911 dispatcher to be fired after asking caller why she was whispering as Buffalo shooting unfolded around her
Ten people, all of whom were Black, were killed in the racially-motivated mass shooting
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A 911 dispatcher is set to be fired after asking a supermarket worker why she was whispering as the Buffalo mass shooting unfolded around her.
Latisha Rogers, an assistant office manager at Tops Friendly Markets, called the emergency services as the violence which killed 10 people took place.
Now city authorities are investigating the incident as Ms Rogers says the dispatcher hung up on her and officials say they plan to sack the worker later this month.
“I proceeded to whisper because I didn’t know how many people there were in the store or anything, I didn’t want to be heard,” Ms Rogers told CNN of the 911 call.
And she says the dispatcher responded: “‘What? I can’t hear you. Why are you whispering? You don’t have to whisper, they can’t hear you.’”
Erie County officials say that the dispatcher has been placed on administrative leave, with County Executive Mark Poloncarz calling the behavior “inappropriate.”
“We teach our 911 call takers that if someone is whispering, it probably means they are in trouble,” he said.
He added that at a 30 May hearing “our intention is to terminate the 911 call taker who acted totally inappropriately, not following protocol.”
Officials say that the dispatcher’s name would not be released in line with department policy on any employee under administrative suspension or leave.
Payton Gendron, 18, has been indicted by a grand jury on first-degree murder charegs and will be arraigned in court next month. He is being held in jail with no bail.
All 10 of those who lost their lives were Black, six women and four men.
It is expected that the suspect will face additional murder and attempted murder counts and state hate crime charges. The FBI is also running its own investigation and the Department of Justice could add federal hate crime and terrorism charges.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments