An Allegheny County (Penn.) man has been suspended from his jobs as a county 911 dispatcher and volunteer firefighter after state police investigators charged him with possessing and distributing pornographic videos and photos on his home computer. Jonathan S. Plutnicki, 24, was arrested in early August, and last Thursday he waived a preliminary hearing. He was released on bail, and the next day county 911 officials suspended him for not reporting his earlier arrest. Fire department officials asked Plutnicki to take a leave of absence until the legal charges against him are settled. County officials said Plutnicki was hired in 2006 as a 911 dispatcher. State police allege Plutnicki was using the Gnutella file-sharing program to receive and transmit the pornographic materials. Specifically, court documents say investigators found 60 videos and 35 photos on a laptop computer belonging to Plutnicki that were considered pornographic.

An Illinois comm center serving three neighboring cities will install new alarm monitoring equipment so dispatchers can directly receive and dispatch fire, burglary and other alarms, instead of having the alarms received and transferred by a private company. The decision by the Tri-Com Central Dispatch board of directors to eliminate Alarm Detection Systems (ADS) as “middleman” in the process has sparked opposition from ADS and questions from citizens who ask if the comm center should be moving into the alarm monitoring business. Tri-Com was formed in 1976 to serve St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia west of Chicago. read more

A forgetful Sedalia (Mo.) police dispatcher has touched off community debate after no officers were sent in response to a 911 call from the home of a woman who was later found murdered. Police chief John DeGonia publicly apologized for the error, but had an explanation: the dispatcher who fielded the 911 call was interrupted by a burglary in progress incident, and never returned to handle the first call. Investigators found Rebekah Marcus, 76, dead inside the home about 90 minutes later when a health care worker arrived at the victim’s home. DeGonia said the 911 call from the Marcus home was an open line and the dispatcher heard no sounds. He added that investigators believe that Marcus was most likely dead when the call was made. He did not say who made the call, how the call ended or name the involved dispatcher. He told reporters that the comm center’s policies are sufficient, but simply weren’t followed in this case. A local newspaper editorial stated, This incident most certainly undermines public trust in the Sedalia Police Department and raises doubts about officers’ responses in times of need. We must hope that DeGonia’s efforts will ensure that all 911 calls receive the attention and response they deserve.” Read a news account here, and the newspaper’s critical editorial here.

A woman who was threatened with rifles by members of a motorcycle club in a rural San Joaquin County (Calif.) park dialed 911 to report the encounter, but a sheriff’s spokesperson says the dispatcher appropriately handled the call and didn’t send deputies to investigate. Terri Beam called about 10:30 p.m. to describe eight bikers pointing rifles and yelling at her family. She asked for deputies to “check out this situation,” but variously declined to file a report or become involved. Nevertheless, she didi ask for deputies to come seven times during the call. The sheriff’s dispatcher eventually told Beam that deputies would not be coming because, “We have emergencies all over town,” and that deputies would have, “more questions to ask.” Sheriff’s spokesperson Lt. Roy Iler said deputies later did do a “security check” on the park, but without more specific information, any other action was impossible. “He has to get all the critical information,” before sending deputies Iler explained of the dispatcher’s duties. Listen to the 911 call and other associated calls, and read more here.

A tangle of comm center security, local politics, logging tapes and other intrigue has snagged the Oakdale (Calif.) police department and city council, sparked by a single phone call between the chief and a dispatcher. Last Feb. mayor Farrell Jackson called police chief Marty West, who wanted someone to check on his mother-in-law one block from the city limits. Jackson felt the woman might be in jeopardy—three of his family members were murdered a year earlier. An Oakdale dispatcher had earlier told a neighbor to call the sheriff’s office to check on the woman, since she lived outside the city. After Jackson’s call, West called an unnamed Oakdale dispatcher and instructed her to send an officer to check on the mayor’s mother-in-law. “Hey, there’s an opportunity for the mayor to really appreciate the police department right now,” West told the dispatcher, as recorded on a logging tape. “It might pay off, you know, when it comes time with all these budget cuts and stuff like that. We’re here for the mayor.” Then in July, an unidentified person mysteriously appeared in the secure Oakdale PD comm center, followed by information that an Oakdale newspaper reporter had a copy of the logging tape of the chief’s call to the dispatcher. Last week, one of five candidates for city council admitted he was the mysterious comm center visitor, but Bill Camp told a council meeting that he’s a police volunteer, was authorized to be in the center, and was visiting someone he knew. Camp said he knows nothing of the recording being leaked to the press. After hearing statements from West and Camp, the Oakdale city council has approved $4,000 for an outside investigation into the tape’s release. Read a complicated account of the matter here.

