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The 911 Call ~~ Denise Amber Lee
**04/06/08**
Update to this story here.
This is by far the best coverage I’ve found of yesterday’s news conference. Thank you to Herald Tribune for allowing their videos to be embedded. There’s been a lot of complaining over their new format, this is a wonderful improvement to people like myself, who are trying to create a place where people can discuss this case.
I’ll let you watch the video first (although most of you probably already have, it won’t hurt to watch again, if you have the time). I’ll follow up with my feelings about what is said, please feel free to leave yours in the comments.
Ok…once again, Sheriff Davenport comes off as evasive and defensive. Instead of admitting that his department screwed up, he seems full of excuses for not answering questions, and excuses for why they screwed up. They were “busy”. It was a “shift change”. From what I’ve read, the person who originally took Janet Kowalski’s call was getting off work, and just passed the information off without making sure that something was done about it. Hello?! When I worked at damn HOME DEPOT, if something went wrong (power went down, system went down), we would STAY at work until things were straightened out, whether it was the end of our shift or not. These people have the LIVES of the public in their hands, are being paid with our tax dollars, but when it’s time to punch out, they’re out of there?! I find that hard to stomach.
The other thing I find hard to believe is that a woman called in saying she thought she was witnessing a child abduction, and Charlotte County doesn’t even send anyone out (for two hours, anyway) to check it out? What if it were YOUR daughter being abducted? Is this how we are being protected? One of my daughter’s friends once called 911 from my house by mistake (you know kids and phones), and I had cops at my house in no time flat! Of course, the call was made in North Port, so maybe that made the difference.
Ok, enough of all of that. Yes, they screwed up. And as “punishment”, the two operators they decided most dropped the ball get suspended….not for months, or anything that really makes a difference, but for a matter of hours! These people made a huge mistake that may have caused Denise Lee to lose her life. I think that’s worthy of termination, not suspension.
Sheriff Davenport needs to stand up and face the music, admit he’s wrong, admit that he evaded the truth in the beginning, and properly discipline those who were involved. If he can’t do that, then he needs to step down and let someone who CAN take responsibility for his department do the job. Of course, this is just my opinion. What say you?
Thanks for reposting the video. SHT doesn’t allow Linux users to see videos on their site, so this is the first time I’ve seen this one.
Tammy, I totally agree with your opinion….Anyone can answer a phone..it doesn’t take a lot of smarts to figure out what is serious and training can’t teach that. Theses girls knew what was going on but were more interested in going home. It seems their job was to take messages and they feel they did that. No follow-up, no allerts send out, not even from the beginning. All of them should face charges and be removed immediately right up to the head honcho. I said it before. I truly believe all the leads were “help from above†and with the least bit of initiative, I would not be writing this. My son loves Northport and I have to say I have never met such nice, loyal and honest people. What people are doing now says it all. Things are happening no matter where you live that just didn’t happen before…….I haven’t figured if the Charlotte Sheriff’s office and 911 were due to stupidity, lazinessor or just plain didn’t care but whatever, those positions carry alot of responsibily and there is no room for it! There was no crack in the system or mishandling. You have to do something in order to screw up. I thank you for this site, I have never ever blogged. I hope in time her family will find some form of peace and the good memories will outweigh the bad! They still have a lot more to face….all because……
OMG, your so wrong. Do you really think they were out to hurt the people?
Can you do a better Job? Then apply, go for it. It’s easy, Right? Have you done it?
Are you on the Force? Thats what I thought, just trashing , Right?
They cared, They Helped, They tried, Give um a break. We want to point fingers, put your fingers away. King did it, only Him, where is your Hate for Him? Dont , please dont Blame Our Men, Our officers. Take your finger, and Point, to the scumbucket who did this, Not our Police, KING did it, dont keep trying to blame Charlotte County’s finesest!! No matter what, No matter what you tink, Charlotte County Police did NOT kill her, KING did. So are U stupid or what? Pointing fingers seems to be a 90’s thing, as far as a 60’s thing , we have te finest Police force ever. WTG, My Police force, Ya did the Best ya Could..
Kathy, I dont think the 911 operators were out to intentionally hurt people, they didn’t do their job properly though. They need to be more serious in their positions. Everyone knows that king is the monster here- and have already shared their thoughts on that if you scroll up. I personally would like to scratch his eyes out and torture him. {I know I am not the only one} But can you understand why people are so upset about the 911 operators? Denise was struggling for her life doing everything she could- and a deputy was on scene 2 hrs and 10 minutes later? This was a chance to save her. Nobody here is stupid {in reference to your post} we are all hurt and angry that this happened. This isn’t a television crime show where you turn it off and go about your day. This horrific tragedy has effected her family, and the community and always will.
Kathy,
With all due respect the operators screwed up big time. People have a right to be angry.
And the Charlotte County Sheriffs Office is doing their best to put a good face on it. The FACT is, they NEVER sent a car out. The car they dispatched some two hours later was a different Camaro in a completely unrelated incident.
I understand that a dispatcher doesn’t get paid much and it’s a fairly low-level job where people are paid to respond and not think. I understand that people make mistakes, and I can understand if maybe just one person happened to screw up. But FOUR people?
