A 3 month-old baby died after paramedics were delayed reaching him, when the mother dialed 911 in Sarasota (Fla.) last Saturday night and gave her street address as “Avenue” instead of “Street,” and EMS units were sent to the wrong city. Officials at the Sarasota County sheriff’s comm center acknowledge that dispatcher Kari Halpin did not ask the mother clarifying questions, but instead used the address the mother gave, and sent EMS units to Highland Ave. in nearby Englewood. Comm center procedures do not include asking 911 callers for the city of their address, sheriff’s officials confirmed. The family lives within 3 minutes of a fire station, but officials haven’t said if a quicker response would have saved the child. Read more about the incident and listen to the 911 call here, and also read about how the cellular part of the 911 call may have contributed to the situation here. read more

The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to delay the transition to digital television (DTV) until June 12, 2009, giving consumers more time to take action on maintaining their programming. Faced with up to 10 million angry TV viewers on the one hand, anxious broadcasters who don’t want to lose viewers, public safety groups and many other stakeholders, the Senate voted last week to push back the deadline, and today the House agreed. However, local TV stations can still request a waiver of the deadline and make the change early, and many are expected to do that because of expensive tower and transmitter leasing agreements. The DTV transition will free up UHF frequencies in the country’s biggest cities, allowing public safety agencies to fully claim 24 MHz of spectrum allocated in 1997.

The Athens (Tenn.) police chief says that he’s assigned an outside investigator to determine who hung up on a 911 call just before a local businessman was shot and killed–the victim or the dispatcher? Chief Chuck Ziegler says the logging tape appears to support the conclusion that the victim ended the call in the midst of facing down a burglary suspect at his warehouse, and that the dispatcher properly handled the 38-second call. “We are looking into it to make an absolute determination but it appears he hung up the phone because the situation was escalating,” Ziegler said, and the victim couldn’t juggle the phone, a flashlight and a rifle he was holding. Read more about the incident here, then listen to the 911 call here and make up your own mind.

Police in Columbia (Tenn.) have arrested a Maury County 911 dispatcher on charges that she tipped off a local drug dealer that police were investigating him, the fourth such arrest across the country in less than a year. Tamatha Taylor, 41, was indicted by a county grand jury, and is charged with accessory after the fact, official misconduct and misuse of official information. Officials said she is a 15-year veteran of the comm center, and was released on $5,000 bail. Her work status wasn’t mentioned in press accounts.

When a frantic father dialed 911 in Mobile (Ala.), it was Fire-Rescue dispatcher Sonnette Buzbee who fielded the call, and helped the man perform CPR on his 3 month-old daughter, bringing her back to life. Buzbee was honored at tonight’s city council meeting for her handling of the call last November, and received a standing ovation when she was presented with a commendation. “Listen to me. OK?” Buzbee began on the 911 call. “We’re going to help her until they get there. I want you to place your hand on the baby’s forehead,” she said to begin the CPR. The father was focused and compliant as he followed Buzbee’s instructions, soon leading to the sounds of an infant crying–the child came back from death. The family, which wasn’t identified, says their child recovered with no lasting effects. Listen to the dramatic 911 call here. Check a photo after the break. read more

The union representing York County (Penn.) law enforcement officers has filed a lawsuit that would force the county to revert to its former radio system, claiming the new M/A-COMM system risks the lives of officers because of system failures, garbled transmissions and poor coverage. The radio system was part of a $67.8 million communications upgrade that include a new comm center building, consoles and other gear. County officials acknowledge problems, but say they’re all being solved. Union representatives say they filed the lawsuit after the county declined to set a timetable to fix the problems. Read more about the lawsuit here, and a follow-up story here.

Within weeks of New York state canceling a multi-million radio project awarded to M/A-COMM, the state of Delaware has signed the company to a contract for a state-wide public safety radio network. In a press release, the company said the system would be built using the company’s VIDA (Voice, Interoperability, Data, Access) Network platform, “which will provide a unified solution to link voice and data communications over an Internet Protocol (IP)-based network.” The system will be based on 700 MHz P25-IP technology, with the ability to connect to the state’s existing, 10-site 800 MHz system. A company press release does not mention the “M/A-COMM” brand usually identified with Tyco’s radio products, and doesn’t mention the value of the contract or its duration.

