Paris, Edgar Co., Ill. (ECWd) –
Approximately 16 years ago, I received a 911 as an EMT for an 11-day-old baby not breathing. Eastern Illinois did a segment on that call which exposed the failures within our Edgar County 911 system. It was that very call that was behind the creation of the Edgar County Watchdogs. Video of the newscast of what I uncovered, dispatchers not being certified for 6 years, can be viewed at this link.
During the recent Emergency Telephone System Board meeting, the first thing I asked was, “Are our dispatchers licensed? I was assured they are but have not asked IDPH for those records yet in order to confirm, as I was told the same thing 16 years ago, which turned out to be a lie. It was during this meeting that the issues with the dispatchers who handled the 911 call from the shooting at White Oak Park in Paris were discussed.
We now have the three 911 calls from the White Oaks Park shooting incident. It appears we still have a problem, and this time someone was being shot at.
*For those who are not familiar with how our Enhanced 911 system works, we will keep it simple. If a dispatcher pays attention to the CAD system screen, the caller’s location appears. While it may not be an exact location at times, it will be in very close proximity. I point this out because of the very troubling comments and actions/inaction that could be identified in the calls.
*Note the caller could not provide his exact location when requested by the dispatcher. Someone was trying to kill him, and he clearly was winded, probably from running for his life. Note the dispatcher’s comment about calming down and indicating that he is walking all over the place. How on earth would she know he was walking all over the place? The E911 system provides the location, and considering the guy was trying to avoid getting killed, he was probably moving around. That little detail indicates she knew where he was, and there was little reason to take the tone that she did and keep asking him where he was located.
*After listening to all three calls, of which one you can hear gunshots in the background, it appears the lack of substantive training with some dispatchers is still a problem today, just as it was 16 years ago.
Edgar County 911 Call 1 –
Edgar County 911 Call 2 –
Edgar County 911 Call 3 –
14 Responses
WTF, Unreal and disgusting how they handle them emergency calls! How dare they need help in the middle of her filing her nails! WOW Not only fire them but they need to be charged with whatever they can charge them with!
This is so bad…I’m almost compelled to use my real name.
Yet another reminder, when it comes to rules, doing things right, and performing duties in a manner that adheres to established Standard Operating Procedures:
“Edgar County: “The Land That Time Forgot.”
That is a small call center. Everyone on shift should have known that someone called for help from the lake in fear for their lives while being shot at. Everyone should have known that White Oak was the likely location. The third operator was not being genuine.
Officers should have been en route before that third call.
“Stay still so they can find you”
Makes you wonder if she meant the police or the hillbillies with the shotgun. I don’t think any officers ever showed up and didn’t even call Jaleel to follow up until hours later.
Watchdogs might need to submit another FOIA request for the CAD logs to find out what officers were dispatched at what time and by whom. Always ask for CAD logs when requesting 911 audio. Scan the logs into Gemini for a total breakdown of police units, officer names, gps data, identity of 911 operators, and methods of communications used. If you see a unit dispatched, check gps location and ask for body worn camera footage and dash cam footage for the time period the officer was at that gps location. That is assuming Edgar County operates similar to Vermilion County 911.
Maybe this situation will make them put some types of markers all around the lake so people can give a specific location in an emergency
The point of Enhanced 911 is for just such emergencies. People could be lost, confused, or in this case, not from the area during an emergency. Also every address has a 911 address. That’s why most rural addresses have those green metal signs by their mail boxes to assist in arriving at the correct location. Virtually all cellphone companies have GPS location built into their cellphones via CDMA networks that can even pinpoint a person within 5 feet indoors.
Any fool knows these jobs are politically filled, but shouldn’t do at least be a minimum skill set come on people . It’s time this county gets their head out of their ass and make decisions on what’s best for the people.
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Wow! Those crazy operators need fired! If you don’t know how to do your job, find a new one that won’t cause someone their life!
Wow! Both of those operators need fired. If you can’t help who is calling in, don’t be working this type of job.
WoW!! WTH is really going on there! These dispatchers need to be not only fired but they need to be reprimanded! The audacity!! So rude and unhelpful!! For the love of God these men were running for their life!
I don’t think any 911 person should have had that tone with any one let alone someone being shot at so sad
It is important 911 dispatchers need to know how to respond to calls. More important, in any activity, is honest appraisal of ones’ actions.
This is ridiculous, I don’t know how long 911 has your location but I do know that if you place a call to 911, it unblocks every number in your phone for 2 hours there is even a notification that pops up on your phone telling you that and your location icon stays on for a while, I would have to assume they have your location for 2 hours unless there is some way to mark calls as resolved in their system. I don’t know what these boys deserve for a punishment, but what I do know is that we can’t trust our bench to be fair and impartial.
Those operators appear to have never taken a distressed call. What the hell?
This makes me sick to my stomach.
MV
That’s so sad, Those 911 operators need to be fired!!!