I’m angry. My family’s angry. The community’s angry.
Does this mean we don’t respect the CCSO? No. Does this mean we don’t appreciate their efforts? No. We appreciate all the efforts of all the agencies involved. It DOES means we’re angry and changes need to be made. Pronto. And it does mean that we deserve at least some acknowledgement and some form of an apology from Davenport. His demeanor while giving his press conference gave us no indication that there was any remorse.
Next time it could be you’re daughter in the backseat of a Camaro screaming bloody murder.
Even if this wasn’t Denise and it had been a small child. Huh? You still don’t dispatch a car?
Bloody hell.
I am at a loss for words, well not really . . . Absoutely NO calls placed to the 911 system should be taken lightly. That is why it is in place and the employees who work there should take responsiblity for their actions. There were many LE agencies involved and most of their workforce stayed on past their normal shift to assist in searching for Denise, I think the employees at the 911 call center should have stayed through to be sure the information got to the right person or passed on to the field staff. That should be a given and a paper trail should follow through as well with the acknowledgement of the going off the clock and coming on the clock staff.
I cannot believe we have a program in place, Amber Alert, and this information did not get out to seek out that ‘child’. We are not working in your normal atmosphere here, it is the 911 emergency center people! There are no excuses, if you can’t handle the job, which is a very important one, then you really need to find something else that suits you. It just upsets me so much to know that there was such precious time lost that night, I am just sick to my stomach over it.
Love to the whole Lee and Goff family.
OMG, your so wrong. Do you really think they were out to hurt the people?
Can you do a better Job?
>>>>Yes I believe I could do a better job. I believe their job is to save people! I am curious does the 911 center get calls like this regularly? A woman spotting what seemed to be a child screaming for help? or any age for that matter? I would think that the operator would have been so concerned she would have asked others for help in the situation. But thats just me.
They Helped, They tried, Give um a break.
>>>They tried? can you define “tried”? not patching a call through or telling others what was going on is not trying. I think they were on break and that is the problem.
So are U stupid or what? Pointing fingers seems to be a 90’s thing, as far as a 60’s thing , we have te finest Police force ever. WTG, My Police force, Ya did the Best ya Could..
>>>>> Are you on the force? with your attitude and choice of words, truthfully it isn’t very comforting. We are talking about the 911 operators who didn’t handle the calls properly, not the whole force. You can call it pointing fingers or whatever suits you but we are just seeing it like it is. Perhaps if you were to lose a loved one or have compassion for those who have in this manner you would see things differently.
The phrase “no good deed shall go unpunished†as been attributed to everyone from Clare Booth Luce to John Milton, but nowhere does it apply more aptly than to my daughter, Jane Kowalski. (Notice its Jane, not Janet.)
She has been vilified by Sheriff John Davenport of Charlotte County for giving erroneous information to the 911 operator regarding the Denise Amber Lee kidnapping and murder.
It was around 6:30 p.m. January 17 when a “dark†colored Camero pulled up next to Jane’s car at the traffic light at Cranberry Blvd. It was dusk and had been raining, so she thought it could be navy or black. As it turned out, it was green. She heard very loud and desperate sounding screaming from the back seat and saw a hand banging on the window. Jane got a good look at the driver when he turned his head toward her. The screams were so loud that the person Jane was talking to on her cell phone could hear them.
Jane slowed down, hoping the car would pass her and she could get the license number, but it fell in behind her. She called 911 from her cell phone and described the situation to the operator. She called out the streets they were passing and informed the operator when the Camero turned on to Toledo Blade Blvd. Jane told the operator the screams were “so high-pitched†she thought it was a child and wondered if an Amber alert had been issued. She never said she saw a face. The operator quizzed her as to the approximate age of the
child and Jane said she had no idea, but didn’t think it was a baby. The operator asked if sounded like someone five to ten-years-old, and Jane said “maybe.â€
The operator told Jane she was going to send someone out to talk to her. Jane pulled into a parking lot and after almost ten minutes the operator came back on the phone and told her they couldn’t spare anyone at that point and someone would call her later. To this day, no one from Charlotte County has ever contacted her.
Jane had no way of knowing her call had been routed to the Charlotte County sheriff’s department rather than the Sarasota County 911operator – and it shouldn’t have mattered; unfortunately it mattered very much.
Sheriff Davenport later said ten deputies were sent to the spot Jane had seen the Camero, but Jane said she never saw one sheriff’s car as she drove south on Hwy 41.
The next morning when she turned on the television at her grandmother’s in Fort Myers and heard about Denise Amber Lee’s abduction she knew that was the Camero she had described in her 911 call. Jane immediately called North Port Police and told detectives what she had seen. A few days later she went there and identified Michael King as the driver of the “dark†Camero.
I realize the need to CYA is very powerful, especially when the daughter of a colleague is involved, but surely one does not need to “throw someone else under the bus†to do so. That is exactly what I feel has been done to Jane. No wonder people don’t want to get involved these days – you try to do the right thing and you are smeared in the media.
