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PLANT CITY, FL -- The Plant City 911 operator who took a phone call from murder victim Jennifer Johnson has been fired and three others have either resigned or retired following the controversy on how the call was handled, Plant City's police chief said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
Chief Bill McDaniel told reporters he has apologized to Johnson's family and said his department did not handle the call properly.
Johnson was reported missing from her Tampa home on January 15th after she failed to show up for her 2-year-old daughter's birthday party.
Her body was found four days later at an abandoned home in Lakeland.
Her ex-boyfriend Vincent Brown has been charged with kidnapping and killing her.
After she had been kidnapped, Johnson placed a call to 911 from the trunk of her car using her cell phone.
She spoke with 911 operator Amanda Hill, in a call that lasted a minute and 25 seconds.
I don’t see anything because I’m inside my trunk,” a frightened Johnson told Hill during the call."
“They took my car and I’m inside of a trunk.”
“Where did they pick you up at?”
“I don’t know where I’m at.”
“Where did you start out at?...Did you start out somewhere in Plant City?”
That's where the call abruptly ended. McDaniel said that Hill should have tried to call Johnson back and should have dispatched an officer to try to find her.
Neither of those things happened that night.
During the call they were able to ascertain Johnson's phone number and a cell phone tower that had received the signal, but didn't get any more information on her location.
That information alone might not have been enough to find her, McDaniel said.
He said that Hill didn't ask the right questions in order to get the most accurate information on her whereabouts.
Hill, a Plant City employee since 2006 was fired last Friday.
Hill's supervisor Rita Lipham, a 20 year employee, also resigned and Patrol Sgt. James Watkins retired after 21 years on the job.
Both were involved in the decision not to dispatch an officer after the call was made.
Also, Captain Darrell Wilson, who acted as the spokesman for the Plant City Police Department, also resigned after being with Plant City for 16 years.
McDaniel said Wilson gave out false information to the media on how the call was handled.
McDaniel said no policy changes would be made on how Plant City handles 911 calls, since the current policy was not followed in this case.