Faced with the prospect of handing over his driver’s license during a traffic stop by a Florida Highway Patrol officer, Kevin Allen dialed 911 to complain. At one point he asked the dispatcher to call his wife, and otherwise used the phone to document his remarks during the stop, which ended with his arrest on several charges. Listen (mp3) to the call here, and read a story here.

The FCC has scheduled a summit on Next Generation 911 (NG911) for February 25th, bringing together public safety organizations, industry representatives and other interested persons to discuss the future technology. The 3-hour session is part of the FCC’s mandate to implement the New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008 (NET 911 Act) passed by Congress. NG911 is generally conceived as an IP-based, nationwide network, linking the nation’s public safety comm centers, and allowing a wide range of data to be freely exchanged, including audio, video, text and photos. Download (pdf) the FCC’s announcement of the summit here.

The U.S. Department of Justice has debuted a new database intended to allow consumer access to vehicle title information, hoping to reduce the number of stolen, wrecked or previously damaged vehicles that are re-sold across the country. The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) database is administered for DOJ by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), and is currently available from two private vendors for a $2.50 fee. The database includes information on the current title and status, issue date, most recent odometer reading, any “junk” or “recycle” tags associated with the vehicle, and any insurance salvage action. Find more about the database here. [Editor - It's not clear if this information is available to law enforcement via NCIC.]

The Canadian government has issued regulations that set a Feb. 1, 2010 deadline for the nation’s cellular carriers and PSAPs to implement 911 location services, commonly termed Phase II. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision comes in the wake of several high-profile incidents in the past year where cellular 911 calls could not be located and callers died. In its decision, the CRTC overruled a request from the cellular industry to delay the deadline until PSAPs implement mapping software, saying that X,Y latitude-latitude coordinates are temporarily sufficient for locating callers. The commission also maintained the current funding scheme, where PSAPs pay for their portions of the network, and the cellular companies recover their costs from subscribers. Read the entire CRTC decision here.

A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty in a Texas federal court to making phony 911 calls via the Internet, sending police to a quiet Dallas-Fort Worth family’s home, a practice known as “Swatting.” Last Tuesday, Matthew Weigman, 18, admitted to making the 911 calls during 2006, when he claimed to have shot his family with an AK-47 rifle. He used a VoIP telephone connection to “spoof” the address of someone he had met during a “party line” call, court documents say. Weigman also admitted to several other 911 calls, to threatening a Verizon technician who was helping the FBI investigate the 911 calls, and to using the telephone network to fraudulently obtain products and services. He faces up to 13 years in prison when he’s sentenced later this year. Two co-defendants await trial in the case, and one co-defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. Read more about his guilty plea here. Download (pdf) a press release from the U.S. Attorney here.

The Grand Junction (Colo.) Regional Comm Center hires only five percent of applicants, and from 30% to 50% of those in training wash-out, leading to the current staffing shortage. A long article in the Daily Sentinel newspaper notes that the stress, comm center working conditions and the computer tasks all discourage new dispatchers from staying on the job. Even police chief Bill Gardner says the comm center is “like a jail” because of the room and the need for dispatchers to be tied to their consoles during the shift. He received funding to add 13 new positions, but filling them has been difficult, even as senior dispatchers retire. Read the full article here. Also check this blog posting by John Linko, a former supervisor at the comm center.

A Porter County (Ind.) dispatcher was arrested by sheriff’s deputies after she showed up uninvited at her sister’s wedding reception, and allegedly punched the sister and yanked out clumps of her hair. Deputies say five witnesses provided accounts of the attack by Annmarie Bricker, 23, apparently sparked by family problems. The sister didn’t require medical treatment but was roughed up, deputies said. Bricker’s three children, who were sitting in her car during the attack, were turned over to their father. Bricker later resigned her position as a dispatcher.

The Livingston County (Mich.) emergency management department is the center of a “power grab,” according to a 911 official, who says the sheriff wants authority over the operation just to extend his power. Emergency management and 911 director Dick Winsett notes that the agency was formerly under the sheriff, but was moved to an independent agency to better coordinate with all the agencies involved in a typical major emergency. Sheriff Bob Bezotte says he wants to resume control of the emergency agency because of accountability. A long story in the Livingston Daily recounts past problems with the 911 center and the ill feelings. Read more about it here.