Editorial: The Best & Worst in Two Days

In the space of two days we learned of some heroic work by dispatchers in Binghampton (NY), and then of disappointing work of dispatchers in Plant City (Fla.) and Pittsburgh (Penn.). How could these incidents be so far apart? In the first case, kudos to the staff of the Broome County comm center who fielded calls from people who had been wounded, including receptionist Shirley DeLucia, who stayed on the phone with dispatcher Kenny Hayes for 54 minutes, giving him valuable information about the situation inside. They also had to handle all the non-emergency telephone and radio traffic, including helping coordinate the response of scores of other units from dozens of law enforcement and other agencies. And yet, at almost the same time, police officials in two cities are saying that their dispatchers failed to properly handle 911 calls. In Plant City, a dispatcher resigned and another was fired for mishandling a 911 call last Nov. from a kidnap victim who was later found murdered. In Pittsburgh, it’s the unthinkable–police say a calltaker didn’t relay information about weapons to officers. Three officers died when the caller’s son opened fire on them when they entered the house. I wish there were new lessons here, or something new to take away from how they were handled. But we already know it’s a serious business. Now, everyone else does, too.