Re: 911:: Dispatcher Suspended in wake of death

[Guest guest]

I understand that she got the call supposedly 2 hours before the body was

found. It doesn't mention whether the dept. was busy. I did see that the

voice was garbled, but you just ask the caller to spell the name or something.

I would love to hear her side ... the only time we are in the media is when

we supposedly do something wrong. If we do our jobs right, the responding

units get praised for being in the right place.

Jack Wooten

South Elgin PD

The good Elgin

[Guest guest]

There has got to be some reasonable explanation why a veteran dispatcher of

17 years would have made the decision she made. I, too, would love to hear

what she has to say. Oddly enough, in my history, it has been the calls that

I thought were trash that turned out to be the " big ones " . I hope that she

didn't just decide this was nothing and overlook it.

I certainly don't want to guess what she was thinking and pass judgment. We

need to stand as a united front. The media rarely mentions our saves. On

those, we will just have to blow our own proverbial horns.

Stacey

Sr. Communications Officer

Lexington Fire Department

Lexington, KY

The Heart of the Bluegrass

[Guest guest]

Please forgive me what ever newspaper this is -- I too had a devil of a time

finding the story from the links provided.

-----

Dispatcher suspended after officials question handling of 911 call

Girl's body reported at 5:59 p.m., but no officer dispatched to scene.

BY SUSAN ERLER Times Staff Writer

CROWN POINT -- Veteran police dispatcher Kathy Meyer was suspended on Monday

pending an investigation into her handling of a call Saturday alerting police

that a girl's body had been dumped in a driveway.

The investigation, which could take several days, is expected to determine

why no police officer was dispatched when the call came in at 5:59 p.m.

saying a girl was lying in a driveway on 125th Avenue, Police Chief

Valsi said.

Department policy is to dispatch an officer to every 911 call, even those

that appear to be pranks, Valsi said.

The body, that of 19-year-old Mindy Ann Self of Chesterton, was discovered

about 8:30 p.m. by a couple returning to their home in the 3800 block of

125th Avenue. The residence is in a semirural, unincorporated area south of

Crown Point where police emergencies are handled by the Lake County sheriff's

police.

The 911 call came into Crown Point police because it was placed from a pay

phone at a service station inside city limits.

During the 26-second call, which includes the caller reporting the girl in a

driveway on 125th Avenue, Meyer asks about the girl's condition and more

about the location. The caller gives a garbled street number, stops speaking

and hangs up, Valsi said.

Meyer also got the impression the caller had started to laugh before hanging

up, the chief said.

A tape of the call is part of a Lake County Sheriff's Police investigation

into the death and won't be released, Valsi said.

Meyer, a dispatcher with the department for 17 years, was suspended with pay.

Valsi said he made the suspension on the order of Mayor Metros after

Valsi told Metros he was concerned about the lack of a dispatch.

Metros said Monday that Crown Point dispatchers are trained to " err toward

caution. "

" If there's any question, a car should've been dispatched. That's what we're

going to be looking at, " Metros said.

The investigation into Meyer's actions will be handled by the Police

Department, Valsi said.

Erler can be reached at serler@... or .

[Guest guest]

additional information from the hammond times

http://www.thetimesonline.com/

rich, n9dko

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________

Dispatcher suspended after officials question handling of 911 call

Girl's body reported at 5:59 p.m., but no officer dispatched to scene.

BY SUSAN ERLER Times Staff Writer

CROWN POINT -- Veteran police dispatcher Kathy Meyer was suspended on Monday

pending an investigation into her handling of a call Saturday alerting

police that a girl's body had been dumped in a driveway.

The investigation, which could take several days, is expected to determine

why no police officer was dispatched when the call came in at 5:59 p.m.

saying a girl was lying in a driveway on 125th Avenue, Police Chief

Valsi said.

Department policy is to dispatch an officer to every 911 call, even those

that appear to be pranks, Valsi said.

