Utah — Dispatchers Recognized for Composure During Shooting
When a gunman opened fire on shoppers at the Trolley Square Mall near downtown Feb. 12, AFSCME members answered the flood of 911 calls that came in to police and fire department switchboards.
Salt Lake City, Utah
When a gunman opened fire on shoppers at the Trolley Square Mall near downtown Feb. 12, AFSCME members answered the flood of 911 calls that came in to police and fire department switchboards. For staying calm “under fire,” the dispatchers were honored by the City Council at a ceremony 10 days after the incident.
Lyn Creswell, the city’s chief administrative officer, praised about a dozen members of Utah Public Employees Local 1004 — police and fire dispatchers — for their “quiet, competent voices that provided sanity and safety” during the shooting, which left five dead and four wounded by a heavily armed 18 year old.
The frantic phone calls began about 6:40 p.m. Sue Fleck, one of nine police dispatchers on duty at the time, saw the phone lines light up. Among other callers, Fleck spoke to a panicked woman who was hiding out in a store closet with five others, including a child, and wanted to know what was happening. As calmly as she could, Fleck told her to stay where she was, and if they could, to lock down the store. Fleck could hear gunshots in the background. Within minutes of the first 911 call, the shooter was killed in a hail of bullets from law enforcement officers.
The police and fire dispatchers were praised for keeping their cool while urging desperate callers to stay composed as well. “It’s just our job,” says Fleck. “I don’t look at us as heroes.” Still, she adds, “I was so proud of everybody — how we became a team” in the midst of a crisis.
Top, left to right: Fire Dispatch Operations Manager Scott Freitag (white shirt), dispatcher Connie Kelson, fire dispatcher Shahara Clark, Fire Dispatch Supervisor Laurie Wilson-Bell, fire dispatcher Shawna Smith and the city’s Chief Administrative Officer, Lyn Creswell.
Bottom, left to right: Police Dispatch Operations Manager RoxAnn Cheever, police dispatcher Sue Fleck, Chief of Police Chris Burbank (standing behind Fleck) and dispatchers: Corby Beauchaine, David Wagstaff (behind Beauchaine), Brandon England, JoAnn Ryan, Trynitee Peat, Cortney Haggerty (standing behind Peat), Ilias Politis (also the local’s steward), and the city’s Chief Administrative Officer Lyn Creswell. Photos: Patty Rich
