Indian Chiefs Call for 911 Improvements

The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs has issued a statement calling upon the government to focus more attention on providing Phase II 911 upgrades on rural areas, instead of on populated areas. The statement recounts the death of an 18 year-old man who died while wandering–possibly intoxicated–in a rural area near Williams Lake on Jan. 1st. Matt Armstrong made four 911 calls starting at 5 a.m., but RCMP dispatchers couldn’t pinpoint his location, and officers didn’t locate him during a search. He was located at 3 p.m. the same day, dead of exposure in the snow. Read the Chiefs’ group statement here, and an RCMP press release here.