Call gets Malloy to bark

Commissioner says call about dog should not have gone to 911 operators

WARREN -- At least one commissioner discussed finding ways for some phone calls going to the county's dispatch center to be routed to nonemergency lines instead of 911 dispatchers.

Commissioner Denny Malloy, during Tuesday's commissioners workshop, expressed outrage that fellow Commissioner Niki Frenchko called 911 shortly after 3 a.m. Thursday about an animal cruelty complaint, keeping the dispatcher on the phone for approximately 8 1/2 minutes.

At the time of that call, the dispatch center was handling an emergency call from Howland that began about 2:30 a.m. in which a caller reported locking herself in a closet on Barder Avenue because she accused a man of hitting her and she believed he had a gun.

Trumbull 911 dispatchers were on the phone with that caller until 3:41 a.m., according to the Trumbull County 911 call log.

No one was hurt during the Howland incident.

Frenchko called the dispatch center saying a neighbor at 158 Kenilworth Ave. had left a dog outside with no water and its barking and crying was keeping her awake. Frenchko, who initially did not identify herself as a commissioner, told the 911 dispatcher, later identified as Jeff Ford, that she previously had called about the dog.

After looking up the initial call, the dispatcher told Frenchko police had driven past the house, did not hear the dog barking and left the scene. The officer that drove to the scene did not see the dog, the call log states.

Frenchko responded that the dog had been outside all of the time.

"It is almost 3 in the (expletive) morning," she noted.

Ford asked her not to swear at him on the phone, according to the call log.

Frenchko noted she was not swearing at him.

"Yes, you were," he noted. "I understand you're upset, but don't do that. Swearing at me is not going to get the police to you faster."

Ford said he would ask the police officer to stop and talk to her.

Frenchko responded that she did not want the police to talk to her, but to check on the dog for not having food and water.

"Clearly, there's something wrong," she said. "Don't make the call about a barking dog."

Ford explained to her that dispatchers do not tell police departments what to do. Trumbull 911 simply dispatches the departments to the address with information about the nature of the complaint, and police agencies determine on their own the course of action that will be taken at the scene.

Frenchko complained Ford was yelling at her during the call. Ford responded that he was not yelling, but was speaking in a raised voice to ensure she heard what he was saying during his explanation.

"I'm trying to help you," he said.

Ford noted the appropriate thing for her to do was to speak to the Warren Police Department later that morning about her concerns.

Trumbull 911 Director Tacy Bond reported this was at least the third time this year that Frenchko called Trumbull 911's emergency number in reference to the care of this dog -- Jan. 20 and 21, and Feb. 2.

"I would have hung up on her six minutes earlier," Malloy said.

Malloy noted Frenchko dropped multiple 'f-bombs' while speaking to the county employee during Thursday's phone call.

"No county employee should ever have to endure that kind of verbal abuse from his boss," Malloy noted. "The dispatcher told her three times this was not an emergency."

Frenchko defended the call Tuesday evening. She was not at the workshop because she attended the funeral for former Trumbull County Fair Board president Bud Rodgers.

"When I witness animal abuse and neglect, it's my absolute duty to report it. I have seen this dog left out in bitter cold without proper shelter, having no water for days, being choked by its tether and the owner carrying him by his collar and hit by its owner. As an animal lover who's rescued over a dozen animals, I believe it's criminal NOT to report an emergency if a dog's been without food and water for days. Shame on county employees and officials playing politics and trying to make a negative headline over this," Frenchko said in an email.

NEW POLICY NEEDED?

Trumbull Human Resources Director Alexandra DeVengencie-Bush described doing an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the call. She determined the dispatcher did not act outside of the county's policies during the call.

She added the county should attempt to establish policies that will establish how nonemergency calls should be handled.

Bush requested that all police departments make sure that nonemergency telephone numbers are available to residents on their department websites. Bond noted that animal care complaints generally are not considered emergencies.

"911 should only be called when there is an actual emergency," Bond said. "Dog welfare can go to the business office during the day shift."

Bond said the department is looking at ways to reduce the number of nonemergency calls going to the center so emergency lines are not filled..

Some police departments have their calls roll into the 911 center after normal business hours, so when people attempt to obtain information about their towed vehicles or similar matters, those calls will be incorrectly routed to the 911 emergency number.

GENERATOR ISSUE

The Trumbull County 911 center was shut down for about 20 minutes Tuesday when the generator failed to immediately reboot during a monthly test.

Bond said they were testing a generator about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, when everything went down and they could not receive calls.

During times when the system is down, the calls are supposed to be rerouted to 911 dispatchers in Ashtabula.

"We are working to address the issue," she said.

The system was not completely up until about 10 a.m., Bond said.