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County pays $75,000 in 911 suit
Jason Griswold, 19, called for help during an asthma attack. By the time the ambulance got there, 20 minutes later, it was too late.
By BILL COATS
Published November 3, 2005
TAMPA - Hillsborough County commissioners approved a $75,000 legal settlement Wednesday for the father of a 19-year-old man who died of an asthma attack during a delayed response to a series of 911 requests to help him.
Following that decision, commissioners unanimously requested reports on whether the snags could recur and why 911 tapes were destroyed.
"I found it hard to believe ... that they didn't make some kind of backup tape," said E. Frank Griswold III, who sued over the 2001 death of his son, Jason.
Jason Griswold, a community college student, called 911 from his pickup truck in Lutz, gasping and unable to speak. Without information on the call's source, a sheriff's call taker hung up.
Passers-by also called 911, leading the county's 911 center to dispatch an ambulance. But technical problems prevented the call from reaching the pagers of the ambulance crew in Lutz, and they weren't monitoring their radio. So they didn't leave their station until receiving another call more than five minutes later.
They reached Griswold 20 minutes after he first called 911, as he lay near death outside his truck.
In the mid-1990s, Frank Griswold had experienced a highly publicized run-in with the county's ambulance system. After local authorities thwarted Griswold in his efforts to start a private ambulance system, he sued and complained to the press.
Eventually, two prominent Tampa officials, Ronnie Mason and David Carr, were indicted on charges they extorted the silence of a would-be ambulance rival. The charges were later dropped. Today, the two are running a local ambulance service.
The county and cell phone companies have now upgraded 911 technology so dispatchers know the address or cell tower location from which a call is arriving. Ambulance crews must monitor their radios from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Frank Griswold finally obtained permits for 10 ambulances, which will be operating by year's end, he said.
"A mother lost a son," he said. "A father lost a son. A sister lost a brother. It's time to try to move on."
Bill Coats can be reached at 813 269-5309 or coats@sptimes.com
[Last modified November 3, 2005, 01:06:17]
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