Local dispatcher under internal review for 911 comment in near drowning situation
CLARK COUNTY — The Clark County Sheriff’s Office has launched an internal investigation into a dispatcher after a complaint was filed against them in regards to a how a particular 911 call was handled this week.
On Monday, dispatchers several received 911 calls reporting that multiple people were stuck on Mad River, near Eagle City Road, and needed help getting out of the water.
In one 911 call, the dispatcher under investigation can be heard calling the 911 caller a “little liar.”
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“No, I’m actually trying to see where you’re at because you’re a little liar,” the dispatcher said in the 911 call obtained through a public records request.
It was that comment that led to the internal investigation and the dispatcher being placed on administrative leave.
In other 911 calls from the incident, dispatchers worked to the panicked group stay as calm as possible.
“I know this is very hard and I know you guys are worried. I have a lot of people that are trying to get in that water safely to get you guys, ok?” another dispatcher said in a separate call.
Another dispatcher talked to the mother of one of the people trapped, who was frustrated with how long the rescue was taking.
During the chaos of the rescue, dispatchers had to work to find out where exactly the stranded group was.
“I don’t know. We’re in the river. We’re about to drown,” one 911 caller said.
A dispatcher then asked what river they were in and the caller said they were by Forest Lake. It was after that response that another dispatcher, who is now on leave, made the comment to one of the people stranded, calling them a “little liar.”
Clark County Sheriff Deb Burchett confirmed to News Center 7 that that particular dispatcher and her comment were at the center of an internal investigation.
“The same day, after a quick initial review of the complaint, the Sheriff’s Office initiated an internal investigation into our dispatching response to the 911 call and placed a dispatcher on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” Burchett said in a statement.
The Sheriff said they will release the investigation when it is finished.
We’ll update this story as we learn more.
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