Not wanting to jeopardize the case in any way and thinking a gag order might be issued, Jane refrained from talking to any of the television and newspaper reporters who contacted her, even when she was offered the opportunity to be flown to New York and go national television.
Sheriff Davenport said if only Jane had told the 911 operator it was a green Camero and not misled them by describing a screaming child, the sheriff’s department would have handled the situation differently. If it had been handled correctly its incompetence would not be splashed all over South Florida and a young mother would be with her family today. Evidently the report of a “dark†Camero and a screaming child wasn’t worth responding to.
I read where some of the 911 personnel at the Charlotte County sheriff’s department have been issued Draconian punishments – 36-hour suspensions and remedial training. Maybe they’ll get it right this time.
Meme,
I’m so sorry your daughter has had to go through this. Give her our heartfelt gratitude. We believe Jane deserves a medal. Be proud of her. And God bless you and your family.
Not only did the dispatched botch this but Davenport has a lot to answer for with his handling of this situation.
I’m so so sorry.
Peggy
Meme, I am so sorry for Jane and your family. it isn’t right for her to be treated that way!! she was doing the right thing by calling! I’m sure she wasn’t the only car out on the road- it has crossed my mind why there were not more calls from other people? I am sure she was shooken up and knew something wasn’t right so she called. The police should have been there immediately. nobody should ever feel that they shouldn’t be able to call 911 in an emergency. { even though we now know it is questionable whether it will help or not} I think you are right though that charlotte county just doesn’t want to take the blame. whether thought to be a screaming child or any age- they could have been out there in the area immediately. They could have been looking for all cameros. {when it is dark how could you tell exactly what color it is anyway} just pull them all over.
please reassure her that she did the right thing~
As Peggy has said before, I can only hope for the honor of meeting Jane. Out of all the mistakes, she has so far been the only redeemer. She’s the reason I still have faith in humanity. She tried so hard, and I hope she’s aware that our family Iat least me) is aware of that. The minute I heard, I said nothing of her poor description, but praised her for her efforts. Period. If I had been in that situation, I can’t honestly say I would have been brave enough to even pull out the phone. Jane, if you ever get the chance to see this, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.
As for the 911 dispatch, they will feel the guilt rest upon their shoulders for the rest of their days. And because of that, I can’t condone their presence on the force. If that is your job, you should be able to aptly perform under ANY circumstances, no matter how hectic the situation is. No amount of remedial training is going to help you. In these particular cases, I can only imagine they will perform even more poorly under stress because of the fear of messing up again. They know the possible costs now, they should step down and not put any other lives in danger. We are not all meant to be doctors or lawyers or emergency personnel. OWN UP TO IT! Go be a teacher or an assistant, but don’t put another family through this!
This is the first time I have read any comments since I posted mine. I was getting too involved and I am not family, nor do I live in Northport. My son and his family does and it was getting personal. Now I worry…My first entry (3) I gave a special prayer for Janet (Jane) for getting involved. I suspect she would have chased him down if she could have. Me too! I have always taken that extra step and Janes mom is right, you tend to get ‘burned’. My first question was “why was she on hold for 9 minutes?” Not a long time if your ordering a pizza but in life or death, too long. I have read and reread facts. Operator l with years experience didn’t know if she could “patch Northport”, didn’t even try. Options: she could have patched Charlotte county, she could have transferred the call in to Northport, the sherrifs office, she could have directly called either police department, etc. I worked heavy switchboards all my life so I know how busy they get. Never 911 ….but I do know this call would never have been put on hold and not followed up on immediately. All of a sudden the boards lit up. Were any of these leads? 90 calls in and 50 calls out on an 8 hour shift for 4 people are not a lot of calls. Were any of these 50 calls out going to the police department where someone might mention the original call from Jane. I also realize people call 911 for everything including when the cable goes out. Maybe it needs to be defined. Its my understanding that she stood by the desk watching the supervisor try to work on the patch. I have a hard time with dark colors and the camero I would have probably gotten right. Doesn’t matter what color…Someone was screaming from it banging on the window. That car would have had follow up if I had to get in my car myself and go check it out! What is so insane is, THEY ALL KNEW! If it were entered in the system properly as stated, why wasn’t it dispatched? Screw the log call, let the others grab the lines, talk to Northport or Charlotte County officer directly and make sure someone is anwering that call with big fancy lights and that they dispatched the chopper. Here I go again. I never implied that Charlotte County police did not do their job. I would never say that…I said the “people involved in that critical call who were on duty that night”, and not all 911 operators either. That would be stupid! Could I have done a better job? What are you comparing it too? As I said before, I don’t know why a child I don’t know has gotten so close to my heart …..I feel for her and her family! Yes, I am old generation…!
Charlotte County 911 dispatchers DID screw up BIG TIME! King is ultimately to blame but who ALLOWED this to happen? Charlotte county and the state of Florida, that’s who!
I am sick and tired of them trying to defend themselves instead of owning up to their part in Denise’s murder! “Oh it’s so busy” HIRE MORE PEOPLE!
