"911, What's Your Emergen... zzzzz... ?"
A City of Rochester, NY 911 operator asleep with his headset still on
UPDATED BY DAVY V. FRIDAY AUGUST 5, 2016 5:00 P.M.
Rochester, NY Mayor Lovely Warren Refuses to Be Transparent with Taxpayers
By Davy V.
According to City of Rochester, NY officials, the 911 operators I was first to expose right here on my blog last month, after a confidential source sent me photographs of them passed out, sound asleep at their desks, headsets still on, have been disciplined.
There's only one problem however.
Proving that they give two shits about being transparent with taxpayers, Rochester, NY Mayor Lovely Warren and her administration are refusing to say exactly what discipline those 911 dispatchers received.
In a classic Friday news dump move, the City of Rochester released the following statement:
"Supervisors have been given instructions and all staff has been reminded that they are expected to remain awake and alert during shifts."
That's it?
"All staff has been reminded that they are expected to remain awake and alert during their shifts?"
No shit.
READ MY ORIGINAL STORY BELOW.
UPDATE 1
UPDATED THURSDAY JULY 14, 2016 5:00 A.M.
According to John Merklinger, the Director of the City of Rochester, and Monroe County, NY 911 Emergency Communications Center, the five dispatchers shown in photos sleeping on the job, work the 12 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. shift.
The photos, which were sent to me by a very reliable source who asked to remain anonymous show 911 dispatchers sleeping at their desks, some slumped over in their seats, with their headsets still on.
The story, one of the biggest I've broken here on my blog, is especially disturbing considering that these are the individuals one relies on in an emergency.
City of Rochester 911 Director John Merklinger
On Wednesday afternoon, after Rochester, NY's mainstream news media picked up the story, 911 Director John Merklinger said he was unaware of any of his employees sleeping on the job.
But that's hard to believe, according to information my source gave me.
According to my source, employees sleeping on the job inside the 911 center is a regular occurrence, and one which not only are supervisors aware of, but also ignore.
In fact, this causes what is commonly referred to as a "delay of dispatch."
That's when information about a specific emergency, sits on a 911 dispatcher's computer screen, waiting to be given out.
But it's a little hard to give out crucial information where every second counts, if you're knocked out snoring at your desk.
In one incident in which a 911 operator was asleep at their desk, a supervisor who was alerted by another 911 employee, simply dismissed that employee's concern.
"This is a daily occurrence and the supervisors just ignore it, one occasion a supervisor said "yea I know", and laughed about it , again doing nothing about it," the source said.
Other disturbing behavior inside the City of Rochester and Monroe County, NY Emergency Communications Center includes bullying.
In one incident, a 911 employee received a 30 day paid suspension after bullying another employee.
I will be updating this story.
READ MY ORIGINAL PIECE BELOW.
By Davy V.
POSTED TUESDAY JULY 12, 2016 9:00 A.M.
The last thing you expect when you call 911 in an emergency, is that the operators are asleep.
It's almost unthinkable to imagine that the same individuals whose job it is to be alert when every second counts, are instead snoring at their desks, with their headsets still on.
Yet in an exclusive story which you'll see first right here on my blog, that's exactly what an anonymous source who contacted me Monday morning says is happening inside the City of Rochester, NY Monroe County 911 Emergency Communications Center.
In fact, according to my source, it's a regular occurrence.
And here are the photos to prove it...
Check back for updates on this story.
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