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The operator who answered a Tops employee 911 call during Saturday's (May 14) Buffalo mass shooting has been put on leave and might be fired.
Latisha, a Tops market assistant manager, previously told Buffalo reporters that a 911 dispatcher "said something crazy" and ultimately "hung up in her face" as she attempted to alert emergency services of the shooting that killed 10 Black New Yorkers.
On Wednesday (May 18), Peter Anderson, a spokesperson for the executive of Erie County, told AP News that "termination will be sought" for the dispatcher who allegedly mishandled the call.
The assistant manager was hiding during the racially-motivated attack at Tops and was whispering on the phone to the 911 dispatcher so the gunman wouldn't be able to hear her.
"When I whispered on the phone to 911, the dispatcher would start yelling at me saying 'Why are you whispering? You don't have to whisper.' and I'm trying to tell her ma'am he's in the store, he's shooting, it's an active shooter, I'm scared for my life," Latisha said describing the call.
The Tops employee added that she had to tell her boyfriend to call 911 after the dispatcher hung up on her.
However, Anderson said it was unclear whether the dispatcher or Latisha ended the call.
A disciplinary hearing set for later this month will determine whether the 911 dispatcher in question will be permanently fired.
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