WASHINGTON (7News) — The D.C. Auditor isn’t taking her eye off of the problems and failed leadership at the District’s 9-1-1 call center. The 7News I-team has learned there are two follow-up audits in the works on the heels of a scathing investigation of the troubled agency last year. An investigation that D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson thought would put the Office of Unified Command on the right course.
“Coming out of an audit, although we were documenting some pretty horrifying conclusions in terms of loss of life over the last five to ten years, it was encouraging that we were seeing some movement,” said Patterson.
After two successful months of serving in the position on an interim basis, Chris Key has been named the full-time Public Safety Director for Pittsylvania County. Key has decades of experience in public safety and fire service management and operations.
The average span of an emergency dispatcher’s career is only 3 – 5 years. Carol Keeler retires on Thursday, June 30, with 29 years served with the Michigan State Police and another five with a different agency.
The job she has performed for over three decades is critical to public safety. A dispatcher is literally THE lifeline for police officers and citizens, during some calls.
“If you asked me five years ago if I thought I had saved lives? The answer was no,” said Keeler. “Looking back now, I realize I have. I’ve talked down suicidal men and women, explained CPR over the phone, and been able to get helpful resources to people. I feel like I have done good.”
Tucson’s mayor and police chief say cities need to take a fresh look at how they respond to emergencies.
Speaking in New Orleans Wednesday morning, Mayor Regina Romero referred to the case of Carlos Adrian Ingram Lopez, a Tucson man who died in police custody two years ago, as an example of the need to reform the 9-1-1 system.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Greene County 911 dispatcher accused in a lawsuit of failing to send help for a dying woman is facing charges.
Leon Price is charged with involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, official oppression and obstructing the law. He turned himself in on Wednesday.
SAN ANTONIO – First responders were not ready for what they found Monday night when they opened an abandoned 18-wheeler on the Southwest Side.
A recording provided by Broadcastify.com shows the communications between City of San Antonio dispatch and those first responders on the scene of the mass casualty event where initially 46 people were found dead inside that 18-wheeler in temperatures that reached around 100 degrees. The death toll would rise to 51, including five children.
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
