'Not OK' if 911 Systems Failed, Says DC Mayor; OUC Apologizes

Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) responded briefly to 911 errors at the District of Columbia Office of Unified Communications. “Certainly it’s not OK if any of our systems failed,” she told reporters. “We always thoroughly investigate any problem and make every effort to fix it and to fix it immediately.” Bowser told a reporter she would get back to him on whether the city would investigate a June 5 incident where a 911 operator apparently entered the wrong address for a 59-year-old woman in cardiac arrest, delaying arrival of emergency responders. The woman later died. We reported last week on that and other 911 calls with dispatcher errors that we received information on under a D.C. Freedom of Information Act request, and we have additional requests pending. “I don’t have anything else to say about it right now. I will, but I’m not prepared to talk about it right now,” Bowser said Monday. The mayor’s office didn’t comment further Tuesday. Later that day, Office of Unified Communications Director Karima Holmes offered her "most sincere apology to the family for our call-taker error." The family's "experience with our 911 system at the point of their most urgent need was not in keeping with our commitment to callers and District residents," Holmes said in an emailed statement. "Last summer after this incident, we conducted a full investigation of this case and the handling of this call did not meet our performance standard. Broader efforts are now underway to address call-taker errors including a committed partnership with DC Fire and EMS in which we are collectively working to ensure that every 911 caller receives the help they need in the most efficient and timely manner possible."