VIDEO: Reality of E-911 Dispatchers

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- Not all heros wear capes.

“They’re the unseen heroes. You know you get people who are always thanking the police officers and the firemen and a lot of people don’t tend to show their appreciation for them, but they are pretty much the lifeline between the caller and the people that are actually responding,” says Shalonda Givens.

Emergency 911 dispatchers are the first on the line when you have an emergency.

“If you’ve seen a deputy, it’s because a a dispatcher sent them there,” says Ryan Rickert with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department.

Not only are they the eyes and ears for an officer on the way to a call, but they are also responsible for keeping victims calm.

“Whether it be a knife, or a gun, or whatever.. we respond to all types of things, animal calls that could be dangerous- and they’re the one relaying back to the officer that’s in that car, headed to that scene. Our lives depend on the information they give us,” says Rickert.

Many times they go unrecognized because they’re the unseen responders.

“Often times, we are forgotten because we’re kind of out of sight, out of mind. And we play a very vital role in first responding for the city and the county,” says dispatcher Kelli Avery

Calls like last Monday’s, officer down call, weighs heavy on dispatchers’ hearts.

“That’s a dispatcher’s worst nightmare. I was very emotional, because they’re like family. So when an officer gets hurt, it touches home,” says dispatcher Latonya Wilburn.

For dispatcher  Wilburn, she knows, she still has a job to do.

“You have to separate yourself because once you get that type of call, you take care of that call, you handle that call the best way you can and you continue to answer your other calls because several calls are still coming in, the phones are still ringing and you have to be able to do them all,” says Wilburn.

Both dispatchers and deputies, know clear communication between the two is vital.

“We’re in a situation that’s demanding and we’re trying to demand information from them and they’re trying their best to trying to get that information and sometimes there’s a delay, particularly with the situation we had last week where you’re going from one agency to another- you’re talking about multiple dispatchers relaying information,” says Rickert.

Thankfully, last week’s call wasn’t fatal for the officer. Many thanks to the first responders and dispatchers alike.

Supervisors of the dispatch center say the county plans on supplying the dispatchers with lunch and goodies throughout the week next week to let them know just how valuable they are to the community.