal throughout the country.
"Every time we speak about fixing the problems with the 911 system, we have to relive Denise's story," Peggy said. "It's emotionally draining. I know before I speak in public, I reread my statement 20 or 30 times ahead of time. I relive it over and over again."
Peggy said if she had the video she would have used it Thursday after being allowed less than one minute to testify before the state House Energy and Utilities Committee. Peggy and her husband Mark traveled six hours to attend the hearing in Tallahassee. They support a House bill that would charge a small fee (1 percent) from prepaid cell phones and calling cards to pay for universal 911 training standards. The measure could generate about $11 million annually. A 50 cent-per-month fee is already applied to home and cell phones.
Due to time constraints, House members decided to delay the vote on HB 163 bill until this week.
"If I had the DVD, I could have given it to the House representatives and asked them to watch it when they had a chance," Peggy said. "We will be able to do that at conferences, conventions and dinners. We know this DVD will be shown in Canada and as far away as Samoa."
Peggy said her son Nathan could have also given U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, a copy of the DVD after the two met in Washington, D.C., last week. Buchanan helped present the E-911 Institute's 911 Advocacy Award for 2010 to Nathan for creating the Denise Amber Lee Foundation and lobbying Florida legislators to raise standards for its 235 emergency call systems.
"The fact that it (Denise's murder) may have been prevented makes it all the more tragic," Buchanan said in a statement. "I applaud Nathan for working to turn a tragedy into something positive that could help save lives in the future."
The E-911 Institute is a Washington advocacy group that promotes public education on 911 and emergency communications issues.
E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com
By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH
North Port Community News Editor
Monday, March 15, 2010
St Petersburg Times
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]
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]
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.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Punta Gorda death Herald Tribune and ABC 7
911 worker transferred after ambulance delay
Staff Report
Published: Friday, March 12, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 11:34 p.m.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY - An ambulance delay of 14 minutes for an elderly Punta Gorda woman in cardiac arrest led the Punta Gorda Police Department to transfer 911 worker Nancy Morris and investigate her handling of the call last week.
Josephine Henry, 91, was pronounced dead shortly after care workers at her assisted living center called 911.
Police say it appears an ambulance would not have saved her, but they are taking the mix-up seriously.
"Was it human error? Policy? Equipment? We're trying to find the problem and correct it," said Punta Gorda Police spokesman Troy Bettencourt.
The investigation into the Friday night call is ongoing, but police said that Morris immediately dispatched a police officer and fire truck but apparently failed to contact ambulance workers who are employed by Charlotte County, not the city.
Morris was one of two people on duty at the police dispatch center when the call came in at 11:04 p.m. on Friday, March 5.
Bettencourt said the dispatchers were busy with another medical call, a missing person case, and assisting police on an arrest. It was also shift change time.
"It can get very busy in there sometimes," Bettencourt said.
The Punta Gorda fire fighters, who are trained to give CPR, arrived at the assisted living center in two minutes and began trying to resuscitate Henry.
Morris is performing administrative tasks until the investigation is completed. She is a communications supervisor with the department and the most highly trained 911 worker.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100312/ARTICLE/3121036?Title=911-worker-transferred-after-ambulance-delay
http://www.abc-7.com/Global/story.asp?S=12118229
Staff Report
Published: Friday, March 12, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 11:34 p.m.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY - An ambulance delay of 14 minutes for an elderly Punta Gorda woman in cardiac arrest led the Punta Gorda Police Department to transfer 911 worker Nancy Morris and investigate her handling of the call last week.
Josephine Henry, 91, was pronounced dead shortly after care workers at her assisted living center called 911.
Police say it appears an ambulance would not have saved her, but they are taking the mix-up seriously.
"Was it human error? Policy? Equipment? We're trying to find the problem and correct it," said Punta Gorda Police spokesman Troy Bettencourt.
The investigation into the Friday night call is ongoing, but police said that Morris immediately dispatched a police officer and fire truck but apparently failed to contact ambulance workers who are employed by Charlotte County, not the city.
Morris was one of two people on duty at the police dispatch center when the call came in at 11:04 p.m. on Friday, March 5.
Bettencourt said the dispatchers were busy with another medical call, a missing person case, and assisting police on an arrest. It was also shift change time.
"It can get very busy in there sometimes," Bettencourt said.
The Punta Gorda fire fighters, who are trained to give CPR, arrived at the assisted living center in two minutes and began trying to resuscitate Henry.