The body, that of 19-year-old Mindy Ann Self of Chesterton, was discovered

about 8:30 p.m. by a couple returning to their home in the 3800 block of

125th Avenue. The residence is in a semirural, unincorporated area south of

Crown Point where police emergencies are handled by the Lake County

sheriff's police.

The 911 call came into Crown Point police because it was placed from a pay

phone at a service station inside city limits.

During the 26-second call, which includes the caller reporting the girl in a

driveway on 125th Avenue, Meyer asks about the girl's condition and more

about the location. The caller gives a garbled street number, stops speaking

and hangs up, Valsi said.

Meyer also got the impression the caller had started to laugh before hanging

up, the chief said.

A tape of the call is part of a Lake County Sheriff's Police investigation

into the death and won't be released, Valsi said.

Meyer, a dispatcher with the department for 17 years, was suspended with

pay.

Valsi said he made the suspension on the order of Mayor Metros after

Valsi told Metros he was concerned about the lack of a dispatch.

Metros said Monday that Crown Point dispatchers are trained to " err toward

caution. "

" If there's any question, a car should've been dispatched. That's what we're

going to be looking at, " Metros said.

The investigation into Meyer's actions will be handled by the Police

Department, Valsi said.

[Guest guest]

additional information from the hammond times

http://www.thetimesonline.com/

rich, n9dko

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________

Dispatcher suspended after officials question handling of 911 call

Girl's body reported at 5:59 p.m., but no officer dispatched to scene.

BY SUSAN ERLER Times Staff Writer

CROWN POINT -- Veteran police dispatcher Kathy Meyer was suspended on Monday

pending an investigation into her handling of a call Saturday alerting

police that a girl's body had been dumped in a driveway.

The investigation, which could take several days, is expected to determine

why no police officer was dispatched when the call came in at 5:59 p.m.

saying a girl was lying in a driveway on 125th Avenue, Police Chief

Valsi said.

Department policy is to dispatch an officer to every 911 call, even those

that appear to be pranks, Valsi said.

The body, that of 19-year-old Mindy Ann Self of Chesterton, was discovered

about 8:30 p.m. by a couple returning to their home in the 3800 block of

125th Avenue. The residence is in a semirural, unincorporated area south of

Crown Point where police emergencies are handled by the Lake County

sheriff's police.

The 911 call came into Crown Point police because it was placed from a pay

phone at a service station inside city limits.

During the 26-second call, which includes the caller reporting the girl in a

driveway on 125th Avenue, Meyer asks about the girl's condition and more

about the location. The caller gives a garbled street number, stops speaking

and hangs up, Valsi said.

Meyer also got the impression the caller had started to laugh before hanging

up, the chief said.

A tape of the call is part of a Lake County Sheriff's Police investigation

into the death and won't be released, Valsi said.

Meyer, a dispatcher with the department for 17 years, was suspended with

pay.

Valsi said he made the suspension on the order of Mayor Metros after

Valsi told Metros he was concerned about the lack of a dispatch.

Metros said Monday that Crown Point dispatchers are trained to " err toward

caution. "

" If there's any question, a car should've been dispatched. That's what we're

going to be looking at, " Metros said.

The investigation into Meyer's actions will be handled by the Police

Department, Valsi said.

[Guest guest]

Re: 911:: Dispatcher Suspended in wake of death

<<< I understand that she got the call supposedly 2 hours before the body

was

found. It doesn't mention whether the dept. was busy. I did see that the

voice was garbled, but you just ask the caller to spell the name or

something.>>>

busy or not, at the very least the op should have notified the duty officer

of the call holding. even if she suspected the call was a hoax, the call

was serious enough to pass on.

