Discipline ‘Way Off’ For Dispatcher’s Second Mistake

The family of a woman who died of a medical problem believes that a written reprimand for the Aurora (Colo.) dispatcher who mishandled the 911 call is inappropriate, especially considering that Jeanette Price mishandled a 911 call in 2001 that ended with a kidnapping and murder. “I think that’s way off,” said Robert Loman, whose mother Sandra died last May after Price sent emergency units to the wrong location, and tripling the response time. In the earlier incident, Price argued with a caller reporting what appeared to be the abduction of a woman from a parking lot by a man. Price told the caller at one point, “So they may have just been playing around.” The abduction was real, and the victim was found dead the next day at the hands of her boyfriend. The city settled a lawsuit with a $150,000 payment, and Price received a written reprimand. City attorney Charlie Richardson defended the latest discipline, saying Price had correctly handled “thousands” of 911 calls since the original incident. Read more here.