Denise is gone from all of us forever – until the day we die! Her sister and brother, her parents, her husband, her two sons, her cousins, her aunts and uncles, her grandparents!
Who LET King do this to her!? Think about that! Did you love her? Did you know her?
Craig Bates (concerned)
I’m sorry. Janet Kowalski, If you’re reading this, I thank you for trying to save Denise’s life. It wouldn’t have been in vein had Charlotte county been competent. You might not even have had to make that call had the state of Florida done its job in time.
That is why this hurts the community so much and has touched us so deeply. A loving young mother raising her boys taken from her OWN HOME!!! It is heartbreaking to hear of anybody being murdered. But she wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time- she was in her home! we should all feel safe in our own homes, in our communities. why does monster king get to sit in jail for who knows how long to sort out his story. I am just so angered as everyone else is as well that this could have even happened. :( Now, the aftermath with the 911 calls,etc, it just gets worse. it feels like we are screaming out but can’t be heard. :(
This is typical of our society. When a loser like King commits such an atrocity, we give him a trial and afford him rights. Its a clear cut case of guilt. Next, he will have his trial and possibly get sentenced to “death”. But “death” in this warped system of ‘justice” means he will live ten to fifteen more years. He will eat, sleep, amd crap on tax payer time and money. You liberals that oppose the death penalty listen up, I don’t want to pay for his ass to eat and sleep. If he’s so precious or the life of a worm like him is so precious, you take him and let him live in your community. Or you go to work incarcerating him and taking care of his ass each day! You expect prison guards to watch these scum and risk their lives babysitting them. You expect prison emplyees to be exposed to these animals every day because you can’t stomach killing a monster. I have no problem with it. I say let Denise’s husband have at that loser and if he can’t stomach taking that worm apart, I could. You wonder why Islamics have a problem with spineless Christian cultures? That’s another issue but the above is one reason among many. Your society tolerates perverts, drunkards, prostitutes, pimps, pornography, drugs, etc. The fruit of your tolerance has come home to you. Even your police 911 dispatchers would rather go home early than follow up on an urgen call for help! I love America and I mourn the loss of a beautiful young mother. What are you going to do about it at the next election? You going to vote for some wimpy liberal that talks about tolerance and diversity or maybe look for a real leader that believes in your ability to be a civil society, and therefore expects decency from the people. A leader that punishes the evil and makes no excuses for it. Time for good people to demand something more!
I’ve been a reporter in four communities in Washington state, and covered crime fairly extensively at my last paper. I’ve never heard of a LE agency/dispatch center brushing off an SOS call. It’s mind-boggling. I have two levels of thought here: one as a journalist, and one as a human being.
As a journalist, I’d consider this to be the investigative story of the year. The fact that Denise was in the LE family makes it all the more bizarre, and removes the usual accusations of racial or class bias.
As a human being, I’m sick over it. Not that it helps, but my thoughts are with Denise’s family and friends. I’ve had to cover hundreds of tragedies, but only one involved wrongdoing by dispatchers (a drowning).
I hope this brings changes, and I REALLY hope Denise’s loved ones find some way to heal.
I am a 911 call taker. A kidnapping in progress is a priority 1 call no matter if its a child or an adult. If I receive a call for a kidnapping in progress, I immediately enter that call in with any little bit of information that I can get from the caller. If I didnt, and that person was harmed in any way, I would LOSE MY JOB.
However, there can also be extenuating circumstances. There may be more to this story than they are telling which, judging from the miniscule amount of information that the sheriff is giving and the leniency of the punishments, is probably the case here. The leniency of the punishments tells me that this was done to pacify the public…otherwise, I dont think they would have been disciplined at all.
I’m going to withold judgement until the entire story comes out and in the meantime, my prayers are with the family of Denise. Peace be with you all.
Hello?! When I worked at damn HOME DEPOT, if something went wrong (power went down, system went down), we would STAY at work until things were straightened out, whether it was the end of our shift or not. These people have the LIVES of the public in their hands, are being paid with our tax dollars, but when it’s time to punch out, they’re out of there?! I find that hard to stomach.
I’m not presenting this as an excuse, but I think it’s important to recognize that the current employment environment is such that workers are being disciplined for things like overtime. The operators at this location may have felt they could not stay past the end of their shift for fear of reprisal. It is a very real issue in many, many places of employment, and with the state of the economy, many folks need their jobs. Not to mention employers can hold the unemployment rate over their heads.
Should this incident have been dropped the way it was? Absolutely not. But portraying “our tax dollars” (which is one of the most inaccurate, infuriating, and incorrect phrases anyone ever utters) as being used to pay people who don’t care about their jobs is unfair. You will not get justice for Denise by expressing injustice and unfairness to others.
I truly hope that this incident brings about changes in the way things are handled, and if this mistake was a result of inattention or indifference, that is awful and should be dealt with. However, the public does love to jump to assumptions and string up whoever they can find that might be involved, and it does a disservice to us all.
Christy,
Then why didn’t the CCSO let us know about the call? Why was it hidden? Why did we search for 2 days along Sumter Blvd and not Toledo Blade (where she was found?).