<<< I would love to hear her side ... the only time we are in the media is

when

we supposedly do something wrong. If we do our jobs right, the responding

units get praised for being in the right place.>>>

me too. there are always two sides to a story.

rich, n9dko

[Guest guest]

In reference to the dispatcher suspended could someone forward a copy of

the inital article to me, I did not receive it

Thanks

[Guest guest]

We have all done the same thing if you have worked anytime

at all, hold the judgement!. We have forgotten calls, blowed

them off, made a notation, then found it couple hours later.

Only problem is we didn't get caught!. There are many

reasons for a call not getting dispatched, and like you said

we do not know what the situation was at the time in the

Comm. Center. Mistakes do happen. I assume the person was

dead since they referred to " the body " . I wish to see what

pans out here in the fact department. I notice we all

jumped on this like flies on honey!. Nice to know we can

stick together when one of our own comes under fire.

[Guest guest]

Finally, after playing with the addresses to the links, was able to read the

story. Sorry, but it's my belief that we always defer to a duty officer in

such cases. Busy or not....find the time between calls to make that call to

the person that gets paid the " big bucks " to make the decision to send units

or not in " iffy " situations. In the jurisdictions we serve, that person is

the BC.

She made a bad decision...possibly based on assumptions. I feel badly for

her, but this is something we routinely " preach " about in our center. I can

see how it could happen.....but in my opinion it appears she deserves the

suspension. At least it is " with pay " pending a full fact finding.

Regards...and best wishes that we all never forget the folly in using

assumptions in our profession. :-)

Marcia

[Guest guest]

Okay I missed something!!!!! What Happen

Jim

Columbus Police

Columbus Ohio

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 01/17/2001 7:53:54 AM Eastern Standard Time,

napierc@... writes:

> I have read this story and I'm amazed at those who are so quick to pass

> judgement on situation that you have little information on. Yes we are in a

> business that we should not make assumptions, but I also feel that we can

> not judge until we walk in her shoes and know what was happening at that

> point in time. If you believe everything the media tells you, then I have

> some ocean front property in arizona to sell to you.

>

> Christy in Tacoma

>

>

Christy,

You are exactly right. I have so seldom found the media's report of

incidents such as this to be accurate. This woman was a 17 year veteran.

Something is missing from this story.

Stacey

Lexington Kentucky

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 01/17/2001 10:42:30 AM Eastern Standard Time,

nwagner@... writes:

> We have a local daily, that I refuse to even believe the date on!

>

> Accuracy is not a media concern -- sensationalism, however, especially when

> concerning a 9-1-1 dispatcher or any aspect of 9-1-1 in general, sells

> newspapers.

>

> " Judge not, lest ye be Judged "

>

>

>

You are so right. Circle the wagons kids. This could happen to any of us.

It is, at this point, not a matter of what this dispatcher did but of public

and media perception. Unfortunately, the public's perception is dictated by

the media.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 01/17/2001 10:42:30 AM Eastern Standard Time,

nwagner@... writes:

> We have a local daily, that I refuse to even believe the date on!

>

> Accuracy is not a media concern -- sensationalism, however, especially when

> concerning a 9-1-1 dispatcher or any aspect of 9-1-1 in general, sells

> newspapers.

>

> " Judge not, lest ye be Judged "

>

>

>

You are so right. Circle the wagons kids. This could happen to any of us.

It is, at this point, not a matter of what this dispatcher did but of public

and media perception. Unfortunately, the public's perception is dictated by

the media.

[Guest guest]

<<She made a bad decision...possibly based on assumptions. I feel badly

for

her, but this is something we routinely " preach " about in our center. I

can

see how it could happen.....but in my opinion it appears she deserves

the

suspension. At least it is " with pay " pending a full fact finding.>>

I have read this story and I'm amazed at those who are so quick to pass

judgement on situation that you have little information on. Yes we are in a

business that we should not make assumptions, but I also feel that we can

not judge until we walk in her shoes and know what was happening at that

point in time. If you believe everything the media tells you, then I have

some ocean front property in arizona to sell to you.

