Charges Dismissed Against Dispatcher

One of two Detroit (Mich.) police dispatchers charged with willful neglect of duty has been cleared by a judge before the jury began their deliberations. Terri Sutton, a 19-year veteran, fielded a 911 call from a 5 year-old boy in Feb. 2006, and sent police to the boy’s apartment to scold him for making a prank call. Actually, the boy’s mother had collapsed hours earlier and lay dead on the floor. Dispatcher Sharon Nichols was not exonerated by the judge and still faces charges. In court Wednesday, Judge Paula Humphries ruled on a petition by the defense attorneys to dismiss the case, saying that Sutton might have been rude to the boy, but did dispatch officers in response to the 911 call. Sutton now works in the property room of the police department. The woman’s family is upset over the judge’s ruling. Read more about the ruling here.