911 dispatcher has been suspended from her position after she allegedly hung up on a caller who was inside the Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., during Saturday's mass shooting that killed 10.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz spoke to reporters Wednesday, and called the 911 dispatcher's alleged actions "totally inappropriate."
Poloncarz said the dispatcher, who was not identified, has been placed on leave and faces possible termination pending the outcome of an administrative hearing set to take place at the end of the month.
As gunshots were fired outside Tops Supermarket on Saturday afternoon, calls began pouring into the 911 dispatch center. One was made by a woman who hit the floor when she heard shooting. She claims she was cut off for whispering during the call.
The woman who reported being hung up on told her story to WGRZ Saturday evening, as the station was taking calls live on the air.
"I was whispering, because I could hear him close by and when I whispered on the phone to 911, the dispatcher started telling at me, saying, 'Why are you whispering? You don't have to whisper,'" the woman told the news anchors. "And I'm trying to tell her, like, 'Ma'am, he's in the store. He's shooting. There's an active shooter and I'm scared for
Poloncarz noted that a review of the 911 calls from Saturday confirmed the dispatcher was trained to better handle such situations.
my life,' and she said something crazy to me and she hung up in my face."
"We teach our 911 call takers that if someone is whispering, it probably means they are in trouble," Poloncarz asserted. "They are in an area of concern, not just in regards to active shooters, but potentially with regards to domestic violence."
He said the dispatcher first started working at the call center eight years ago.
"We have to go through a process that exists through our union contract, in which we go forth to present the information and the individual has the opportunity to respond," Poloncarz said.
He added that a transcript of the 911 call, along with the audio of the call itself, will be released in time.
Ten people were killed in Saturday's shooting in Buffalo. All 10 were Black. Three other people, including another Black man, were shot but sustained non-life threatening injuries.
The victims have been identified as Roberta A. Drury, 32; Margus D. Morrison, 52; Andre Mackneil, 53; Aaron Salter Jr., 55; Geraldine Talley, 62; Celestine Chaney, 65; Heyward Patterson, 67; Katherine Massey, 72; Pearl Young, 77; and Ruth Whitfield, 86.
The shooting was carried out by an 18-year-old white supremacist who'd traveled two hours to Buffalo's East Side specifically to target Black people, according to police.
The attack was planned over several months by the killer, who live-streamed it via Twitch.
President Joe Biden characterized the attack in a statement as "hate-fueled domestic terrorism."
The shooter was indicted by a grand jury Thursday on one count of first-degree murder.