The fatal mistake by ta Fulton County 911 operator that led to the death of a Johns Creek woman wasn't the dispatchers first error. In fact, it was the latest in a long list of transgressions.
We're also learning that, despite claims on its website, the Fulton County 911 center is not accredited.
The website claims the center is one of only 28 in existance to achieve accreditation. But no such accreditation exists for Fulton County's center.
We're also learning about the employment history of the dispatcher involved in last week's debacle that ended in the death of the Johns Creek mother.
Gina Conteh worked as a dispatcher in Fulton County's emergency center for close to 12 years, years that were marked with mistakes, insubordination and dereliction of duty that led to attempts to fire her not once, but twice.
A check of Conteh's employment record shows fights with fellow workers, numerous late arrivals for work, insubordination, repeatedly falling asleep on the job, and multiple times where she sent emergency crews to the wrong address.
The last of those contributed to the death of Darlene Dukes.
Dukes called 911 on August 2, using her cell phone from inside her home in Johns Creek. She reported difficulty in breathing and pleaded for help.
But Conteh sent EMT's to a home on Wells Street, in Atlanta, and not to Dukes' house on Wales Street, in Johns Creek.
Investigators say that, despite the similarities in street names, Conteh should have seen the call was coming from a cell tower in Fulton County, and not Atlanta, and recognized where Dukes was located.
It took nearly an hour for an ambulance to arrive at Dukes' home. By that time, Dukes was dead.
Conteh's work record shows she began her employment with Fulton County in 1996, after working in a retirement community, and as a clerk at QuikTrip.
While she was lauded by supervisors in some evaluations. She received praise for her knowledge of the 911 and was commended for perfect attendance in 2005. In one report, a supervisor calls her a "very good employee" who "works well with her fellow employees." But, her file also contains multiple reprimands.
She was suspended at least seven times for everything from fighting with co-workers to falling asleep while on duty. She would often complain that her supervisors were picking on her.
In April 2003 Conteh was suspended for falling asleep at her desk. She was so fast asleep that she fell out of her chair. As she fell, she scraped her ear on her desk.
She told supervisors that she was not asleep and was, in fact, leaning over to pick up some paper when she tumbled over. She filed a worker's compensation report for her injury.
As for the fights with other workers, she was ordered to attend anger management classes, the last one as recently as last year.
Conteh also was suspended for mishandling phone calls, with at least 6 mistakes from December 2006 to January of this year.
Twice supervisors tried to fire Conteh, and twice those attempts failed.
The first time was in April 2004, when Conteh fell asleep at her desk again. She appealed her firing and was reinstated, but was moved from a morning shift to the afternoons.
A second attempt to terminate her employment also failed.
