911 Dispatcher Falls Asleep During Call
Another Dispatcher Fell Asleep During Call Last Year
UPDATED: 10:16 am EST March 30,
2005
MILLERSVILLE, Md. -- A 911 operator in Anne Arundel County, Md., faces accusations of sleeping on the job -- but she's not the first.This time, a supervisor caught the dozing dispatcher last Sunday before it could affect any emergency calls, WBAL-TV in Baltimore reported.
A caller to 911 heard, for almost two minutes, snoring while calling in an emergency last August.Since then, authorities have increased lighting at the dispatch center and added additional police officers to work the midnight shift.Anne Arundel County Police Capt. Kim Bowman said the department has educated employees and supervisors to the difficulties of staying awake during the overnight shift. Bowman said that shift remains the most vulnerable to this problem."People want to be asleep at 3 a.m. So, we have to recognize that that's an issue; nonetheless, it's intolerable for that to occur, and we've tried to sensitize our employees to these issues," Bowman said.Officials said the dispatcher's falling asleep never impacted a caller, and new safeguards seemed to have worked.But Bowman insisted it cannot happen again."It's their primary career, and it's a very important one, which is why we're so distressed as that this sort of thing could happen again," he said.The department has taken disciplinary action against the dispatcher, but she will be allowed to keep her job.
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Boss Catches 911 Dispatcher Sleeping Previous Story:
- August 5, 2004: Sleepy 911 Operator Takes A Snooze During Call
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