911 Caller Murdered, Now Dispatcher Is Fired

A Denver (Colo.) 911 dispatcher has been fired for mishandling a 911 call from the victim of a road rage incident who was later murdered when he returned to the scene of the incident at the dispatcher’s instruction. The unnamed dispatcher had been on paid administrative leave during an investigation of the April 1st incident. The family of victim Jimmy Reat said they are still upset about the incident, but feel the city appropriately fired the dispatcher. Reat was involved in a road rage incident in suburban Denver, and then drove home a short distance to Wheat Ridge to report the incident. However, the Denver dispatcher told Reat he would have to return to Denver to report the incident to police. When Reat and three friends arrived in the area of the incident, they waited in their parked car for police. However, the other person in the incident drove by and opened fire on Reat and his friends. Reat was fatally injured. The suspect’s vehicle was later found, but was determined to be stolen. No suspect has been arrested. Carl Simpson, executive director of Denver 911, said the dispatcher should have contacted Wheat Ridge police to coordinate taking a police report. “I will tell you we didn’t do our best work that night,” Simpson said. Read more about the firing here.