APCO making new standards!

 

The APCO Standard for Public Safety Communications Common Incident Types for Data Exchange is out, it's a list of terms to help 911 call centers, dispatch centers, first responders, etc. pass incident info between each other more efficiently.

Read the document at apcointl.org

Fullerton releases Kelly Thomas 911 call

Wednesday, after months of speculation, the City of Fullerton released an audio recording of the now infamous "Slidebar phone call" that lead to the eventual death of schizophrenic homeless man, Kelly Thomas. The July 5th, 2011 call, from an employee of the Slidebar to the Fullerton PD, reported that a "creepy homeless guy", known as Kelly, was walking through the parking lot near the Fullerton transportation hub, pulling on car door handles. The female RP, who's name has been redacted, is believed to be a manager at the Slidebar.

picture from FullertonsFuture.org

Listen to the call here (right click to download) 

The recording was released after Fullerton resident Richard Dwyer filed a public records request in July, claiming that the caller was coached by the Fullerton PD to exaggerate Thomas' activities to quicken police responce. The recording does not show any coaching from the police dispatcher.

WTF is going on in Pasadena?

First was last Saturday a Pasadena PD officer pulling a Steven Seagal and shooting 19 year old Kendrec McDade from his patrol car. Now we have the 911 caller who reported an armed robbery that led to the McDade shooting being arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

The investigation into a controversial killing of a college student by a Pasadena police officer last weekend took a dramatic twist Wednesday when police arrested a 911 caller who set the chain of events into motion, accusing him of lying.

The officer shot 19-year-old Kendrec McDade from the driver’s seat of a police cruiser in a narrow alley in the city’s Northeast district about 11 p.m. on Saturday. Police were chasing two robbery suspects. They were dispatched to the scene after a man called 911 claiming that the pair were armed and stole his laptop computer.

But on Wednesday, police officials said they concluded that the man lied to police about the gun and that detectives now believe neither McDade or the other person were armed.

Read more at the LA Times.