Victim: 'Lenient' Sentence for Twinsburg, OH, Dispatcher Who Made Prank Call

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A former Twinsburg dispatcher pleaded guilty Friday to telecommunications harassment after making a prank call to a resident in June.

Stow Municipal Judge Lisa Coates fined Loretta Nash, 58, $150 and ordered her to avoid contacting the victim. She was also ordered to write an apology letter.

The victim, Karen Clinton, who attended the hearing, expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome.

“The punishment was far too lenient,” Clinton said. “I don’t agree with the decision given the impact this embarrassing situation has had on me and my family.”

The incident occurred during the final minutes of Nash’s last shift as a part-time dispatcher for Twinsburg. Nash had submitted her resignation weeks before making the call. During the prank call, Nash identified herself as “Twinsburg police.”

“Congratulations, you win the prize,” Nash told Clinton during the call. “It is called the booby prize. You are the dumbest person to call the police department on a repeated basis.”

Nash accused Clinton of calling first responders 183 times since 2010 and claimed there had been 954 traffic details on Clinton’s street in the past five years. Clinton refuted those claims.

Both women previously served the city in emergency services roles. Clinton worked as a firefighter and dispatcher, while Nash had worked full-time as a dispatcher before retiring and being rehired. However, the two were not familiar with each other.

After Clinton filed a formal complaint with the police department, Nash was charged. The telecommunications charge carried a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

After the incident, Twinsburg Mayor Sam Scaffide and Police Chief Thomas Mason called Clinton to apologize for Nash’s actions.

“An incident of this nature or similar is not something my administration has had to deal with or ever that I can recall,” Scaffide said in an emailed statement. “We take these matters very seriously and will continue to do so if something this unfortunate ever happens again.”

Nash’s attorney, George Keith, told Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer that Nash acknowledged what she did.

“Loretta took responsibility for what she did do, and she also expressed great remorse for what happened,” Keith said.

Clinton questioned whether the sentence would deter similar behavior.

“What’s to stop other dispatchers from doing this if all she received is a slap on the wrist?” Clinton said.

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