Police in Hartford (Conn.) now confirm that a dispatcher’s mistake led to police ending their investigation of a possible dead body inside a home last May, and it wasn’t discovered until two months later. Neighbors called police in late May when they noticed a strong odor and saw flies near the home, police say. The neighbors also reported that the elderly female resident had not been seen in weeks. Officers arrived to investigate, while a dispatcher searched the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) records for previous incidents. That dispatcher noticed a previous EMS incident at the home, when a female was taken to the hospital by an ambulance, and saw that it occurred the day before. Relying on that information, the officers ended their investigation and left. However, police now say the dispatcher misread the date—it was the date one day before, but two years earlier. Police say it was the current victim’s mother who had been transported to the hospital in 2009. Last Friday a gardener saw the body inside the home and called police again. The mayor of Hartford vows to investigate and take any necessary disciplinary action. Read more here.
6 comments… add one
It is always easy to say the Dispatcher made the mistake. Did the investigating officer follow up with the hospital to see if the subject was admittted? How did they explain the”piled up mail and newspapers”? How could a landscaper see a dead body in th ewindow that the responding officers did not. I would like to see a follow up article on this investigation to see who gets the final “blame” in this unfortunate incident.
I agree, how did a landscaper see a dead body through a window and an investigating officer did not? Did the officer even get out of the patrol car? Surely the smell and the flies that prompted someone else to call was apparent to the officer? Right?
It always seems to fall back on the dispatchers. If the dispatcher had done this or the dispatcher had done that. Why is it that all the glory goes to the responders but all the negativity falls back on the dispatchers?
Obviously this is all the dispatcher’s fault for misreading a digit on a computer screen. This has nothing to do with the officers who were physically present at the location and didn’t notice the strong odor and flies that were readily apparent to the neighbors and the gardener….
Even if EMS had responded to that location the day before, that’s no guarantee there isn’t a dead body inside the house. The patient could have been released from the hospital and returned home, or it could be an entirely different person lying dead in the home. Or it could be that the odor is from an accumulation of filth that the elderly resident is no longer physically able to clean up, which would be a good reason to contact an elder affairs agency.
I’d hate to think what might happen if these officers responded to a murder scene. “Whelp, there’s blood everywhere and the neighbors heard screaming, but the dispatcher says we were here yesterday for a domestic dispute and everyone was alive and well, so we’re ten-eight!”
This dispatcher is going to have to own up to some liability on this. Did the officers drop the ball on their side of the court? Heck yeah, but the dispatcher made an error regardless. I get aggravated when we get blamed some how everytime something goes wrong, but we can’t deny responsibility for our own actions. This dispatcher us only one link in a chain of errors in thus situation, but a liable link none the less.
False…no liability should fall on the dispatcher at all. Officers on scene should have recognized the odor, the flies, the papers and the BODY!! The officers failed big time. Why would you not follow up with the hospital??? How can a civilian see the body inside but multiple officers could not?? Officers responded to the right place at the right time. Done deal. Dispatch is removed from the situation. The officers ending the call on that informatoin regardless of the information being correct or not is not the proper action to take. Follow up should have been done. Who in their right mind would take all the scene evidence and end the call because someone poss. went to the hospital the day prior!!!! Why would you ever assume the subject was still at the hospital!! The police department, the city and the officers involved have no integrity! Hey Chief, nice job! I really hope the dispatcher confronted the “PO’s” involved.
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