911 Dispatcher accused of hanging up during Buffalo shooting loses job

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• A 911 dispatcher was initially placed on leave after a Buffalo shooting survivor said that she hung up on her during the attack.
• The survivor said that the dispatcher yelled at her for whispering to avoid being heard by the shooter.
• The dispatcher has since been terminated from her job.

A survivor of the deadly shooting in Buffalo, New York, accused a 911 dispatcher of hanging up on her when she called during the attack in May.

According to a county spokesperson, the dispatcher, who was not publicly identified, was initially placed on administrative leave after the report, “pending a disciplinary hearing.”

A CNN report stated that the hearing occurred on May 30. County officials said that the individual “acted totally inappropriately, not following protocol,” and called for termination. 

That dispatcher was terminated on Thursday, Erie County Department of Personnel in New York told CNN.

On May 14, a white gunman traveled from Conklin, New York, to the predominantly Black community in Buffalo. He opened fire at the Tops supermarket.

Assistant office manager Latisha Rogers, 33, said she hid behind the customer service counter during the attack to call 911. She had to whisper during the call to avoid being heard by the shooter.

But she said the dispatcher yelled at her for whispering. She told The Buffalo News, “She was yelling at me, saying, ‘Why are you whispering? You don’t have to whisper.’ And I was telling her, ‘Ma’am, he’s still in the store. He’s shooting. I’m scared for my life. I don’t want him to hear me. Can you please send help?’ She got mad at me, hung up in my face.” 

Rogers felt that the dispatcher “left me to die.” She decided to call her boyfriend instead to ask him to contact the authorities.

The shooting in Buffalo killed 10. The gunman was charged with first-degree murder but he pleaded not guilty. This week, a grand jury indicted him and he is now facing several charges, including domestic terror, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and attempted murder as a hate crime.

Source: Insider