Faulted 911 Operator to Appeal Termination

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – The Fulton County 911 operator who was fired for mishandling a call from a Johns Creek woman plans to appeal her termination. The caller died after waiting nearly an hour for an ambulance to arrive at the correct address.

Operator Gina Conteh sent an ambulance to an address in southwest Atlanta, even though that was nearly 30 miles south of the cell phone tower that her computer showed as the origin of the call. After figuring out that the address was wrong, Conteh then failed to call to dispatch another ambulance to the correct address until well after police and fire had arrived.

In an e-mail to WABE, Conteh's lawyer, Rory Starkey, says his client has requested an official hearing before the Fulton County Personnel Board, challenging the communication center's decision to terminate her.

Conteh's personnel file shows that the county had tried, and failed, to fire her twice over her 12 years with the department. Her performance record indicates that she was late to work, made dispatching mistakes, fought with co-workers, and even fell asleep on the job.

Her attorney has declined to respond further until the personnel board hearing, scheduled for August 28th, is over.