MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A former emergency dispatcher who insisted she didn't hear the screams of a college student who dialed 911 as she was being stabbed to death will be suspended for mishandling the call, officials said Friday.
Topf Wells, chief of staff for Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, said Rita Gahagan would serve a three-day suspension without pay from her current job as a county child support clerk. Gahagan was transferred out of the 911 center shortly after the incident.
Gahagan's immediate supervisor will decide when the suspension begins.
Brittany Zimmermannn, a University of Wisconsin-Madison senior, was stabbed to death after someone broke into her apartment on April 2. Police said Zimmermann, 21, managed to call 911 from her cell phone during the attack.
Police said the call included a scream and sounds of a struggle, but Gahagan had said she heard nothing unusual when she picked up. She ended the call after repeatedly asking if there was an emergency and receiving no answer and didn't call the number back or send police to investigate as the 911 center's policy suggested.