A Buffalo emergency services dispatcher accused of closing a 911 call by a supermarket employee during last month’s racist shooting was fired on Thursday, an official said.
The dispatcher, who has not been publicly identified, has been fired for a disciplinary hearing, official Peter Anderson, a spokesman for the Erie County Executive, said in an email.
Mr Anderson said the dispatcher, who had worked for Erie County for eight years, had been on paid administrative leave since 16 May, “because the wrong call was investigated”.
The investigation was prompted by comments from an employee at the Tops supermarket, where a white gunman killed 10 blacks on May 14 in one of the worst racist mass shootings in recent United States history.
Latisha Rodgers, an assistant office manager at the supermarket, told The Buffalo News that she called 911 while hiding in the store and whispered on the phone to avoid the shooter’s attention.
She said the dispatcher warned her to speak quietly during the conversation.
“She was yelling at me, saying, ‘Why are you whispering?’ You don’t have to whisper, “Ms. Rodgers told The News,” and I told her, “Ma’am, he’s still in the store. He fired. I am afraid for my life. I don’t want him to hear me. Can you send help? She got mad at me, shut me in the face.
In a separate interview with The New York Times, Ms. Rodgers said she was hiding behind the store’s customer service counter when she first heard gunfire and called 911 on her cell phone.
She said the dispatcher asked her why she was whispering and then the connection was broken.
At a news conference last month, District Executive Director Mark K. Polonkarz said the call was “completely unacceptable.” A transcript of the conversation has not been published.
The dispatcher was represented by the Civil Service Association, a union of civil servants in New York.
“CSEA has negotiated contractual disciplinary provisions for due process, which must be followed by the parties, and we have ensured that the process is followed fairly and appropriately here,” said Matt Cantore, the union’s acting communications director, in a statement.
The man accused of carrying out the Buffalo shooting was indicted this week by a grand jury on 25 counts, including murder and domestic terrorism. The suspect, 18-year-old Peyton Hendron, pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison on charges of domestic terrorism.
The shooting in Buffalo, New York’s second-largest city, took place 10 days before 19 children and two teachers were killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Uwalde, Texas.
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