Govt. Review Of Radio Project Finds Faults
On the heels of complaints by several public safety agencies, the federal government has completed a review of a grant-funded wireless project for San Francisco region public safety agencies, and has found several major issues, including misrepresentations of facts to support the grant. The Inspector General’s office of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) says the issues may [...]
Police Didn’t Find Murder Victim, Address Error
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) dispatcher may have misheard an address during a 911 from the boyfriend of a woman who was later found murdered, and the police chief says they are now investigating how the call was handled. Danielle Watson, 25, called her boyfriend and there was some commotion in the background of the call. She [...]
Dispatcher Pays Respects to Fallen Officer
Weber (Utah) Area Dispatch Center dispatcher Erica Engstrom was working last week when a regional task force raided a house where a suspected drug user was living. The resident opened fire on officers, killing Agent Jared Francom and wounding two other officers. Hundreds of officers, Utah’s governor and other officials attended Francom’s funeral yesterday, where [...]
NYC Mayor Announces Completion of 911 Overhaul
In a press conference yesterday New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announced completion of major improvements to the city’s 911 and public safety radio systems, and said the city is now at work on a back-up facility for the communications center to ensure total reliability. “We now have all of the City’s emergency response agencies in one [...]
State Court Schedules Hearing on Immunity Issue
The Michigan Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for next week on the issue of governmental immunity for two Detroit dispatchers who handled 911 calls in 2006 from a five year-old boy reporting his mother was unconscious. Dispatchers Sherry Nichols and Terri Sutton believed the boy was making prank calls, and did not dispatch EMS units to [...]
Dispatcher To Caller: Protect Yourself, Then Shooting
The Grady County (Okla.) sheriff’s dispatcher who fielded a 911 call from a woman reporting burglars at her rural home offered some serious advice: “You have to do what you have to do to protect your baby.” During that call on New Year’s Eve, dispatcher Diane Graham told 18 year-old Sarah McKinley that she couldn’t offer [...]
Family Believes Found Body Is Missing Dispatcher
The family of a missing Hot Springs Village (Ark.) police dispatcher say they believe a body found on New Year’s Eve is that of Dawna Natzke, 46, but police are waiting for crime lab tests before making a formal announcement. Natzke left a Christmas party on Dec. 21st with her boyfriend and then went home. The boyfriend, [...]
Police Release 911 Tape In Multiple Murders
Police have released a haunting 42-second logging tape of a 911 call, with whispers from a house where five Texas family members were found shot to death, and a six person apparently committed suicide. Investigators for the Grapevine Police Department said the dispatcher was unable to hear the man’s words, but promptly dispatched officers to investigate [...]
Dispatchers Help Two Abused Children
Dispatchers at the Albuquerque (NM) Police Department answered a 911 call reporting the abuse of two young girls, and have since taken up a collection to make sure the children have clothes, toys and other things they need to recover.
Dispatchers Help Save Baby
Cedar Rapids (Iowa) dispatchers Kelliann Dykstra and Andrew Huff helped save the life of an 18 month-old baby who wasn’t breathing by giving the mother medical instructions. Listen to the 911 call here.