In an interview with WGRZ, the Tops Supermarket assistant manager, who called 911 as an 18-year-old gunman opened fire in her store, revealed that the 911 dispatcher she talked to that day hung up on her. According to Latisha, the 911 dispatcher got upset with her because she was whispering.
Dispatcher Who Received 911 Call Reporting Buffalo Grocery Store Shooting Put on Leave
“I was whispering because I could hear him close by,” Latisha explained to WGRZ. “And when I whispered on the phone to 911, the dispatcher started yelling at me saying, ‘Why are you whispering? You don’t have to whisper.’ … And then she hung up in my face.”
As Latisha continued, after the dispatcher yelled at her for whispering, the manager said she tried explaining her situation, “‘Ma’am, he’s in the store. He’s shooting. It’s an active shooter. I’m scared for my life.’ And she said something crazy to me, and then she hung up.”
After the call ended, Latisha said she phoned her boyfriend. Her boyfriend then quickly made his own 911 call. Latisha had been a manager at the Tops Supermarket for 13 years.
Now, the call and the dispatcher have since been investigated. According to the HuffPost, following the investigation, “immediate action was taken,” and according to Erie County spokesperson Peter Anderson, “The individual who took that call is now on administrative leave pending a disciplinary hearing.”
According to Anderson, the dispatcher had worked for Erie County for the last eight years. However, while the actions of the dispatcher were not textbook, Anderson continued by saying their actions “had no bearing on the dispatching of the call.”
Police arrived on the scene within 30 seconds of the call, reports suggest. As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Payton Gendron, the man responsible for shooting 13 people, killing 10, has since been charged with murder. He was indicted on May 19. Several family members of the victims were present for arraignment.
Aaron Salter, Katherine Massey, Celestine Chaney, Roberta Drury, Pearly Young, Ruth Whitfield, Heyward Patterson, Margus D. Morrison, Andre Mackneil, and Geraldine Talley are the names of the people who died in the shooting. Aaron Salter was the security guard who attempted to stop the gunman with his own weapon.
Eleven of the 13 individuals killed or injured in the attack were Black. Authorities have since labeled the shooting a hate crime after the shooter’s published manifesto revealed his motives.
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