Morris is performing administrative tasks until the investigation is completed. She is a communications supervisor with the department and the most highly trained 911 worker.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100312/ARTICLE/3121036?Title=911-worker-transferred-after-ambulance-delay
http://www.abc-7.com/Global/story.asp?S=12118229
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Hernando Today
http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2010/mar/11/schenck-said-911-bill-privacy-rights/
By TONY HOLT | Hernando Today
Published: March 11, 2010
TALLAHASSEE - Proponents of a House bill think it provides long-overdue protection to the privacy of crime victims.
First Amendment advocates think it goes too far and would remove accountability for 911 operators and rescue responders.
Crime victims themselves seem split on the issue.
On Wednesday, a House panel approved Florida Bill PCB GAP 10-03, which would bar the public from hearing audio recordings of 911 calls. Only a judge could grant an exception.
Furthermore, it would delay public access to the written transcripts of a 911 call for 60 days.
"I think this balances privacy with accountability," said Rep. Rob Schenck, R-Brooksville, who wrote the bill.
"In speaking with many people who have made 911 calls, it's usually a very tragic incident and they don't want to have to hear it on the news," he continued. "This is meant to protect their privacy."
Schenck wouldn't discuss his own experiences with emergency calls, but said he has had several conversations with people who have called 911 and who support the bill.
"The media hasn't been very happy with it for obvious reasons," Schenck said.
John Hoblick, president of the Florida Farm Bureau, pushed for such a ban after television stations played a recording of a 911 call about his son's drug overdose.
Schenck said he has had no conversations with Hoblick.
"We don't like it. It's bad public policy," said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee. "I understand the motivation … but we have to be equally sympathetic of those who have suffered because of the mistakes of 911 operators."
Petersen also complained of the "strong-fisted" tactics used to ram the bill through the committee Wednesday.
"If this passes, it's an exception to the Constitution," she said.
Brooksville Police Chief George Turner said he had "mixed emotions" about the bill.
Hernando County Sheriff Nugent said while the bill doesn't seem perfect, he supports the spirit behind it.
"I think there is a lot of merit in it," Nugent said. "You really need to take victims into account."
Both Nugent and Schenck think releasing the transcripts of 911 emergency calls in 60 days is sufficient.
Schenck argued accountability is not taken away because anyone can petition the court for an audio recording. Secondly, if someone suspects there was wrongdoing or negligence on the part of a 911 operator, the bill still allows for victims to file claims or report their suspicions to the authorities.
Courtenay Strickland, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said the existing law pertaining to 911 calls already has privacy protections in place.
Florida statute 365.171 Chapter 12 states the name, addresses, telephone number or personal information about or information which may identify any person requesting emergency service or reporting an emergency is confidential.
Strickland thinks that is sufficient.
She also thinks waiting 60 days is too long.
"We respect the intent of the bill, but as we've seen in other news reports, there are some victims out there who don't want the kinds of protections outlined in this bill," Strickland said.
One of those victims is Nate Lee, the husband of Denise Amber Lee.
Lee's wife was kidnapped, raped and murdered in 2008. He recalled the torment he and his family went through when his wife's 911 call on her killer's cell phone was played on the evening news.
Lee recently told a reporter he thought public access to the 911 audio exposed the mistakes made by the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office when it took the call.
"If there's something wrong and a 911 center botches the call or something happens, I want to know what's going on," Lee said.
Nugent said he is encouraged to see the Legislature address privacy rights. He doesn't think Florida law protects crime victims enough.
"Is it a perfect bill? I don't know about that," he said. "But it does bring the issue to light. It's important to have a debate about that."
WFLA reporter Jackie Barron contributed to this story.
Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.
By TONY HOLT | Hernando Today
Published: March 11, 2010
TALLAHASSEE - Proponents of a House bill think it provides long-overdue protection to the privacy of crime victims.
First Amendment advocates think it goes too far and would remove accountability for 911 operators and rescue responders.
Crime victims themselves seem split on the issue.
On Wednesday, a House panel approved Florida Bill PCB GAP 10-03, which would bar the public from hearing audio recordings of 911 calls. Only a judge could grant an exception.
Furthermore, it would delay public access to the written transcripts of a 911 call for 60 days.
"I think this balances privacy with accountability," said Rep. Rob Schenck, R-Brooksville, who wrote the bill.
"In speaking with many people who have made 911 calls, it's usually a very tragic incident and they don't want to have to hear it on the news," he continued. "This is meant to protect their privacy."
