Two Boone County, Kentucky, emergency dispatch workers have filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the county, accusing a supervisor and co-worker of using abusive language to minority callers and sleeping on duty.
The Kentucky Enquirer reports that Kelly Preston and Jeanne Fleek say they were mistreated, told to stop reporting the behavior and suspended after complaining about the unidentified dispatchers.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday, says a supervisor fell asleep on the job several times and racially harassed both callers and Fleek, a Native American.
“This suit alleges and the dispatch tapes will likely show that minority callers are more apt to be subject to abusive language, which was directly placing the lives of responding police officers in jeopardy,” said the women’s attorney, Shane Sidebottom. “These are not just two disgruntled workers. These are two long-term employees who have a concern about public safety in Boone County.”
The lawsuit is against the Boone County Fiscal Court, which pays for and manages the dispatch center. Judge-executive Gary Moore declined to comment, saying he had not yet seen the lawsuits.
Boone County dispatch officials did not immediately return the newspaper’s calls for comment.
The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages and any improper disciplinary marks to be removed from their personnel files.
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