I can assure you we’ve given them the benefit of the doubt. Nathan’s FIL has worked for the CCSO for 25 years. They are his friends and family.
There was a 800-900 page investigative report that came out.
We don’t and didn’t want this. This is heartbreaking for Rick (Nate’s FIL) who still has to go to work everyday.
Hopefully the whole story will come out. That’s the idea. It’s not about the money, it’s about incompetency. Listen to the call. You can hear the one woman stressing.
Anyhow, I understand where you’re coming from. We were there, too, 3 months ago.
I listened to the 911 call Jane made (the audio was posted on a website) and found myself so frustrated as I listened to Jane patiently trying to tell the operator what she saw and the operator repeatedly asking her the same questions – like what Jane’s phone number was and how old the child was and what color was the car. What did it matter how old the screaming person was!! Jane said it was a child, for Pete’s sake; get a helicopter in the air and check it out! Jane did everything right. She saw something awry and did something about it, way above and beyond what most people would bother doing. She paid attention to the car and its driver, slowed down in an effort to get it to pass so she could get its license number, told the operator the streets she and the car were passing, said it was a 90s-00s model of Camaro, gave her contact info and identified King later. It breaks my heart to think of the agony Denise went through, but Jane deserves the highest praise for her valiant efforts to save Denise’s life. By the way, the daughter of King’s cousin called 911 dispatch that day to report that King had just come by in a Camaro, a tied-up woman got out of his car, he put her back in the car and then King’s cousin (the caller’s dad) gave King a gas can and shovel that King had asked for and King drove off. Why didn’t dispatch put two and two together about all this – Jane’s call about a Camaro, this other call about a Camaro (with someone giving King’s name!!!), and saddest of all, Denise’s desperate call from King’s cell phone while she was in the car. Meme, your daughter is amazing. Mr. Lee, I and my family are so very saddened about the loss you, your sons and the rest of your family are facing. You are in our prayers.
Quoted from M[I’m not presenting this as an excuse, but I think it’s important to recognize that the current employment environment is such that workers are being disciplined for things like overtime. The operators at this location may have felt they could not stay past the end of their shift for fear of reprisal. It is a very real issue in many, many places of employment, and with the state of the economy, many folks need their jobs. Not to mention employers can hold the unemployment rate over their heads.
Should this incident have been dropped the way it was? Absolutely not. But portraying “our tax dollars†(which is one of the most inaccurate, infuriating, and incorrect phrases anyone ever utters) as being used to pay people who don’t care about their jobs is unfair. You will not get justice for Denise by expressing injustice and unfairness to others.]End quote
Okay, if in fact they were worried about overtime than that needs to change when it comes to saving lives. The 911 call center shouldn’t be run like Home Depot. I realize it is a job, but it shouldn’t be run like any other. I am a bit confused about the beginning time line – but didn’t everyone already know that Rick’s daughter was missing at that time??? If Denise’s call came first and Jane’s hours later?That being said wouldn’t they be even more so on heightened alert??! Not letting any call go unnoticed? {not that any call should be unnoticed but you know what I mean} ? There will be justice for Denise, regardless of what you deem as expressing injustice and unfairness to others. What was done to her was unfair and unjust. :(
That call was the best kept secret until Jane pursued it and blew it for them. It was logged in her name so they clearly recognized the camero. Same with the cc bolo that didn’t get issued. Harold has his own demons to deal with for being a wimp but the 911 needs to be under state investigation. Nightmares again! I can not even begin to imagine what the family is going through. It could have and should have been prevented. That is what the 911 center is supposed to be for. It carries responsibilities for the lives of people who need help. No excuse for this. I have the highest respect for Rick Goff.
First off I am not trying to defend the 911 Operator from Jane Kowalski’s call; however yesterday I was able to listen to the entire call start-finish; yes the operator may have made a mistake; However at several points during the call the operator is CLEARLY TRYING to get a supervisor to assist her with the call; she also can be heard several times asking her “supervisor” if a “unit” wants to meet with Mrs Kowalski……then you can (if listen closely) hear a supervisor (I’m assuming) reitterate “did you get a phone number?”, then something to the effect that thank the caller and go to the next call……when the oprator begins talking to Mrs Kowalski again she sounds as though she dosnt want to hang up?? Again my point is maybe the operator wasnt trained properly; it was a shoft change and the supervisor wanted to go home, but if thats the case then the Supervisor for the shoft or whomever was advising that Operator should also be disciplined.
I often listen to local 911 tapes….to add to this in a seoerate case, but still very relevant…..in the 911 Tapes from the girl that was attacked by the 6 other girls; toward the end of the call the Operator can be heard asking “what do I do if I want an Ambulance to go to this address”? Are you Kidding me!!!! These people clearly need better uniform training, not at a local level either……this problem is much bigger than that…………….again this is not meant to minimize anything; just point out that in my opinion one Operator almost seemed to be trying to push the urgancy of the call……at a few points the Operator is trying to pass on information to someone and there is some confusion when Mrs Kowalski thinks the Operator is talking to her.
