DISPATCH RESPONSE REVIEWED BY POLICE

Man Worried About Gang Violence Advised To Check Into A Hotel, Hire Security

The city of Akron is investigating a police dispatcher who advised a
citizen worried about neighborhood gang violence to check into a hotel.

The dispatcher also suggested that the frightened man hire an off-duty
Akron police officer -- at $25 an hour -- to guard him.

And at one point, when the East Akron man asked the dispatcher if she was
in the business of protecting the public, she replied in a clipped tone:
"No, we're not sir. We are civil servants."

After a lengthy, heated conversation, the dispatcher finally gave Jim
Martin what he wanted: to speak with a police supervisor.

Akron Deputy Fire Chief Charles Strum, who supervises the police radio
room, said Wednesday that the dispatcher has been removed from having any
contact with the public while the investigation is ongoing. He has
recommended that she be disciplined and get additional training --
suggestions that city and police supervisors are expected to sign off on in
the next few days.

"This is not the way any of our technicians has been taught to take calls,"
Strum said.

Strum said he thinks the call was an isolated incident, and is not aware of
any other recent citizen complaints of this type.

This isn't the first time the dispatch center has come under fire for a
lack of responsiveness.

In May, the center was criticized for a 40-minute delay in sending an
officer to the home of a woman who was eventually found stabbed to death by
her ex-husband. As a result, two officers and a dispatcher were suspended.

The police department is doing a separate investigation about Martin's
complaints about gangs, drugs and violence in his Bettie Street
neighborhood -- and his assertion that officers have not done enough to
address these problems.

Martin, 46, says that all he really wants is some peace in his neighborhood.

Martin, a computer programmer, points to two assaults on his street in July
in which he says police have not made an arrest.

Martin said the problems became personal last Thursday. A man and woman --
he says they were gang members visiting his neighbors -- threatened to kill
him numerous times, he says. He said the woman told him he should not be
reporting their drug activities to police.

Martin called police, and officers went to his home and took a report. He
said they told him there was nothing they could do, in part because his
complaint was a "he said, she said" matter. If he wanted to pursue it, they
suggested he talk to the prosecutor's office.

Martin said he was still fearful the pair would make good on their threats.

About 6:30 p.m. that same day, he called the dispatch center and asked to
speak with a police supervisor. He says he mainly wanted to talk to someone
again about why no one had yet been arrested for threatening him.

The dispatcher, whose name is not being released pending the outcome of the
investigation, told Martin that the city has a new policy that prohibits
officers from going out to homes to take complaints. She said he would have
to come to the police station to fill out a complaint form, according to a
tape of the call obtained by the Beacon Journal.

When Martin persisted, the dispatcher began to get testy.

"OK, sir, do you have a job?" she asked and then questioned whether his
workplace had a procedure for handling complaints.

During the call, Martin remained calm, while the dispatcher became
increasingly agitated and sarcastic, and continuously interrupted him.

The dispatcher told Martin that she fears for her own safety when she walks
to her car after work, but handles the situation by sticking to lighted
areas. She said the police department cannot handle calls in which people
think something is going to happen.

"However, if you feel that adamant that someone is going to do something to
you tonight, I would suggest that you stay at a relative's house or a hotel
until you can contact the prosecutor's office tomorrow," she told him.

Next, Martin told the dispatcher that he wished police were around when he
went out to his car at 4 a.m. to go to work.

"If you would like an officer to sit outside while you walk to your car,
you can hire one on an extra job at $25 an hour for a minimum of three
hours," the dispatcher told him.

Finally, after a half-hour conversation, Martin reiterated his request to
talk with a police supervisor and the dispatcher finally complied. "OK,
hold on," were her final words before transferring him.

The supervisor gave Martin some of the assurance he was seeking. The
supervisor said extra patrols would be added to the neighborhood.

Strum said the proper procedure for the dispatcher would have been for her
to immediately transfer Martin to a supervisor.

"She could have done that in the first minute," he said.

Strum said the dispatcher has worked for the city for five years and has
never been disciplined for this type of complaint. However, he said she has
previously been coached for having an "overbearing demeanor" with callers.

Akron Police Lt. Sylvia Trundle said the information the dispatcher gave
Martin about the department's police complaint procedure was incorrect. She
said people who want to file a complaint may call the dispatch center and
request that a supervisor bring a complaint form to their homes.

"This is not the way we want to be dealing with the public," she said,
referring to the call.

Trundle also said officers have taken steps to answer Martin's concerns
about crime in his neighborhood. She said the street narcotics, gang and
community-oriented policing units are working to address the problems he
has highlighted.

Martin, a father of three, said he was surprised by the dispatcher's
demeanor -- which he has now complained about to police, Mayor Don
Plusquellic, his city councilman and the media.

"I just thought her attitude was kind of ridiculous," he said.

But Martin said his main concern is the crime in his neighborhood -- a
problem that he said is now forcing him to think about moving.

"The police seem powerless to do anything about the drugs and crime," he
said. "Who would want to live in Akron anymore?"