Dispatcher Errors Highlighted in Report

An investigation by an Ohio university public safety training center has found significant problems at the Liberty Township (Ohio) police department, including mistakes by a dispatcher when handling an incident that ended with the death of an 87 year-old woman in April. Mary Rush, 87, was apparently locked out of her house and tried to get into the window. But the glass broke and she fell, breaking her leg and inflicting severe cuts from which she died. Neighbors who heard her calling for help dialed 911, but dispatcher Joe Lavaglio made several errors, said the investigators from Kent State University’s public safety training center. Read more about the climate at the police department that surrounded Rush’s death here.