Christy in Tacoma

[Guest guest]

We have a local daily, that I refuse to even believe the date on!

Accuracy is not a media concern -- sensationalism, however, especially when

concerning a 9-1-1 dispatcher or any aspect of 9-1-1 in general, sells

newspapers.

" Judge not, lest ye be Judged "

Nick Wagner

Senior Communications Supervisor

Cortland Co. (NY) E9-1-1

Fax:

mailto:nwagner@...

http://www.cortland-co.org

Re: 911:: Dispatcher Suspended in wake of death

Christy,

You are exactly right. I have so seldom found the media's report of

incidents such as this to be accurate. This woman was a 17 year veteran.

Something is missing from this story.

Stacey

Lexington Kentucky

[Guest guest]

We have a local daily, that I refuse to even believe the date on!

Accuracy is not a media concern -- sensationalism, however, especially when

concerning a 9-1-1 dispatcher or any aspect of 9-1-1 in general, sells

newspapers.

" Judge not, lest ye be Judged "

Nick Wagner

Senior Communications Supervisor

Cortland Co. (NY) E9-1-1

Fax:

mailto:nwagner@...

http://www.cortland-co.org

Re: 911:: Dispatcher Suspended in wake of death

Christy,

You are exactly right. I have so seldom found the media's report of

incidents such as this to be accurate. This woman was a 17 year veteran.

Something is missing from this story.

Stacey

Lexington Kentucky

[Guest guest]

In the few stories I've read about this, apparently she answered a 9-1-1 call

from a payphone within her city, reporting something outside the city, but

couldn't understand the address, thought she heard giggling, and the call was

disconnected on the callers part.

Now, I'm thinking, had I gotten this what would I have done?

As small as my city is, I probably would have sent an officer to the pay

phone to see if the caller was still in the area. But that would depend on

officer availability.

If I had been able to ID a street name from the caller, I probably would call

the county to see if they had gotten any calls from that area, let them know

what I had received, and basically pass the buck to them.

I have a feeling the reason she's been suspended is because the city manager

(or was it the mayor) ordered it... it's a political move in my eyes, to keep

from having negative PR for that particular city.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

Kathy

[Guest guest]

Wow, this topic sure seems to have hit a nerve with all of us, and rightfully

so. All too often we as dispatchers are judged and second-guessed by those

Monday morning quarterbacks who feel (whether they have the same capabilities

or not) that they could have done a better job. No matter what the

circumstances.

But let us also remember, if any one of us were in the same situation we

would want our fellow listmembers to perhaps realize that the dispatcher

being so harshly judged (whether by the media, her superiors, or otherwise)

so soon before an investigation is complete may very well be reading our

posts.

We should remember her in our thoughts, hope a speedy end to such a tragedy

will come soon for her and the family of the deceased, and that she needs OUR

support.

J Irvine

Tallahassee Police Department

Tallahassee, Fl.

" The opinions expressed here are my own and not necessarily those of my

co-workers or my agency "

[Guest guest]

I agree with Stephei911, we all can say what we would have done, but unless

you walk a mile in someone's shoes, do you really know how they fit.

I do hope that this is over quickly and no matter what the outcome, Kathy

Meyer needs to know that she has support. I would think this is a really

lonely time for her.

I know it would be for me.

Jack Wooten

South Elgin, IL PD

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/17/01 10:43:02 AM Eastern Standard Time,

nwagner@... writes:

> We have a local daily, that I refuse to even believe the date on!

>

> Accuracy is not a media concern -- sensationalism, however, especially when

> concerning a 9-1-1 dispatcher or any aspect of 9-1-1 in general, sells

> newspapers.

>

>

We have that same newspaper in our area....its The Courier News. They miss

NO chance to crucify a member of the law enforcement community regardless of

the facts of a case.

I have often read stories in their " Police Blotter " section and what they

print is so inaccurate that I often wonder if the actually READ the copies of

the police reports we give them!

