Chief Plays 911 Shooting Tape for Conference

Ever since a man stormed into the American Civic Association in Binghampton (NY) last April, Broome County officials have refused to release the logging tape of 911 calls from a group of persons hiding in a basement boiler room. However, BPD police chief Joseph Zikuski played the tape for a group of hostage negotiators at a conference last week, and copies of that audio have now been posted on-line by the media. During the call, teacher Kay Gruss used five cellular phones to keep a connection to dispatchers and relay what little information she obtained before herding dozens of students into the room and shutting a heavy door. The group was in hiding for three hours until police searched and cleared the building, and convinced the group it was safe to come outside. Gruss has told reporters that another critical element of the calls was to take bits and pieces of information provided by the dispatchers, and to relay it back to the group to help keep them calm and patient. Most of the group spoke little or no English, and were very nervous about hiding in the dark. Listen (mp3) to the tape here.