Karen Clinton (WOIO).
A 911 dispatcher in Ohio recently found herself on the wrong side of the law after calling another woman to insult her intelligence, according to law enforcement in the Buckeye State.
Loretta Nash, 58, faces one count each of telecommunications harassment and prohibited use of 911 system data, Stow Municipal Court records show. Both of the charges are misdemeanors.
The incident that resulted in the charges occurred on June 6.
But the underlying narrative in the case dates back well over a decade.
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The victim said the dispatcher was motivated to make the insulting phone call due to the number of times she made 911 calls over the past 15 years, according to Shaker Heights-based CBS affiliate WOIO, a TV station serving the broader Cleveland metro area.
The woman said she grew concerned when the phone rang because caller ID identified the source as the Twinsburg Police Department. Twinsburg is a small suburban city located roughly 25 miles southeast of Cleveland.
“My heart started racing,” Karen Clinton told WOIO. “I was bracing for impact. I was getting ready; do I need to sit down?”
The victim reiterated the fear she felt in a separate and earlier interview with Cleveland-based Fox affiliate WJW.
“It took me to my knees, it really did,” Clinton added. “It terrified me.”
The dispatcher herself allegedly maintained the idea she was part of the police department, according to audio of the reverse 911 call. Then Nash reportedly asked Clinton if she had her full attention.
The woman responded in the affirmative. Clinton, after some back and forth, said she established she did not need to sit down because the call was not about any kind of actual emergency.
The aggrieved dispatcher first outlined her discontent numerically.
“Congratulations, you”ve won the prize,” the voice on the other of the line says. “Since 2010, you’ve made 183 phone calls, and in the last five years we have conducted 954 traffic details on your street. And, we have made 1,804 traffic stops on your street in the last five years.”
Then, the insults came aplenty, purportedly leaving Clinton speechless.
“So, you win the prize,” the female caller says. “It’s called the booby prize. You are the dumbest person to call this police department on a repeated basis. So thank you for being a resident of this city and have a wonderful life.”
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The audio ends without Clinton saying a word.
The police department no longer employs Nash, WJW reported.
Clinton – who is a former firefighter and police dispatcher – assailed the since-fired dispatcher in comments to the local TV stations,
“The call was to humiliate me by implying that I would make frivolous calls to 911, and that is absolutely not true,” the victim told WOIO. “She came into my home via telecommunications, and she terrorized me in my own home. I want her charged.”
Later that same night, Clinton received a call from the chief of police, she said. After receiving an apology, she filed a complaint and pressed charges.
Nash was charged on July 9; she was arraigned the next day and pleaded not guilty, court records show. The defendant is due back in court for a hearing on July 29. A trial is currently slated for Sept. 22.
“Nash made the telecommunication with purpose to harass, intimidate, or abuse a person at the premises,” the charging document reads.
The court filings in the case, however, do not elaborate on the phone call beyond mere recitations of the laws allegedly violated.
“I still can’t understand why she singled me out, and that’s precisely what she did; she targeted me, and it was one of the most cruel, heinous things,” Clinton told WOIO – an echo of comments she made to WJW: “To do that is cruel. It’s cruel.”
