ACTIVE SHOOTER SHIFT COMMENDATION
On Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 0831 hours, the Chattahoochee River 9-1-1 Authority/ChatComm received a frantic call involving a life-threatening situation. ChatComm Call Taker Nethaneel Lankford took the initial call, quickly verified and placed the call in for dispatch. Nathaneel gave instructions to the caller and her 89-year old mother, who was also in the house, to go into a safer room inside of the residence and barricade the door as the suspect was clearly heard on the tape attempting to break into the residence. Sandy Springs Police later attributed Nathaneel’s instructions of having the caller barricade the door no doubt saved the life of the caller’s elderly mother.
A second call came in and Call Taker Heather McBroom talked with her with a calm demeanor and soothing voice until rescue personnel were able to reach her inside of the residence.
While these calls were active, Dispatcher Ajaiah Gerton quickly dispatched the Sandy Springs Police Department and kept them updated the entire time with all information occurring at the location. Dispatcher Wesley Toney was assigned to Sandy Springs TAC with Incident Command keeping accurate account of the incident and relaying all information received into the 911 center.
Simultaneously, the Dunwoody Police Dispatcher Marilyn Childers notified this neighboring police department of the incident and provided pertinent information of the incident for potential assistance.
Chief DeSimone dropped by the ChatComm 9-1-1 Center to express gratitude for the outstanding work by both call takers and dispatchers who took the initial calls from the victim in what would turn out to be a murder-suicide case. He commended the staff for their coolness under extreme pressure and their professionalism and accurate communicating during what was a dynamic crime scene as the officers arrived. The 89-year old mother of the victim, who was also in the house, escaped. DeSimone credited the actions of the ChatComm 9-1-1 staff with saving the elderly woman’s life.
Collectively all those who were on duty during this incident worked as a complete team under the leadership of Supervisor Shireka Graham and ensured not only this incident was handled but all of the other incidents occurring in all of the areas ChatComm serves.