Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison paid a visit to the Lawrence Police Department on Thursday to commend three officers and two dispatchers for rescuing a young woman from domestic violence.

On April 30, 2006, a 19-year-old Lawrence woman was being chased by her ex-boyfriend who had a possible intent to harm her, according to a police report. The suspect, an 18-year-old Wichita man, was waiting for the woman outside her home when she drove by, saw him and continued driving. He then chased her by car and forced her off the road and attempted to enter her vehicle.

During the chase, dispatcher Kristine Chapman-Keezer said several citizen calls were made about speeding cars in the East Lawrence area. The chase began near West 19th and Iowa streets and ended in the 1500 block of Massachusetts Street.

Later, the victim’s father, who lives in Wichita, called Lawrence police to help save her daughter after she had called him.

Officers Sutagee Anglin, Hayden Fowler, Brad Fry and dispatchers Jimmy Ramsey and Chapman-Keezer worked together quickly and efficiently to determine a location to intercept the suspect and rescue the woman from the possibly life-threatening situation. The status of the case was unavailable Thursday.

Morrison said the victim’s father told him that the Lawrence Police Department worked at the “top of their game.”

“I absolutely believe that departments, police departments and prosecutor’s offices that are aggressive in dealing with that problem (domestic violence) early on save lives,” Morrison said.

Morrison gave each officer and the dispatchers a letter of recognition and spoke about the value of fighting domestic violence proactively and aggressively. In July, Morrison launched a Domestic Violence Unit and the addition of a lead domestic violence prosecutor who helps train other prosecutors statewide deal with unique domestic violence cases.

“Being a cop is often a thankless job,” Morrison said.

Lawrence Police Chief Ron Olin agreed and said he was appreciative that his officers and dispatchers were recognized.

Chapman-Keezer has been a dispatcher at the Lawrence Police Department for five years.

“It’s very humbling and the most satisfying line of work I can think of,” she said.