The 911 dispatcher who allegedly hung up on a Tops supermarket employee who was calling for help while a gunman rampaged in her store, killing 10 people in Buffalo, New York, last month has been fired, officials have revealed.
The employee, Latisha Rogers, is an assistant office manager at the supermarket. She called 911 after the gunman, who is alleged to be Payton Gendron, started firing in the store. The dispatcher allegedly yelled at Rogers, telling her to speak up.
When Rogers tried to explain that she could not speak louder because she was scared the shooter would hear her, the dispatcher allegedly hung up on her.
“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 told media outlets at the time, adding later, “I felt that lady left me to die yesterday.”
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz promised to take immediate action against the dispatcher, putting her on unpaid administrative leave pending a disciplinary hearing. Erie County spokesperson Peter Anderson told NBC news on Friday that the disciplinary hearing took place on Thursday and the dispatcher is “no longer employed as a police complaint writer for Erie County.”
The dispatcher had worked for the county for eight years. The call has not been made public because New York State law prevents 911 calls from being released except under court order.
Gendron faces 20 counts of murder and one domestic terrorism charge. He has pleaded not guilty and is expected back in court on July 7. He is being held without bond.