Yet more proof that 911 does not always come through

[dukesean]

Tragically, another case of 911 being unable to help someone in need, and another reason to be responsible and take the steps to protect yourself by getting a firearm.

MADISON, Wis. - A college student apparently called 911 from her cell phone shortly before she was killed but a dispatcher hung up, failed to call back and never sent police to investigate, authorities say.

Madison Police Chief Noble Wray said it was too early to know whether a better response could have prevented the April 2 slaying of Wisconsin-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann or helped police capture her killer.

Authorities refused to release the content of the phone call, but Wray said it should have been enough for the Dane County 911 Center to take it seriously.
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"It would be accurate to state that there is evidence contained in the call, which should have resulted in a Madison police officer being dispatched," Wray said at a news conference. "The 911 center did not call back to the telephone number, Madison police were not notified and no officer was sent."

Zimmermann, 21, was found slain in her apartment in an apparently random crime. Police believe someone broke into her apartment before killing her. They have not identified a suspect but have ruled out her fiance, who found her body in the apartment they shared.

Dane County Public Safety Communications Director Joseph Norwick said the dispatcher who received the call from Zimmermann's cell phone inquired several times to determine whether an emergency existed. The dispatcher hung up after receiving no answer and then answered another 911 call that was waiting, he said.

The dispatcher failed to call the number back as required under the department's policy, Norwick said.

Norwick said he was investigating the incident and reviewing whether policies should be changed and employees should be disciplined. But he also said, "I don't think there's anything to apologize for at this time."

[AEA]

The dispatcher failed to call the number back as required under the department's policy, Norwick said.

Norwick said he was investigating the incident and reviewing whether policies should be changed and employees should be disciplined. But he also said, "I don't think there's anything to apologize for at this time."

WHAT? ??????????

OK....forget the apology, FIRE the Dispatcher and further instruct those that remain at the 911 Center!

Not that it would have helped this poor girl anyway, but if they are going to have a 911 Center, then it should do it's job correctly.

[bdickens]

The dispatcher failed to call the number back as required under the department's policy, Norwick said.

Norwick said he was investigating the incident and reviewing whether policies should be changed and employees should be disciplined. But he also said, "I don't think there's anything to apologize for at this time."

WHAT? ??????????

OK....forget the apology, FIRE the Dispatcher and further instruct those that remain at the 911 Center!

Forget that! Fire the dispatcher and press charges for accessory to murder!

[dukesean]

Forget that! Fire the dispatcher and press charges for accessory to murder!

Could someone please remind me the name of the court case XXXXX vs. DC in which it was ruled that the police are NOT responsible for the safety of every citizen? This is the case where three women were raped and beaten, and I believe one died, even after calling 911. I remember the specifics, just not the name of the case.

[BobCat]

Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1 (D.C.App. 1981)

Carolyn WARREN, et al., Appellants, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al.,

Appellees.

Wilfred NICHOL, Appellant, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN POLICE

DEPARTMENT, et al., Appellees.

Nos. 79-6, 79-394.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Argued En Banc April 13, 1981.

Decided December 21, 1981.

[dukesean]

Thank you Bobcat! Seriously that was on the tip of my tongue.

[Mike1951]

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archi ... 05_3881406

A motorist had witnessed a violent attack occur behind her at an intersection.

When she pulled away from the intersection, the assailants chased her.

Calling 911, she was repeatedly told (in error) by the dispatcher that HPD would not dispatch to a moving incident and that the caller would have to pull over and wait for HPD to arrive, allowing the assailants to catch her.

Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Date: FRI 06/24/2005
Section: B
Page: 1 Metfront
Edition: 3 STAR

A rejected plea for help leads to 911 changes / Driver being chased was told she had to stop car and call again

By S.K. BARDWELL
Staff

Pamela Gray had watched in her rearview mirror as a group of men ran up to the car behind her, pulled the driver out and beat his head against his own car.

It was late at night, and she was alone as she watched the assault at Westheimer and the West Loop. Gray, 41, quickly drove away, but some of the men came after her.

"I was terrified," she recalled Thursday. "I didn't know if they wanted to shoot me or what."

The southwest Houston resident called 911 on her cell phone and asked that a police officer be sent to help her.

But the call-taker replied that Gray would have to pull over and call back - even though it could mean letting her pursuers catch up to her.

Gray came through that nightmarish June 4 experience unharmed, but was so stunned by the handling of her plea for help that she went to KHOU (Channel 11). Councilman Mark Ellis demanded answers from the Houston Emergency Center, which responded by revising some of its operating procedures.

"I'm extremely pleased with the quick response," Ellis said. "But it's a shame it took being on TV to get it moving."

The call-taker will not be disciplined, said HEC spokesman Joe Laud, because an internal investigation concluded that the call was properly handled, based on her belief that Houston Police Department policy forbade dispatching officers to moving complainants.

But Houston police Capt. Dwayne Ready said there is no such policy.

"We have dispatched to moving targets before," he said Thursday. "We even have a call code for road rage, so officers can find you on the road."

Dispatched `all the time'

Ellis said officers told him that police are dispatched in such cases "all the time."

"I think they probably can't discipline (the call-taker) because there was nothing in their operating procedures addressing it," Ellis said. "I certainly think a little common sense would have gone a long way."

The incident began about 11:30 p.m. June 4, said Gray, who is married and has an 18-month-old son.

She said she was on her way home and stopped at a red light at Westheimer and the West Loop when she saw the attack.

"When they pulled him out of his car, obviously, his foot wasn't on the brake anymore, and it rolled forward and hit my car," Gray said.

She said she drove away when the light turned green.

"Then some of them started chasing me, trying to get me to stop," she said.

On the tape of the 911 call, Gray is heard relating what has happened and telling the call-taker, "Now they're chasing me, wanting me to stop, and I'm scared. I don't want to stop. ... I don't know what to do."

Call-taker: "OK, if you want me to send you an officer, you're going to have to pull over and stop, for me to send you an officer."

Gray: "OK, I'm going to pull into H-E-B at Fountainview and Westheimer, OK? I'm not there yet, but that's where I'm going to pull in, where there's a lot of lights, because I'm afraid to pull in, and I'm going to tell this guy (the pursuing driver) that I'm pulling in at Fountainview and Westheimer."

Call-taker: "OK, you need to call us when you get there, ma'am."

Gray: "Well, the problem is, there's no telling. They could shoot me or do something by the time you get there. I don't want to stop until I see an HPD officer."

Call-taker: "OK, but I can't send you an officer if you're moving (rest of reply unintelligible)."

Gray: "OK, well, I'm at Westheimer and Chimney Rock and I'm approaching Fountainview. You can't go ahead and send them?"

Call-taker: "No, ma'am. You have to call us once you get there. Once you get there, I can send you an officer."

Gray said the men pulled into the parking lot behind her and told her the man they had assaulted had been chasing them. They said they only wanted her to be a witness to the assault, and that they wanted to apologize for the damage to her car.

"The whole time they're telling me all this, I'm thinking (the other driver) is going to come roaring up and shoot us all," Gray said.

"I took a quick look at my car and the damage was really minimal, so I just got out of there," she said. "I went home. According to them, the other guy was the aggressor. I have no idea what became of them. Who knows?"

Dispatchers never told

No one, since the call-taker never told police dispatchers about Gray's call, said Capt. Ready.

Had dispatchers been notified, Ready said, the call probably would have been given to a supervisor who could stay on the line with Gray until a police officer could find her.

"Common sense has to prevail," Ready said. "If someone says, `I witnessed a crime, and now they're following me,' you don't tell them, `Call us back after they catch up with you and kill you.' "

In addition to the new operating procedures, call-takers will receive more training and guidance in handling such calls, said Laud, the HEC spokesman.

"We want to use more common sense in these kinds of incidents," he said.

"I'm thrilled if this has changed the way they handle those calls," Gray said. "Mine ended up where I was fine. But what if, the next time, someone got killed?"

[bdickens]

Pamela Gray should carry a pistol in her car from now on. It is legal, after all.

[brainneeded]

the sad part is that the particular intersection mentioned, westheimer and the west loop, is in a prominent area of houston, well lit, and there is always bountiful traffic in the area no matter the time of day or night. but they can't dispatch officers to the location? there's a manned gas station on the southwest corner of the intersection, and the galleria is about a block away. not only is the attitude and handling of the 911 dispatcher appalling, but i find it very hard to believe that there was no one around to help. i don't care how far the women's rights/freedom/whatever movement comes, a man should always help a woman in need. actually a real man should lend a hand to anyone in need, but i digress.