Veteran Dispatcher Fired for Hang-Up

A 26-year veteran Milwaukee County (Wisc.) dispatcher has been fired for hanging up on a 911 caller who last August said she was being assaulted by her boyfriend. Sheriff David Clark didn’t identify the dispatcher, but reporters interviewed Don Busche Jr., who said he was fired Thursday morning over the incident. Busche admitted he told the woman, “Unless you talk to me, I’m hanging up,” but did so in order to grab her attention as she apparently talked to other persons in the room instead of Busche. He claims the woman hung up the phone, and he did not. Busche also claims his firing is retaliation for the lawsuit he filed with the state over poor working conditions at the comm center that have aggravated his asthma. Read more about the situation here, and listen to the 911 call here. Also listen to a WTMJ radio interview with Sheriff Clark here, during which he calls Busche “callous.” New link: WTMJ-TV broadcast a “Sound Off” segment of the news during which they discuss if the dispatcher should have been fired. Watch the video here (click on the yellow “Video” graphic to the left).