Catoosa dispatcher fired for sharing caller’s medical information with her family
The dispatcher,
"I made a mistake trusting my family," she said Friday afternoon, seven weeks after she sent the message, four days after her boss found out and six hours after she got fired.
Dowis said her cousin's husband used the message to exact revenge Monday, though she maintains revenge was unnecessary. Family members accused her of ratting her cousin out to the police, which she denies.
On Friday, after her boss learned about the message and launched an internal investigation,
She also was fired for violating three county policies: one that deals with a general ethical code for public officials, another about releasing confidential information, and another about how county employees use their privileged access to information.
Walker will give the investigative file to the
"We've done our due diligence and come full circle," Walker said.
Dowis said her problems began Monday, when she was working at the 911 center located inside the
The warrant deals with a separate legal issue from her appearance in
Dowis said some family members believed she was the one who tipped off the police, seeing that she works inside the courthouse. But she said that isn't the case, that she didn't know about the warrant.
Nevertheless, she said, the husband of her arrested cousin then called Emergency Management 911 Director
Flury then reviewed the message, interviewed the cousins and met with the man whose information had been exposed. Asked about Dowis' version of how all this information came out, Flury declined comment because the case is still under investigation.
But by Wednesday, Flury and Walker agreed to put Dowis on administrative leave. On Friday, after consulting with the county's human resources director, Walker fired Dowis.
Walker said Dowis was disciplined in 2014 for taking a picture, but that was a minor offense. She was photographing herself, and the dispatch screen just happened to be in the background. County officials decided she merely needed remedial training.
On Friday, Dowis said she actually sent three pictures with dispatch information, but only one contained medical details. The information from the other two pictures would have been an open record anyway.
"I'm sorry for violating his rights," she said of the man who information she exposed to her family members. "I didn't know it was going to be brought to his attention or anybody's attention. I wouldn't want him to be hurt that way."
Several law enforcement sources told the
Now she believes she will have to find a new line of work.
"I don't want people to feel unsafe [calling 911]," she said. "But I have done good. I have saved people's lives. I've done good for the community."
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