Photoguy,
You’re absolutely correct. This is not the fault of just one 911 operator. This was a major breakdown in the system. Several people were involved in the dispatch office. I still believe the 911 operator knew Ms Kowalski was talking about Denise. That’s why she was rattled and was so anxious. The entire system broke down when no unit was dispatched and North Port police were not notified about the call. Our family and the NPPD did not know about the call until 3 days later when Ms Kowalski called. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office wasn’t forthcoming about the information. Not sending a unit, not notifying the Police Department in charge, no BOLO, NOT notifying their own department in the field. This complaint has to do with the hire-ups responsible and of course those poor young women who made some pretty dire mistakes.
We thought things were fixed as far as the communication between police departments after 9/11. Hah! There’s still a lot that needs fixing.
Thank you for caring enough to post. Keep us in your prayers. Not only do we have to deal with the loss of Denise by a sadistic murderer rapist, but we have to deal with this. And knowing that she laid in the shallow grave, naked, exposed to these horrific Florida elements, 2 days longer than necessary simply because the CCSO didn’t tell us about this phone call.
Sorry for the long post.
Like Peggy said, it’s not necessarily one person’s fault, but the fact that there is no uniform state-wide policy or training that is rigorous enough for the amount of power and responsibility we as a community place on 911 operators. Had they been trained to the fullest extent possible, the chances of this happening would have been much lower. Or, if they are unable to perform their duties correctly, they would have been weeded out by more rigorous testing standards. The ultimate goal here is to save lives, to protect other families from having to deal with what our family has had to go through. Denise’s death could have been prevented, but that doesn’t mean we can’t prevent the deaths of countless others.
I work for an energy company in Michigan. During training, we were informed that during any kind of situation in which the customer smells gas, if we were to type in an incorrect address and dispatch the technicians to the wrong address, we can be TERMINATED not suspended. The fact that those dispatchers were suspended for HOURS and not fired, is abominable.
i am so sorry to hear this and also pissed because the 911 dispatch could have saved her and just looked away. i have 3 children myself and i don’t know what i would do in that sisuation but i hope it would ave been the same. my heart goes out to the family and i believe the dipatchers should lose there jobs man what will happen to the next victum will thay lose there lives as well?
The two young teen girls that used to live next to me (my babysitters) were home alone when someone tried to break in through their front door. They immediately called 911 and were told a patrol would be “righ” there…..their mother came home from work with many of her coworkers after being called by one of the girls after the 911 call….the police never showed. There were pry marks on the door jam from the outside and wood shavings on the ground from where the attempt was almost successful.
I called 911 to report gunshots in our neighborhood (growing up shooting rifles myself, I know the difference between a gun firing and a car backfiring), the first time there was a busy signal. Then I called back and I was put on hold and then it went dead…as in “hung up”. I called back a 3′rd time (I have called 911 only about 4 or so times my entire life, so I didn’t understand why I wasn’t being taken seriously) and was put on hold and waited about 5 minutes before getting a voice. As a mother of 4, this scares me. If my child was choking or one of them was calling themself, is this normal? I asked the operator and she said that they were busy…..so busy that they simply hung up the phone on me before even hearing my voice?????
We had a local woman here in WA state who was reported missing and later, her car was found parked and aparently abondened at a park’s trail entrance. The report of the car was made by a passerby by their cell. No one checked on the car. The elderly woman who was supposedly being searched for due to dimentia or Alzheimers was on that trail, dillusional, and subsequently died of exposure to the Winter elements out there, alone.
What is wrong with our system??? The public seems to be doing a lot of the police work for them by reporting what they see yet the police don’t follow up. Can we get an alternative to 911 where there are actual people on the other end who give a damn? I always tell my kids and my sitters to call 911 before they call me. I am starting to rethink this!
I am watching Denise Lee’s story on Prime Time Crime (ugh! What a name, it makes me want to take “prime” out of my domain name). I googled DENISE LEE after the program started.
This is SO tragic!
My deepest sympathy to everyone who is affected by her loss – she was beautiful and very smart to leave her trace behind.
My UTMOST ADMIRATION for ALL of the women who came forward with pertinent information – her neighbor, Harold’s daughter and ex-wife, Jane Kowalski (also refered to as Janet I see). YOU are outstanding. Maybe it IS a woman’s instinct to follow through with The Call!
I have a few questions about the police questioning (of Michael & Harold, I feel there are clues in those exchanges), and wonder if there was a breakdown in communication IN ADDITION TO the dispatcher conveying to (a coworker?/supervisor?/another person on her end) that the person slapping the inside of the car window was yelling instead of SCREAMING and seemed to add “5 or 10 – the age of reported victim?)
For instance, was Denise Lee’s shout to her WITNESSES:
“Call the Cops” or “Call the POLICE!”??
In MY mind, one calls the Cops to break up a fight, and the POLICE in a life & death situation.
BECAUSE of the most IMPORTANT breakdown in DISPATCH, I would remove any dispatcher involved with this call that was on the clock from the position of dispatcher after unpaid suspension. (You don’t want these people to freeze up in similar situations). Transfer, not terminate. (Their presence will be a constant reminder to the force, a REinforcement of proper procedure and follow through).