Schenck wouldn't discuss his own experiences with emergency calls, but said he has had several conversations with people who have called 911 and who support the bill.
"The media hasn't been very happy with it for obvious reasons," Schenck said.
John Hoblick, president of the Florida Farm Bureau, pushed for such a ban after television stations played a recording of a 911 call about his son's drug overdose.
Schenck said he has had no conversations with Hoblick.
"We don't like it. It's bad public policy," said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee. "I understand the motivation … but we have to be equally sympathetic of those who have suffered because of the mistakes of 911 operators."
Petersen also complained of the "strong-fisted" tactics used to ram the bill through the committee Wednesday.
"If this passes, it's an exception to the Constitution," she said.
Brooksville Police Chief George Turner said he had "mixed emotions" about the bill.
Hernando County Sheriff Nugent said while the bill doesn't seem perfect, he supports the spirit behind it.
"I think there is a lot of merit in it," Nugent said. "You really need to take victims into account."
Both Nugent and Schenck think releasing the transcripts of 911 emergency calls in 60 days is sufficient.
Schenck argued accountability is not taken away because anyone can petition the court for an audio recording. Secondly, if someone suspects there was wrongdoing or negligence on the part of a 911 operator, the bill still allows for victims to file claims or report their suspicions to the authorities.
Courtenay Strickland, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said the existing law pertaining to 911 calls already has privacy protections in place.
Florida statute 365.171 Chapter 12 states the name, addresses, telephone number or personal information about or information which may identify any person requesting emergency service or reporting an emergency is confidential.
Strickland thinks that is sufficient.
She also thinks waiting 60 days is too long.
"We respect the intent of the bill, but as we've seen in other news reports, there are some victims out there who don't want the kinds of protections outlined in this bill," Strickland said.
One of those victims is Nate Lee, the husband of Denise Amber Lee.
Lee's wife was kidnapped, raped and murdered in 2008. He recalled the torment he and his family went through when his wife's 911 call on her killer's cell phone was played on the evening news.
Lee recently told a reporter he thought public access to the 911 audio exposed the mistakes made by the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office when it took the call.
"If there's something wrong and a 911 center botches the call or something happens, I want to know what's going on," Lee said.
Nugent said he is encouraged to see the Legislature address privacy rights. He doesn't think Florida law protects crime victims enough.
"Is it a perfect bill? I don't know about that," he said. "But it does bring the issue to light. It's important to have a debate about that."
WFLA reporter Jackie Barron contributed to this story.
Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.
recent articles and links
from Michael Pelter (March 9, 2010) West Olando News Online :
http://westorlandonews.com/2010/03/09/crist-house-may-be-at-odds-on-911-call-privacy/
from Martin Merzer (March 10, 2010)Florida AP (Miami Herald Media Co.):
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/09/1520630/lawmakers-considers-bill-to-restrict.html
from Dara Kam (March 9, 2010) Post on Politics (The Palm Beach Post):
http://www.postonpolitics.com/2010/03/crist-not-keen-on-keeping-911-calls-secret/
from Dara Kam (March 8, 2010) The Palm Beach Post:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/not-all-crime-victims-pleased-with-fla-house-332575.html
from Jackie Barron (March 11, 2010) Tampa Bay Online:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/mar/11/house-committee-passes-911-privacy-bill/news-breaking/
from John Frank (March 10, 2010) Miami Herald:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/11/1523436/house-panel-approves-ban-on-release.html
From Lloyd Dunkelberger (March 11, 2010) Herald Tribune:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100311/ARTICLE/3111077/-1/NEWSSITEMAP?p=1&tc=pg
From Eric Ernst (March 10, 2010) Herald Tribune editorial:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100310/COLUMNIST/3101027/2416/NEWS?Title=Ernst-All-Nathan-Lee-wants-is-for-911-to-get-it-right
From Sara Kennedy (March 11, 2010) Bradenton.com:
http://www.bradenton.com/2010/03/11/2121986/reagan-holder-back-911-tape-proposal.html
From the Dayton Beach News Journal (March 11, 2010):
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2010/03/11/area-dad-behind-call-to-bar-9-1-1-releases.html
From Whitney Ray (March 10, 2010) Capitol News Service:
http://www.flanews.com/?p=8870
and this:
http://cbs4.com/local/911.call.calls.2.1550894.html
http://westorlandonews.com/2010/03/09/crist-house-may-be-at-odds-on-911-call-privacy/
