In the aftermath of a woman’s death from a domestic violence incident, the Pittsburgh (Penn.) police have formalized several policies related to making contact with 911 callers. But the changes were immediately questioned by the city’s civilian review board for not going far enough to protect women who might be prevented from responding to officers knocking on their door. The policy tweaks stem from the death of Ka’sandra Wade last January by her boyfriend, who later killed himself. Wade dialed 911 from a cellular phone, and the calltaker created an “unknown trouble” incident with Priority 2 response. A dispatcher sent veteran officers to the incident, and police officials later said the officers knew the caller had been a female, that there was a commotion during the call, and that the call ended abruptly. The officers didn’t contact Wade, but they did speak to the boyfriend through a window. Police haven’t revealed the content of that conversation, and said the officers did not go inside Wade’s apartment. The officers left without taking action. The next evening Wade’s relatives found her dead inside. It’s not clear if she was alive when the officers arrived at the apartment. This week, police officials said they had established formal policies for handling such calls, which generally mirror the procedures previously in place: attempt contact, and notify a supervisor if the situation warrants. The police department’ Civilian Review Board had recommended a set of 12 policies for consideration to insure a proper response to similar future 911 calls Noc
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 21:34:22 +0000
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