Atlanta’s 911 Director Fired

Atlanta (Geo.) police chief Richard Pennington has issued a short statement saying that he has fired 911 Center director Miles Butler, but did not provide any details about why he took the action. Butler has been under fire since January when the response to a house fire was delayed by 20 minutes, apparently because of a dispatcher error. In May another delayed response to a fire was blamed on staffing shortages and a heavy volume of incoming telephone calls. City council member C.T. Martin said he’s fielded complaints about the center “all the time.” His reaction to the firing was simple–“He’s always been a problem as far as I’m concerned. The job was bigger than he was able to handle.” Butler declined comment to a newspaper reporter. Butler retired from the Air Force, was 911 director for Forsyth County (Geo.), and most recently worked for a rescue equipment manufacturer. Read more here.