Dateline: Washington, D.C.

‘This is literally life or death’: DC council member expresses frustration with 911 call center problems.

Frustrated D.C. residents continue voicing concerns and fears over the District’s 911 call center, saying their calls are still being dropped or never answered. One D.C. council member says she wants answers.

Ward 1 Council member Brianne Nadeau said she’s seen an uptick in complaints from her constituents. For example, over a 10-day period in May, Nadeau said she heard about more disturbing incidents with the call center than she typically does in a year.

“I am deeply concerned and frustrated with the 911 call center,” Nadeau told WTOP. “Right now, when you call 911 in an emergency, there is no guarantee that someone is going to answer or call you back.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Dateline DC has learned of another very concerning problem at the DC 911 center. Serious staffing issues within the dispatch center have led to police and fire/ems shifts, that are normally staffed with 6 to 25 or more members respectively, being reduced to operating at times with as few as three employees at times on the ems side. This causes emergency dispatchers, who are supposed to monitor units on one particular channel, to patch and monitor two radio channels at the same time. It has been proven that staffing shortages can cause serious delays in service to citizens and put emergency units operating in the field in danger due to the possibility of missed and or delayed radio transmissions due to dispatchers having to monitor and work more then one channel at a time… Read more…

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By unanimous voice vote, the D.C. Council approved the $21 billion fiscal year 2025 budget on Wednesday, reversing budget cuts requested by Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The budget the mayor proposed was criticized for cutting programs that help the last, the lost, and the least. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said, “The council’s budget resets the District on the path to fight poverty and promote social justice.”

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The City Council is scheduled vote on the Secure Omnibus Bill today. A bill designed to curb the rise of violent crimes in the city.

The bill, sponsored by Council member Brooke Pinto, incorporates much needed changes to current law. Including, but not limited to…

• Drug-Free Zones
• Felony Crimes
• Organized Retail Theft
• Wearing a Mask (while committing a crime)
• Carjacking

This bill would also seek to change current rules regarding the detainment of violent suspects. If passed, it would make permanent provisions for a any adult charged with a violent crime to be held in jail until trial, even if they had not been previously convicted of another violent crime. It will also expand the amount of time a juvenile can be held. If a young person commits a violent crime with a gun, an imitation firearm or knife, they can be held until trial. This applies to certain unarmed offenses as well, including murder, first-degree sexual abuse and carjacking. 

The majority of folks arrested carjacking in 2023 were juveniles.

Wanna know what’s in the Crime Bill? Check it out… Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2024

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Metro does not officially comment on personnel matters; however, sources inside Metro confirmed that MetroAccess director, Omari June, was fired on Thursday amid a probe into the sexual and racial harassment of a subordinate female employee.

Mr. June was the focus of a 2015 lawsuit filed by Minkyung Kim, a former employee who was terminated in April 2014 after complaining about her treatment. Among other things, the lawsuit alleged that Mr. June often talked about sex in the workplace and bragged about the size of his genitalia. It also accused him of simulating sex acts in Kim’s presence and questioning her about the color of her skin. Court papers also revealed that Ms. Kim accused Metro of conducting a “Sham Investigation” because shortly after notifying her immediate supervisor who stated, “I’m sorry, I can’t control him”, she was falsely accused of insubordination on trumped-up charges and terminated.

Ms. Kim’s lawsuit against Metro, which was settled for an undisclosed amount in her favor, and complaints from other individuals about Metro’s handling of the allegations, prompted Metro’s newly appointed inspector general, Geoffrey Cherrington, to open the new internal investigation which led to Thursday’s dismissal of director Omari June. Scoop has it that other supervisors may follow June.

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Filed under: Public Service