EMS officials in Lee County (Fla.) say they have “dealt with” a dispatcher-in-training who instructed a 911 caller to return inside a house where she had just found two dead bodies. When sheriff’s deputies arrived, they found a husband, wife and 1 year-old boy dead, apparently from a murder suicide. Officials admit the unnamed dispatcher improperly told the babysitter who discovered the two adults to “go back inside and check the rooms and see if you can find that baby. I need you to go back inside right now.” Officials explained that the dispatcher-trainee was being monitored by a veteran dispatcher. However, that person had briefly walked away and no one was listening to the trainee’s calls when the 911 call rang in. County EMS public information officer Diane Holm also said that the female victim was an EMT, and that the calltaker personally knew the victim. She said that personal connection may have affected the calltaker’s judgement, leading to the improper instructions to the caller. Holm said it’s unclear why other dispatchers in the center didn’t step in to monitor the 911 call. Download (pdf) a transcript of the call here, and read more about the incident here.

A former Fulton County (Geo.) dispatcher who was fired in 2008 for entering the wrong street name for a medical emergency is now suing the county for $10.5 million, saying she was overworked, unqualified for her duties and that the center was understaffed. Gina Conteh fielded a 911 call in Aug. 2008 reporting a woman with breathing problems. The call from a cellular phone showed the receiving tower address, but Conteh verified the wrong city in CAD, sending units to the wrong location. A 39 year-old woman died after waiting an hour for an ambulance, county officials say. The county considered her 12-year history of errors and discipline, they say, that generated 2,100 pages of personnel records, including 57 disciplinary actions over five years. The county fired her after the 2008 incident, and Conteh appealed. After a 5-hour hearing, the county personnel board affirmed the firing. Conteh filed for bankruptcy after her appeal was turned down, saying she had just $5 “cash in hand,”  had nearly $250,000 in assets but owed $177,000. Her lawsuit filed in Fulton County notes Conteh worked 62 hours before the incident, including two back-to-back double shifts. The lawsuit claims her firing was “political” and that management made her a scapegoat. Read more here.

The writers of the CBS-TV series “Flashpoint” threw in as much drama as they could for each character of the show, including 911 calltakers, the radio dispatchers and the officers. The show involved a family in the witness protection program who was being hunted by killers. The young daughter in the family had earlier begun calling 911 to report suspicious people, but calltaker Kate believed she was only “crying wolf” during these calls. When the killers actually did break into the house, the girl called asking for Kate, who wouldn’t take her call. There was gunfire on the line, wounding the girl’s mother. The rest of the show involved Kate’s guilt over how she handled the girl’s call, and the officers trying to find the girl and her father, both on the run from the killers. read more

An on-going dispute over payments for dispatching services between Emmett Township (Mich.) and the Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority has turned into a police investigation of the state’s open meetings law. According to a township board member, four other members met in an office hallway without the required public notice, and decided to pay the Authority $34,169, contrary to the board’s previous public position. The four board members say they just happened to meet while at the board’s offices, and that a local casino was about to make a payment to the township, which would have covered the check. But board member Gene Adkins said the four members reversed the township’s previous public vote to withhold payment to the county. He reported the “meeting” the state police, and they are now investigating. The board claims that many county agencies don’t pay for the Authority for dispatching services. The Authority had threatened to cut off the township’s access to the state data network if the board didn’t make a payment towards the $104,000 annual bill for dispatching. Read more here.

It took Titus County (Tex.) sheriff’s dispatcher Sue Kruse just seconds to transition from her usual job of taking emergency telephone calls and radioing field units, to saving a man’s life with the Heimlich maneuver. An Oklahoma man had come to the sheriff’s office for help in getting back home. As he sat in the sheriff’s office lobby, he popped a piece of hard candy in his mouth, but it went down the wrong way and the man began choking. Behind the front counter window, Kruse could see and hear the man’s slow realization that he was in trouble. When the gasping man tapped on the glass window, Kruse was out the door to the man’s aid. With a Heimlich thrust, the candy popped out. Sheriff Tim Ingram honored Kruse with a commendation, noting how quickly and calmly she reacted. Kruse was humble, saying, “I’m just a regular dispatcher.” She said the victim’s “thank you” was enough recognition for her. Sheriff Ingram said, “We’re awfully proud of her.” Watch a video here.

