An Arlington (Tex.) police dispatcher fired earlier this year for violating several department policies during the fatal shooting of an officer told investigators she didn’t send officers to a child’s report of the incident because she didn’t believe the child. That’s what 9-year veteran dispatcher Joan Ware told police investigators, according to testimony this week before an arbitration board that is considering her appeal of the firing. Off. Jillian Smith was shot and killed when she arrived at an apartment complex, and managed to key her microphone once. But Ware waited 15 minutes after hearing the “click” to send officers to check on Smith. Ware then didn’t tell the dispatched officers about the child’s previous 911 call, detailed description of what she saw—an officer shot and an empty police car with number “422” on the side. Ware’s attorney calls her firing an “overreaction.” But city officials say both mistakes delayed a response to the shooting and put arriving cover officers at risk. Read more about the arbitration here.
8 comments… add one
Ware’s attorney calls her firing an “overreaction.” Really!!! Hmm in my eyes as a Police/Fire/EMS dispatcher for 10 years and having had several officer involved shootings and officers only be able to click there radio for help this is just bull! I think that this is what should have happened. She waited to check the officer’s status and basically refused service for a scared little girl who saw something horrible. She is responsible for the death of this officer. I know as a dispatcher we have no control on what goes on out on the streets, however it is our job to try our best to keep the officers and public safe. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the officer. To the dispatcher all I can say is how dare you even try to fight your firing. You don’t belong in this line of work anymore.
I’m having a hard time understanding why this rookie officer was sent to a domestic violence call all by herself. Domestic violence is one of the most dangerous calls to send an Officer on, and this article proves my point. Just because the 911 caller is 9 years old, that is not an excuse to withhold information or to not dispatch. If a kid tells me something is on fire I’m taking his word on it and sending. He and his parents can deal with the system later if the kid called in a crank. More dispatchers commit career suicide by not sending.
I agree 100% with BMS comments. But I am also wondering why only one officer was sent on a Domestic Violence call all of the dispatch centers I have every worked at it is at a minimum two officers. Even in my days as a patrol officer we never went on a domestic call with only one officer.
This sounds like a ridiculously incompetent dispatcher. I understand that apparently sending one officer to a domestic dispute when one party had left was within policy at the time, although it is still pretty dumb. But I don’t understand why so little was done to determine the source of the radio “click,” especially if this was a modern radio which identifies the keying unit. I also don’t understand why a child with very detailed information would be treated as a prank caller, nor do I understand why the dispatcher wouldn’t tell the officers about the 911 call. And I certainly don’t understand why any call stating an officer had been shot wouldn’t be thoroughly investigated, even if it did sound like a hoax. Never mind that these points don’t exist in a vacuum, and the combination of all of them should point to a thorough investigation even if the individual pieces did not. Perhaps the overall problem is that this center is operated by the fire department, rather than the police department or a specialist dispatching agency.
I really don’t think it has anything to do with who is in charge of the dispatch center. I has everything to do with an incompetent dispatcher who my guess has screw ups in the past and they were sweep under the rug, because no one got hurt. I really hope the officer’s family bring a wrongful death lawsuit against her.
What is going to be her defense?
Looks like, “didn’t believe the 9 year old”….
Former dispatcher Joan Ware needs to just quit and not appeal the decision. Not believing a caller? That’s breaking one of the fist rules. Believing callers is paramount to what we do and how we could possibly save a life . Ware should hang her head in shame for not sending in everything as soon as she had received the call. The way the article is written makes Ware seem a bit callus, although she should know when to move on to a job where someone’s life doesn’t depend upon her faulty judgment.
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