Criminal Charges Possible for 2 Dispatchers

In the face of continuing complaints about poor service at Detroit’s (Mich.) police communications center, and after two response delays that ended with fatal shooting, the city’s police chief has demoted the comm center commander and is considering criminal neglect of duty charges for the two dispatchers involved the murder incidents. ““Status quo, complacency, mediocrity will not be tolerated,” police chief James Craig said during a news conference yesterday. He announced that Cmd. Todd Bettison had been demoted to the rank of Inspector. He said both dispatchers who handled the incidents last week and in August had been suspended without pay. Craig has also ordered a complete review of comm center operations. The Wayne County prosecutor told reporters that criminal complaints had been prepared against the unnamed dispatcher in the earlier incident. However, the complaint was returned to police for more investigation. Craig took over as chief last July, but complaints about the comm center have been constant for at least a year before that. In the latest case, police said the victim’s daughter dialed 911 six times, and a Priority 1 incident was entered in the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system. However, a male radio dispatcher deliberately held the incident until after a shift change, even though officers were available to respond. Finally, units were dispatched 75 minutes after the first 911 call. By then, the victim was shot in the chest with an AK-47, but survived.