I'm sure you all have a newspaper in your neighborhood like this. They love

to exploit anything involving dispatchers, police officers, sheriff, etc.

When was the last time anyone read a headline like, " Butcher charged with

Drunk Driving " or " Waiter Charged With Domestic violence " ? But these rags

will take a story involving a police officer and no matter what area of his

life the story comes from they will suddenly make his occupation the

headline.

The aforementioned " rag " once ran a story, " Police Officer Kills 2 " !!! You

know what the ACTUAL story was?? A volunteer fireman who happens to be a

police officer in another town was involved in an accident while responding

to a fire alarm in which two elderly people were killed. The accident was

not his fault and his response to the fire alarm had nothing to do with what

his paid occupation was , but damned if that dirty newspaper didn't plaster

that headline all over its front page.

I am waiting to hear the rest of the story before I judge anyone. We all

assume a lot of responsibility when we sit behind the console. One small

slip and it could be anyone of us. It gets very drafty sometimes living in

these glass houses.

Stay Safe

Patty

BTPD NJ

[Guest guest]

--- stephei911@... wrote:

> Wow, this topic sure seems to have hit a nerve with

> all of us, and rightfully

> so.

**snip**

> We should remember her in our thoughts, hope a

> speedy end to such a tragedy

> will come soon for her and the family of the

> deceased, and that she needs OUR

> support.

**snip**

very well said!!

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Well said Sgt!

If there is anyone that is in the region where the event occurred, could you

fill in the blanks.

We as a training provider will request a tape once the investigation is over.

No matter which way it goes, it will serve as a " lesson learned " or

interesting case study.

[Guest guest]

<<Circle the wagons all you want, but if you are unwilling to take a

realistic view of the condition of your wagon, you are living in a fool's

paradise.>>

Marcia, it's an 1853 Conestoga special w/quad oxen drive that's been thru

many a rousing battle and is showing only minor signs of wear. But I always

carry a spare bail of hay to hide behind just in case.

For the time being,tho, I will sit back in my paisly print naughahide

" Dispatcher Command Special " Barcolounger w/massage and heat waiting for

both sides stories to come out before I put them on my personal judgement

scales.

Bob in Tacoma

Dispatcher (with tooo much time on his hands)

Law Enforcement Support Agency

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 01/18/2001 12:26:33 PM Eastern Standard Time,

COURNOYERB@... writes:

> <<Circle the wagons all you want, but if you are unwilling to take a

> realistic view of the condition of your wagon, you are living in a fool's

> paradise.>>

>

> Marcia, it's an 1853 Conestoga special w/quad oxen drive that's been thru

> many a rousing battle and is showing only minor signs of wear. But I always

> carry a spare bail of hay to hide behind just in case.

> For the time being,tho, I will sit back in my paisly print naughahide

> " Dispatcher Command Special " Barcolounger w/massage and heat waiting for

> both sides stories to come out before I put them on my personal judgement

> scales.

>

> Bob in Tacoma

> Dispatcher (with tooo much time on his hands)

> Law Enforcement Support Agency

>

>

Thanks Bob! I plan to sit here with you until both sides are told, too. I

certainly think we owe our loyalty to one of our own, as opposed to the media

who regularly crucify us. If she was wrong, and that comes to light then I

am sure that the appropriate measures will be taken. Until then, I my wagon

is in fine shape and it is with it I will remain.

StaceyK

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 01/18/2001 12:26:33 PM Eastern Standard Time,

COURNOYERB@... writes:

> <<Circle the wagons all you want, but if you are unwilling to take a

> realistic view of the condition of your wagon, you are living in a fool's

> paradise.>>

>

>

By the way, Marcia, God help you if you make a mistake (and by the way, we

don't know that this young lady did). We are all in precarious situations

daily. Things happen. I just refuse to judge until I have all the

facts...and even then, judgement is not for me to pass.