Brittany Zimmerman, a 21-year-old UW-Madison student would have graduated in 2009 with a degree in medical microbiology and immunology. She had plans to go on to graduate school after that to study infectious disease. But on April 2, 2008, Brittany Zimmerman was stabbed to death in her apartment. The killer has yet to be found. Hers is the third unsolved murder in Madison in less than a year. While many people wonder who the killer is, and if the three unsolved murders are linked, the Zimmerman family is also struggling to understand how, when Brittany apparently called for help, things got so bungled.
Failure of the System
In the weeks after Brittany’s slaying, it was reported that she had called 911 on April 2nd. However, the 911 operator, Rita Gahagan, on the other end didn’t get a response to their questions and hung up on Brittany. Furthermore, Gahagan did not call Brittany back or send police to her address, which is standard protocol. When this first made the news at the beginning of May, County Executive Kathleen Falk acknowledged that “the system didn’t work like it should,” but refused to concede that mistakes were made, human or otherwise.
Madison Police Chief Noble Wray alleged that there is evidence in the 911 call that should have let Gahagan know something was terribly wrong at Brittany’s apartment and should have immediately sent the police. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz stated at the time that he was not going to second guess the 911 Center due to the internal investigation, and believed that county leaders will implement new recommendations.
Though Falk refused to admit anything went wrong, Gahagan was transferred to another Dane County job. Gahagan contends through her union that she did not mishandle the call, which she alleges was nothing more than “faint background noises” lasting about 90 seconds. She also denies hanging up on Brittany.
Four days later, May 6th, Dane County officials offered apologies to the Zimmerman family and her fiancé, Jordan Gonnering. Gonnering lived in the apartment with Brittany and found her body. Falk also seems to have changed her tune here and sent a letter, in addition to others that were sent. It was also revealed by Dane County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott McDonell that while 911 procedures and staffing procedures will be reviewed, so will a 2004 audit of the 911 Center that warned of “dire consequences” if changes were not made in funding, oversight, staffing, and other areas.
When the report documenting the handling of the 911 call was released, it was found that it contained edits and redactions, but revealed little, if anything, new.
Lawsuit
As a result of all of this, the Zimmerman family has filed a federal lawsuit against Dane County and Rita Gahagan. The lawsuit alleges negligence on Gahagan’s part for hanging up on Brittany and not dispatching police. It also alleges that the county “permitted and tolerated an understaffed and untrained 911 Center.” And finally, the lawsuit contends that the acts of the center and Gahagan caused Brittany “extreme emotional distress when she died.” The Zimmerman family’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
On one hand, people can look at this case and claim the Zimmerman family is looking for scapegoats. Because no one has been caught, they’re looking for someone to blame. On the other hand, we expect 911 operators to follow protocol and send help. This may be especially true during hang up calls. What if the person calling for help is not in a position to speak? While people have been known to prank call 911, and kids are curious about those three numbers, there are also cases where those in trouble with access to a phone call the only number they can think of to send immediate help. Even if the Zimmerman family is looking for scapegoats, which seems doubtful when held up against the evidence, perhaps the 911 Center in Dane County, Wisconsin will enforce those problems that first surfaced in a four year old audit.
If you have suffered the loss of a loved one due to perceived negligence, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer to review your case.
