MADISON, Wis. --

The 911 dispatcher who was accused of mishandling a call that came from the cell phone of a University of Wisconsin-Madison student before her killing denies that she did anything wrong, according to her union representative.

Laurie Lane, chief steward for Local 720, which represents Dane County 911 dispatchers, said that the dispatcher said that she followed policy in how she handled a call from Brittany Zimmermann's phone. That call came in on the day that the 21-year-old UW junior was found dead in her campus-area apartment.

Lane said the now-former 911 dispatcher believes she did the best job possible with the Zimmermann call and in fact violated no policy or protocol when she didn't call back Zimmermann's phone or dispatch officers.

On Wednesday, local union representatives for the dispatcher who took Zimmermann's call directly contradicted statements by both police and county officials.

"There is evidence contained in the call which should have resulted in a Madison police officer being dispatched," said Madison Police Chief Noble Wray at a news conference last week.

However, Lane said that she heard a recording of the 911 call herself and that there was nothing on the call that indicated an emergency.

"I don't feel that there was evidence on the tape that should have changed (the dispatcher's) mind on what she did," Lane said.

Lane said that there was no whispering audible on the call and that all she heard was the sound of what she described as faint background noise like a soft rustling, WISC-TV reported. She said the call lasted about 90 seconds.

"(The dispatcher) repeats three times, the same thing, '911, what's the address of the emergency?'" Lane said. "I did not hear whispers. I heard background noise but nothing that would make me suspect that it should be a call that would be responded to differently than what the dispatcher did."

Shannon Maier, president for Local 720, said that the dispatcher also denies that she hung up on the call from Zimmermann's cell phone. Officials have said that the dispatcher hung up on the call.

"We did ask the dispatcher, and the dispatcher said adamantly she did not hang up -- the call was disconnected on the caller's end," Maier said.

Lane said the dispatcher also rejects the accusation that she violated protocol by not calling Zimmermann's cell phone back. The dispatcher said the 911 center policy says operators should call back a disconnected call if they have time. She said that because she had other calls waiting, she handled those, according to Lane.

"The protocol is written such that 911 hang up calls are returned -- if time permits," Maier said.

The union sent WISC-TV proof of that protocol in the form of a written policy for Dane County dispatchers.

But Dane County officials said they disagree with the union's claim regarding the protocol. Dane County explained the discrepancy by saying the union is reading the same document, but looking at a different section of it.

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk's office pointed to section "5.2.5.5." That section says wireless 911 calls without signs of trouble shall be called back once.

The union is reading an earlier section on wireless calls, which states the calls should be returned as "time permits," and waiting 911 calls should be answered before calling back hang-ups or abandoned calls.

Lane described the dispatcher was an "exceptional individual" and that she has deep sympathy for Zimmermann's family and friends.

She added that the dispatcher plans to fight any disciplinary action that might be proposed in relation to this incident.

Eric Bruger, a friend of Zimmermann and her fiancé, said how the 911 call was handled is surprising.

"Obviously, it's kind of surprising and a little, I guess, shocking is a good word. It's not something that you expect from that kind of service." Bruger said. "You certainly hope that they'll (911) be able to deliver a quality service when you need them."

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.

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