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2 911 Dispatchers Punished In North Port Call Disconnect

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By Jackie Barron of News Channel 8

Published: February 15, 2008

Two employees of Charlotte County's 911 call center are being punished after an internal investigation into the handling of a call concerning a North Port woman who was later found dead, Sheriff John Davenport announced today.

Dispatchers Susan Kallestad and Elizabeth Martinez will be suspended without pay, Kallestad for 60 hours and Martinez for 36. They also must take 12 hours of remedial training and will be on disciplinary probation for six months. Along with two other employees, they must participate in a critical incident stress management debriefing.

On Jan. 17, 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee disappeared from her home. While law enforcement officers throughout the area searched for Lee, a woman from Tampa called 911, saying she had spotted a dark-colored Chevrolet Camaro with someone inside screaming and banging on the window.

According to the investigation, as a call-taker in Charlotte County stood up, relaying the information to dispatchers, a shift change also happened. A report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement quotes one of the disciplined employees as saying she "screwed up."

Davenport said Kallestad failed to make sure units responded to the call, and that when a road patrol sergeant specifically asked her to tell North Port Police about it, she didn't.

Police arrested Michael Lee King, 36, the night Lee disappeared. Lee's body was found two days later in a wooded area six miles from her home. King is now charged with murder.

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