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CenturyLink says it provided correct address before Clinton officer was killed

Posted at 10:17 PM, Mar 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-15 23:39:04-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The investigation into a 911 call that led to the death of a police officer in Clinton, Mo. took a new twist late Thursday night.

CenturyLink, a company that provides telephone services to Henry County, told 41 Action News, it's system provided the right address when the 911 call came in on the night of March 6.

The day after the shooting, investigators revealed the 911 call originated in Windsor, Mo. But dispatchers sent police to a home around 20 miles away in Clinton, Mo.

After investigating, CenturyLink spokesman Mark Molzen released the following statement to 41 Action News:

"CenturyLink takes all public safety issues seriously, particularly those involving first responders. We conducted a thorough investigation which shows that when the 911 call was placed, CenturyLink provided the correct phone number and address."

When reached by 41 Action News on Thursday night, Henry County 911 Emergency Communications Chairman Ken Scott said the issue may have been with the county's mapping software.

Scott said the address provided by CenturyLink did not match an address in it's mapping software. Because of this, the system and dispatchers sent officers to the home in Clinton, Mo.

The county's software vendor is investigating the issue. Scott said it's working with the vendor to make sure this does not happen again. They want to make sure every address in the phone system matches an address in the mapping software.

In the case that led to the officer's death, the address the phone system provided did not match an address in the mapping software.

When officers responded to the home in Clinton, Mo. on March 6, police say James Waters shot three officers. One of them, Ofc. Christopher Ryan Morton passed away.

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