from Martin Merzer (March 10, 2010)Florida AP (Miami Herald Media Co.):
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/09/1520630/lawmakers-considers-bill-to-restrict.html
from Dara Kam (March 9, 2010) Post on Politics (The Palm Beach Post):
http://www.postonpolitics.com/2010/03/crist-not-keen-on-keeping-911-calls-secret/
from Dara Kam (March 8, 2010) The Palm Beach Post:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/not-all-crime-victims-pleased-with-fla-house-332575.html
from Jackie Barron (March 11, 2010) Tampa Bay Online:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/mar/11/house-committee-passes-911-privacy-bill/news-breaking/
from John Frank (March 10, 2010) Miami Herald:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/11/1523436/house-panel-approves-ban-on-release.html
From Lloyd Dunkelberger (March 11, 2010) Herald Tribune:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100311/ARTICLE/3111077/-1/NEWSSITEMAP?p=1&tc=pg
From Eric Ernst (March 10, 2010) Herald Tribune editorial:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100310/COLUMNIST/3101027/2416/NEWS?Title=Ernst-All-Nathan-Lee-wants-is-for-911-to-get-it-right
From Sara Kennedy (March 11, 2010) Bradenton.com:
http://www.bradenton.com/2010/03/11/2121986/reagan-holder-back-911-tape-proposal.html
From the Dayton Beach News Journal (March 11, 2010):
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2010/03/11/area-dad-behind-call-to-bar-9-1-1-releases.html
From Whitney Ray (March 10, 2010) Capitol News Service:
http://www.flanews.com/?p=8870
and this:
http://cbs4.com/local/911.call.calls.2.1550894.html
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
Go Charlie! Thank you for speaking up.
Crist not keen on keeping 911 calls secret
by Dara Kam March 9th, 2010
Gov. Charlie Crist said today he may veto a measure that would create a new public records exemption for 911 calls.
First Amendment advocates and some victims vigorously oppose the legislation, the brainchild of House Speaker Larry Cretul and other unidentified House GOP “leaders,” according to Cretul’s spokeswoman Jill Chamberlain.
Cretul believes the calls should be made secret to spare victims from reliving traumatic events when tapes of the emergency calls are broadcast.
But some victims, including the family of one of the most notorious 911-calls-gone wrong kidnap and murder victim Denise Amber Lee, want the calls to remain public to keep dispatchers and law enforcement officials accountable when they err.
Crist, whose first act after becoming governor in 2007 was to create the “Office of Open Government,” said he prefers greater openness and transparency.
“What we can learn after the fact many times with these 911 recordings can be beneficial to make sure that it’s done better in the future because you can discover mistakes or maybe better management practices that can be utilized in the application of 911,” Crist said this morning.
“It’s been a great thing for the people, a great thing for safety and it has saved a lot of lives. But if we keep those secret going forward, we might not be able to continue to learn from those experiences as to what might help people in the future,” he said.
The House Government Policy Accountability Council is slated to take up the measure (PCB GAP 10-3, PCB GAP 10-3A) tomorrow morning.
http://www.postonpolitics.com/2010/03/crist-not-keen-on-keeping-911-calls-secret/
by Dara Kam March 9th, 2010
Gov. Charlie Crist said today he may veto a measure that would create a new public records exemption for 911 calls.
First Amendment advocates and some victims vigorously oppose the legislation, the brainchild of House Speaker Larry Cretul and other unidentified House GOP “leaders,” according to Cretul’s spokeswoman Jill Chamberlain.
Cretul believes the calls should be made secret to spare victims from reliving traumatic events when tapes of the emergency calls are broadcast.
But some victims, including the family of one of the most notorious 911-calls-gone wrong kidnap and murder victim Denise Amber Lee, want the calls to remain public to keep dispatchers and law enforcement officials accountable when they err.
Crist, whose first act after becoming governor in 2007 was to create the “Office of Open Government,” said he prefers greater openness and transparency.
“What we can learn after the fact many times with these 911 recordings can be beneficial to make sure that it’s done better in the future because you can discover mistakes or maybe better management practices that can be utilized in the application of 911,” Crist said this morning.
“It’s been a great thing for the people, a great thing for safety and it has saved a lot of lives. But if we keep those secret going forward, we might not be able to continue to learn from those experiences as to what might help people in the future,” he said.
The House Government Policy Accountability Council is slated to take up the measure (PCB GAP 10-3, PCB GAP 10-3A) tomorrow morning.
http://www.postonpolitics.com/2010/03/crist-not-keen-on-keeping-911-calls-secret/
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