By D.L. Bennett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Fulton County judge has delayed for at least 45 days the appeal hearing of a 911 operator fired for misdirecting help to a Johns Creek woman who later died.
Superior Court Judge Melvin Westmoreland issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday that bans Fulton from holding the hearing until at least 30 days after the county completes two investigations into its 911 center.
Results of both inquiries are to be released by mid-November.
The hearing for Gina Conteh, a 12-year veteran when she was fired Aug. 6, had been set for Thursday before the Fulton County Personnel Board.
Conteh’s lawyer, Rory Starkey, argued in court that the two reports — one by the Police Department and a second by outside consultants — could help Conteh in her appeal of her termination.
“The pressure to have this hearing is so clear,” Starkey said. “It’s political.”
Westmoreland agreed that the files could help Conteh and there was no reason for the county to push for a hearing.
He noted the board had a long history of repeatedly delaying cases, including others involving Conteh.
“I haven’t heard that delaying this hearing will in any way harm the county or the public,” the judge said.
The lawyers representing the personnel board and the county argued that nothing in the reports should affect Conteh’s case. Besides, they noted, she could always come back and appeal any decision if the documents brought new evidence to light.
Conteh was fired four days after the death of Darlene Dukes, a 39-year-old mother of two. Dukes dialed 911 complaining of difficulty breathing at her home in Johns Creek in north Fulton County. Conteh took the call but sent help to southwest Atlanta, delaying first responders by 25 minutes.
An ambulance didn’t arrive for an hour. Dukes died from a blood clot in her lung.
The ensuing controversy forced Fulton to look at its 911 center, prompting the two probes sought by Starkey. Fulton also reassigned its longtime 911 center director, Alfred “Rocky” Moore.