Supervision and Middle Management should be disciplined accordingly. I don’t know the protocol OR what the Denise Lee Act consists of (yet) BUT, in addition to training, dispatchers should receive stress and psych tests on a regular basis. The Chain of Command has to WIDEN in Life & Death situations and there needs to be an OVERLAP of supervision (and COMMUNICATION) during shift changes.
Denise Lee’s husband and father should be given what they ask for.
The program is long over and I leave this blog to look up the Denise Lee Act and wonder if her two tiny sons will grow up to be detectives one day. I can tell Nathan Lee has the strength to carry on after I saw him describe how every night before bed he and his sons kiss Denise Lee’s picture goodnight.
I also leave thanking Denise Lee for improving 911 response around the nation and probably around the world. You put up a damn fight girl, you deserve a rest!
I watched the ABC story last nite. This is a truly unbelievable story. She must have suffered so much. I can’t imagine the fear she must have felt. What is wrong with this world? People don’t want to help their fellow man – don’t want to get involved. There must be a special place in heaven for Denise and hopefully a special place in hell for the man that did this to her and her family. I can only hope….
First of all, I am not shocked that none of the men that saw Denise did anything to help, not even by picking up the phone and calling the police. Typical men “don’t want to get involved”. It took a woman with sense to call 911. The operators are as responsible for her death as her killer was. They gave him the time he needed to kill her, because if they weren’t such blundering fools they could have done their jobs and she would have been saved. The operators should be charged as accessories to murder. How can you explain the operators that took Denise’s call? If you have someone on the phone reporting what obviously sounded like a child abduction, you send a squad car, or two, or three squad cars. And to say after the fact, well Denise was in a GREEN camaro, and the call was about a BLUE camaro. Blue, green, purple, it was a CAMARO and someone was in it against their will. It should have been followed up on. The driver that called in the report had to ask the operator if she should follow the camaro or not, and the operator is wasting time repeating her questions to someone else, like she had no idea what she should repond. Why was she anwering 911 calls if she was clueless? Between the two operators heard neither one had enough sense to tell the caller what to do. I can’t believe they keep verifying her name and phone number. The 911 operator should have immediately told the woman to follow the car at a safe distance until a squad car was dispatched and reached the area. That alone could have saved Denise’s life. The operator’s are incompetent, and probably senile and should have been fired. A 911 operator has to have the training and common sense needed to handle emergencies prudently, that is their job. An emergency call requires prceise questions and quick thinking which they lacked.
I watched Denise’s story last night on Primetime Crime which is not a show I have watched before. It is unbelievable to me how many people turned their heads and did nothing. The man who thought of following the car, the other who dialed 911 on his cell, but never hit the send button. My sister just had a baby girl 2 months ago and watching this story, all I could think was, what if that was my sister? What if that was my neice all grown up with her own family? Bottomline, what if it was anyone of us, or anyone we know or who we hold dear in our hearts? If I or any of you were a passer by, would you have lent that helping hand? To help your fellow man? I believe I would and I believe most of the folks who entered their thoughts here would have. For whatever reason, this story has touched my heart and soul. I feel for Nathan, Noah, Adam and Denise’s father. I do hope that they find peace….someday.
I personally feel that the 911 call taker(s) failed miserably at their job responsibilites. The Sheriff I find to be cold hearted showing zero empathy. It is sad to think that we as the public are putting our trust and faith in folks like him. Keeping in mind that everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time, I would expect if I were in a law enforcement role that I would be held at a higher standard and accountable. Are we not all held accoutable in the jobs that we perform today?
Just my thoughts. Not trying to point fingers at any person or parties in particular. It would just be nice to have folks take responsibility for their actions or in this case, non-action. I would have more respect for someone who admitted they were wrong and made a mistake.
Denise and her family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
sadly the trouble with ccso goes far deeper than botched 911 calls …. in my experience the good old boys club and the internal affairs managed to sweep under the rug some serious issues with certain persons employed on the force
Sorry to hear that Sarah. Even sorrier {if there is such a word} that I live in charlotte county.
Makes me wonder what else is under that rug. It’s tragic and it’s downright scary.
Among the many decisions I’ll never understand is why one of the 911 operators wanted to “send someone out to talk with” Jane Kowalski.
Why, when you have a report of a possible abduction (child or adult) in progress, would you not immediately tell officers to look for the car? What could you possibly learn from having a chit-chat in a parking lot that you couldn’t learn from continuing the conversation on the telephone?
