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The 911 dispatcher who reportedly hung up on woman during the Buffalo mass shooting was terminated from her job

Jun 4, 2022, 22:24 IST
Insider
Police officers secure the scene after a shooting at TOPS supermarket in Buffalo, New York, U.S. May 14, 2022.Jeffrey T. Barnes/Reuters
  • The 911 dispatcher accused of hanging up on a Buffalo shooting survivor was reportedly fired.
  • The unidentified dispatcher was initially placed on leave last month.
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The 911 dispatcher who was accused of hanging up on a grocery store employee during the Buffalo deadly shooting last month was let go from her job.

The dispatcher, who has not been publicly identified, was initially placed on administrative leave "pending a disciplinary hearing," a county spokesperson previously told Insider. Erie County Department of Personnel in New York told CNN the unidentified dispatcher was fired Thursday.

A hearing, which occurred on May 30, called for the termination of the individual who county officials said "acted totally inappropriately, not following protocol," CNN reported.

The disciplinary action comes after Latisha Rogers — an assistant office manager who was present at Tops grocery store when the white gunman from Conklin, New York opened fire on May 14— said the dispatcher hung up on her while trying to report the mass shooting.

The 33-year-old was hiding behind the customer service counter during the attack and said she whispered to the dispatcher to avoid being detected by the gunman.

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"She was yelling at me, saying, 'Why are you whispering? You don't have to whisper,'" Rogers told The Buffalo News. "And I was telling her, 'Ma'am, he's still in the store. He's shooting. I'm scared for my life. I don't want him to hear me. Can you please send help?' She got mad at me, hung up in my face."

Rogers said that she had to call her boyfriend and told him to contact the authorities. She previously said that she felt the dispatcher "left me to die," per the Buffalo News.

Authorities allege that the 18-year-old gunman targeted the predominately Black neighborhood and shot 13 people, killing 10, during the racist attack. He was charged with first-degree murder to which he pleaded not guilty. According to reports, he was indicted by a grand jury this week and is facing a slew of charges including domestic terror, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and attempted murder as a hate crime.

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