Dispatcher Tells Story of Mother’s Abuse

A Livingston County (Mich.) dispatcher Debra Laberdie has many childhood memories—some of them very bad. In the most recent edition of APCO’s Public Safety Communications, Laberdie tells of watching her father physically abuse her mother. Laberdie originally told the story during an in-house training session last year, but was convinced by a co-worker to take her experience to a wider audience through APCO’s monthly magazine. A local newspaper has now spotlighted Laberdie and her magazine story, noting that an aunt who was a dispatcher pointed her to a comm center career in 1995. Read about Laberdie’s experience here.