May 7, 2008...9:47 pm
MADISON 911 COSTS A LIFE
And no, they don’t get to call for “overs,” either.
Madison’s 911 dispatch system flat-out blew it in the April 2 murder of Brittany Zimmerman. First, it was revealed that Zimmerman’s call to 911 should have resulted in the dispatch of police to the scene but did not.
The existence of the April 2 call from Brittany Sue Zimmermann’s phone prompted questions about how local officials handle emergency calls from cell phones, as well as about the call itself.
The 911 call from her phone was first reported Thursday by Madison’s Isthmus newspaper, and it kicked off a round of finger-pointing between county 911 officials and police.
Neither Joe Norwick, director of the Dane County Public Safety Communications Center, nor Madison police would release a recording of the call or say exactly what time it was made or how long it lasted. Norwick said the dispatcher who took the call asked several times if there was an emergency, and after getting no response, hung up. The dispatcher didn’t follow a policy of calling the number back, he said.The dispatcher instead picked up other pending 911 calls, one of which was a hang-up call. In that case, the dispatcher did call back, Norwick said.
Norwick went on to state that there were 115 non-emergency calls to 911 on the day Zimmerman was murdered, 83 from cell phones.
One of the advantages of 911 systems is that a person can call 911, for example, and be unable to speak for any reason and still receive emergency response. The few times I’ve had to call 911 here, I’ve gotten a response and had the dispatcher read my address back to me. Last year, we needed to summon an ambulance to Simmons Field during our tournament. I called on my cell phone and due to GPS technology, Kenosha’s emergency responder knew my location without my having to give the information.
It’s also my understanding that there is a required response to all 911 calls. That’s why law enforcement comes down so hard on needless calls, prank calls, etc. It’s a waste of precious resources. Did Madison’s emergency responders develop clairvoyance so as to determine that no response was needed to some calls? Is this where the Psychic Friends Network ended up?
Now, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk says even if police had responded, Zimmerman’s murder couldn’t have been prevented. Once again, is “Catch and Release Kate” clairvoyant and able to make predictions as to what would have happened? Again, after I’ve dialed 911 here, I’ve had emergency responders in a matter of minutes. Even minutes might have helped save her life or even captured the perpetrator.
Also, the 911 operators ignored crucial sounds in the emergency call that should have triggered a police response, but once again, Madison police maintain they were never notified.
And via Bruce at Badger Blogger comes words that WKOW-TV (Channel 27) in Madison quotes someone who heard the 911 call.
Sad to say, the union thugs will go to the mat for one of their own, the 911 dispatcher, who screwed up.
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