This was incompetence and negligence of epic proportions, and it goes beyond the question of proper training. In this case, the 911 operators simply lack common sense. And yes, they absolutely should have been fired for inadvertently assisting in a young mother’s murder.
it breaks my heart , i live in northport and clearly remember cops being everywhere i still think she would of had a chance if the ccso hadnt dropped the ball
i grew up to have all the trust in the world when it came to law enforcement not so much now
unfortunatly iam not surprised by the actions of the internal affairs or davenport iam just truly disgusted
everyday i have to drive down toledo blade and everyday i think about denise and her family
you are in my prayers xxx
I am a 911 operater, and it is really sad that things like this unfortunatly happen. I work in a very small county and sometimes we just do not have the officers that we need to take care of the calls that we get. We also only have 2 ambulances working a county at one time and if they are both on calls and we get another emergency then the caller just has to wait, or we can send an officer to them to try to help until the ambulance can get there, and in one instance we had an officer load the patient into the back of his car and drive him to the hospital himself. The sad truth of the matter is that the 911 operaters in most counties across America are over-worked and underpaid, it is the one job that is one of the most important in the US and yet it is also one of the most underappreciated (especially where the government is concerned). Where I work we were trained that if we were in the middle of a call or something important then we were to stay there until the matter was resolved and not to just “pass” the information off to those coming in behind us. All 911 operaters are supposed to go through certain training before being allowed to even touch a phone, but now days money is extremely tight and 911 centers are payed by county and local government and in smaller populated areas there just isn’t enough money there. Oh but we can bail out the auto industry… something is seriously wrong with America today.
Dear 9-1-1 Operator, Thank you for all that you do! Please understand that we are not angry with all dispatchers. It isn’t fair that all dispatchers don’t receive the best training possible. You are absolutely correct that the priorities are all messed up. Dispatchers are the real first responders in my eyes, they get the first call and have to decide what to do with it- it’s a profession that should be treated as such.
The case with Denise was just a total mess up all the way around. Dispatchers around the country are using her tragedy as an example for better training, etc…
That is crazy…I worked at a teaching hospital that has clinics in it and we offered transportation to and from the hospital within a certain area and when it was shift change I had to take the calls AND make sure they were turned over AND the vehicle was on its way BEFORE we could leave…let me say that one more time HAD to make sure the vehicle WAS on its way not just the note paper turned over to next shift and this was just for someones appointment I mean we didn’t do pick ups for accidents or emergencies so hello if we could make sure a vehicle was on its way to pick up a patient that was not dying, bleeding or in need of any emergency help then how come a police officer dispatcher who is assisting in EMERGENCIES can just walk out without dispatching the call??? you take the call you dispatch it before moving from your chair while the other starts answering the phone and they dispatch the calls they take… gee that’s logical…
Kathy your right he is the one who killed her and you say so why blame the officer’s because they didn’t kill her, he did right??? WRONG!!! He wouldn’t have had a chance to kill her IF they had done the job the TAXPAYERS paid them to do…Does that clear it up for you now??? oh and yes I have done that type of job before for a police station since you say not to answer if you haven’t done it before since its so easy…no one said it was easy they just thought when someone is working in that position that they actually have training for that position and care enough about the ppl and job to do it correctly and in a timely matter…at least that’s what I teach MY child, If your going to do the job then do it right the first time because sometimes second chances don’t exist at least they didn’t for Denise Thanks to the sheriffs department…There I thanked them Kathy are you happy now???
Its bad enough this happened but to have ppl come and say dumb things like don’t blame the officers they didn’t kill her well they sure didn’t save her or try to save her either now did they…Do your job right or get out plain and simple oh and if those dispatchers cared about ppl the way they should 1st this wouldn’t of happened and 2nd this whole thing would have made them feel so bad they would have quit…but feelin bad isn’t good enough neither is 60 hrs no pay gee they got the weekend off oh boy what a punishment they get to go home this weekend and spend it with their kids…but Denise doesn’t…unbelievable actions, unbelievable punishments…I think this scares me more than the lunatic I use to think well at least I would have the police but not so sure now, I think if anything happens I call my husband 1st he can call 911 thats how that would go down and obviously she should have called her dads cell then maybe someone would have cared enough to help…
I have been following this case since it first became public. I was sickened by it from the start and saw the mess that was made by dispatchers. But, another thing that really, really bothered me, and correct me if I’m wrong…
Didn’t King’s uncle take a while to call the police after he thought about the situation when
King came by and picked up the shovel and gas, etc.? It was like he was in denial and then sort of shyly made that call, thinking “maybe” something might not be right, and I mean, after all, there was a girl tied up in his nephew’s car and he did push her head down as they were pulling off (??????)!!!! This has really bothered me since the beginning. This poor girl tried with all her might to save her own life and did a really good job of it, if only everyone else had of done their jobs as human beings!!! I’m filled with sorrow and anger over this, and I sure hope I would have had the presence of mind to have reacted like Janet did, bless her heart. She’s the only one who did the right thing is this entire string of events.
My heart is with this family and the loss of their sweet daughter and wife and mom.
I’m so angry and disappointed in the human race right now.
I just watched the prime time episode they aired in Australia…. What an ordeal Denise musted have faced… All I can say is that the 911 operators stuffed up big time!! If that operator had only dispatched the info, Denise may still be alive… How can that cop say that it was Jane’s fault coz she got the colour of the car wrong…. She still said it was a camaro & the cops knew it was a camaro they were looking for… What if she was colour blind?? Would that have made it any different?? It was still the same car for gods sake!!! I know the operators are under a lot of pressure to get all the info they possibly can, but they are trained specificly for that job… I feel for the family & i just hope thay can get on with their lives…. My heart goes out to you all…