An investigation by the Calgary (Alb.) 911 center has concluded that a dispatcher failed to properly handle a call reporting he had been assaulted by a man is now accused of beating, sexually assaulting and torturing a co-worker. The 911 call came to light in April when a man was dropped off at a Regina hospital, barely alive and suffering from malnutrition, burns, brain damage and with parts of his lower lip and tongue missing. Police say he had been kidnapped and tortured over a two-year period, and arrested Dustin Paxton. Last February, a man called to say that Paxton had threatened to beat him up, and that Paxton had previously beaten up a co-worker, who turned out to be the torture victim. Calgary police say the 911 caller did not indicate any immediate danger during the 7-minute call, but that the dispatcher should have asked more questions. Read more about the case here. and download (pdf) the police department’s press release on the investigation here.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved long-term spectrum leases on 700 MHz frequencies from 20 jurisdictions around the country who had asked for permission to begin using the public safety broadband allocation early. In May the FCC approved waivers submitted by the jurisdictions, including cities, states and communications districts. The allocation is termed the “lower” public safety band, 763-768 MHz and 793-798 MHz, and is assigned to public safety broadband operations. However, its assignment has been held up while the FCC wrestles with how to assign the adjacent D-block of spectrum—by auction to the highest bidder or direct assignment. The finalized leases include provisions for the lesee maintain interoperability with other regional public safety agency under the same waivers, “and with any future nationwide or regional public safety broadband networks.” The leases have a term of two years. Download the individual leases from the FCC’s licensing database,(search of callsignWQHW226, then click the “Admin” tab), or download (pdf) the entire collection of leases here.

A Georgia woman dialed 911 to report her drunk ex-boyfriend was creating a disturbance at a child’s birthday party, and told a sheriff’s dispatcher, “I need the police at my house right now.” But instead, Mindy Bullard’s report that Dwight Hartline had sped off in a vehicle sparked only a “BOLO” to an adjacent agency. Four hours later, Hartline returned to the house, killed two people and was fatally shot himself by one of the party guests. Now officials in both counties are explaining their actions. Bullard lives in Whitfield County, less than a mile from the boundary line with Murray County. When she dialed 911 from a cellular phone to report the disturbance, her call went to a Murray County 911 dispatcher. Bullard told the dispatcher that she wanted an officer, but dispatcher Andrea Petty only took information about Hartline and his vehicle, and telephoned a Whitfield County dispatcher with the “be on the lookout” information. Deputies didn’t spot Hartline’s car. Four hours later, Hartline returned to Bullard’s house, confronted two men in a laundry room and shot both of them, sparking a second 911 from Bullard. One of the victim’s routinely carried a gun for protection, and fatally shot Hartline before he died. Officials from both counties noted that Hartline had already left the house, and deputies wouldn’t have been able to contact him there even if they had responded. Murray County 911 director Peggy Vick said Vick dispatchers there typically take a caller’s information and pass it on to the related county. Read the original story a follow-up account with the associated 911 calls.

With a longer border with Mexico than any other state, Texas dispatchers must frequently use Spanish when handling emergency and routine telephone calls. Now learning Spanish could be easier after the state’s Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) approved on-line training for dispatchers provided by Spanish On Patrol. The course is specifically designed for dispatchers, and has been approved by 12 other states. The curriculum uses on-line flash cards, a Voice Lab, word games, a printable vocabulary to teach Spanish, and on-line assessments to allow agencies to track student progress. Dispatchers can access their training account at any time from anywhere. Their Web site has a demo lesson and more information about the teaching techniques.

A 911 call to a Los Angeles County (Calif.) sheriff’s dispatcher reporting a medical emergency…then a shooting, then a hostage situation and then nothing, sparked a response of heavily-armed deputies to a Norwalk neighborhood. While the call doesn’t follow the classic pattern for a SWATing incident, the law enforcement response was the same. A man first claimed a woman with him was having breathing problems. But he quickly escalated the situation, saying he had shot the woman and would shoot any deputies who arrived at the scene. Gunfire was audible on the call, but deputies who had arrived on-scene said they heard nothing, and found no one in jeopardy. Within minutes, the dispatcher became personally involved in the incident—the caller threatened to shoot his victim if the dispatcher didn’t describe the color of her panties. On the logging tape of the incident, there is only the slightest hesitation from the dispatcher, who then answers, “Black.” Dispatchers and deputies realized within minutes that the call was not authentic, but kept the caller on the phone and continued to check out his claims. After talking to the unnamed dispatcher for 28 minutes, the male caller hung up and is still unidentified. Investigators say the voice is very similar to another 911 call made to LASO on August 18th during which the caller made similar claims. It’s not clear if the call was made on a cellular, wired or VoIP connection. Several high-profile prank calls were closed with arrests, federal convictions and prison time in 2009. The calls were made using VoIP connections, most by a group of on-line game players. Listen (mp3) to the entire Norwalk call.[audio:http://mp3.911dispatch.com.s3.amazonaws.com/norwalk_swating_911.mp3]