Lane Bryant Murders
"911 CALL ENRAGED GUNMAN AT LANE BRYANT STORE" So goes the front page headline in the Daily Southtown Star of saturday, 09 Februrary 2008. Thus far, police are still describing the horrible murders of 5 women at a lane bryant store in tinley park as a "botched robbery" and as of this writing, no one is in custody.
The headline, only a small part of a very sad story, is telling. As the paper writes, "Mcfarland (one of the victims) was able to get to her cell phone and call police, the killer heard the dispatchers voice. THe irate gunman then began opening fire on the prone women". Though it is not explicitly stated, the implication leads one to believe that the dispatcher actually HEARD these murders in real time. Published reports indicate that responding police were on scene within minutes, but not quickly enough to save any of the deceased victims nor catch the killer.
Stories like this bring home again the perilous nature of the work that is done on a daily basis at oemc and emergency call centers all over the country. Although rare, such calls do happen (Blogmaster can recall several in chicago over the years, including live suicides, females being killed by their men, people shot, and tragedies like E2 and the high rise fire at 69 w washington. Recall the call center employee who received the call from hijacked flight 93 on 11 sept 2001.) Certain calls that captured murder and death live on audio and it is not pretty, glamorous, or exciting. One never knows if the NEXT call they take will be the one that results in real tragedy for someone and leaves the calltaker feeling totally helpless because there is nothing--nothing--that can be done at that moment other than possibly providing aid and comfort to the victim if the circumstances allow. Even the responding field units are not often given such up close and personal portraits of a victims last seconds and believe it, these are the types of calls that stay with one forever.
The pcos at oemc, fortunately, never lose sight of the importance of the work that is done there even when the suits treat the agency like a cash cow, a dumping ground for hacks, and fail to understand or appreciate what it can be like dealing with the public day in day out.
To the 5 victims of this tragedy, RIP. Blogmasters thoughts and prayers are with the families and with the police officers and agencies working the case.
posted by CPDDispatch @ 12:00 AM
8 Comments:
omg!finally someone recognizes what this does to calltakers. No one ever see's that side of things. They just look at calltakers as though they are mechanical.That has to be devastating to who ever took that call.
And God blees to all of oemc call takers,dispatchers and fire dispatchers.
Dear Sir or Madam,
My name is Dan Biederman. I am an attorney in Chicago and I currently represent the Rev. Dwayne Funches and his wife, Emily. The Funches are West Side residents who lost three children and one godchild in a fire at their home in September, 2004.
Shortly after the fire, many of the Funches’s neighbors said that they called 9-1-1 to report the fire, but several callers were hung-up on, while other calls were never answered. As a result of these allegations, the Funches filed suit against the City of Chicago.
Throughout the litigation, it has become apparent that the Funches’ children and godchild died as a result of poor staffing within the OEMC and overworked, overstressed calltakers and dispatchers.
Since the lawsuit was filed nearly three years ago, the City has been incredibly uncooperative in giving truthful answers and producing relevant documents that relate to the Funches fire. For instance, the City destroyed all but 19 of the calls from September 24, 2004 – the day of the fire – despite the fact that there was a court order protecting these calls.
Because the City has been so uncooperative, I am now forced to turn to other sources for information. I came across this blog recently and have been fascinated by what I’ve been reading. Would you or anyone you know at OEMC be willing to step forward and speak with me regarding OEMC? I have many questions the City will not answer.
For instance, I received two letters from an anonymous source regarding severe staffing problems that existed at OEMC just months before the Funches fire.
One of the letters was from Vicki Wilson, the former Managing Deputy Director of Administrative Services at OEMC. Ms. Wilson’s letter, dated February 2, 2004, addressed severe staffing problems at OEMC. However, the name of the person to whom the letter was addressed was redacted. I submitted a request that the City tell me who the person is, but they said they did not know. I also asked Ms. Wilson about this letter at her deposition, but she said she couldn’t recall whom she sent the letter to, and she said that she destroyed the letter after leaving OEMC in May, 2004.
The other letter I received was dated June 24, 2004. This letter also addressed severe staffing problems at OEMC. However, the author’s name at the bottom of the letter was redacted.
Can you, or anyone else give me any insight as to these people are? Can you or anyone else provide me with any other information? I can be reached at this e-mail address or at the following phone number: 312-238-8978 or via e-mail at biedermanlaw@gmail.com
Thank-you for your time and I appreciate your consideration.
Very truly yours,
Daniel J. Biederman, Sr.
P.S. I will be more than happy to provide copies of these letters if you need.
hey Dan, brilliant way to look for cooperation from OEMC staff... blame them for the death of your client's children in your plea for help. sweet. I mean that is fucking amazing. OEMC staff are the best. we work under preassure and we get through. where the fuck were mom and dad while the house was burning down? how about the fact that the fire depatment was there within 3 minutes. OEMC did the job and did it very well. don't blame us!
puh-fuckin-leeze
Hey Danny Boy........here's the deal. You have to give something to get something. So .....if you can go to our next contract negotiations and the Richie Boy to sign on the dotted line giving us a 10% increase each year of a 5 yr contract, double our uniform allowance, get us 3 additional personal days, new chairs & equipment, WINDOWS to prove REAL fresh air, ...then maybe someone will be willing to help you.
Happy Valentine's Day
that 'dan the lawyer' comment is a joke, right? it has to be if he thinks he will ge ANY help from oemc. the city is doing what it does best - fuck with you.
and off topic, isn't it about time we get a new director? i mean tony has done one hellova job fucking the place up even more (who thought it was possible?!) time for some new asshole !!!!!
Wow Dan,
You can't be for real. What kind of quack attorney are you ? You know you're suing for millions of dollars, trying to blame the tragic incident on someone, yet you can't hire an investigator? Gee which one of us shall help you out, which one of us would like to loose our jobs or get suspended because of a error. Due to no fault of the calltakers or dispatchers be it police or fire side did that family suffer tragedy. Services were provided in a timely manner, but that doesnt matter to you does it?
$$$$$ Money is not going to bring back the dead. Fire is a fact of life. Millions of prank phone calls a year from children, ... remember the story of the boy who cried wolf? There is a reason we were taught that story as a child, and the story is hundreds of years old.
Matter of fact does the grieving family know that you're so desperate that you have stooped to gathering information from a BLOG SITE?!! Maybe someone should drop a dime to the family so they can fire your dumb ass and get a real lawyer!!
You're an embarassment. Shame on you.
911 is a Joke
I respect this attorney more than a bunch of worthless 911 operators who want to defend their incompetent associates and blame people trying report something. Maybe you need to become a victim of your associates incompetence for you to learn. If you are under staffed tell the public and the attorney and the press and stop shifting the blame.
Post a Comment
<< Home