Dear Mr. Reinan...

To: jreinan@charlotte.com,cmlwp@mail.charmeck.nc.us
Subject: Councilman Al Rousso
Copies to: dispatch@tcomeng.com
Send reply to: gryeyes@redshift.com
Date sent: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 22:23:18 -0800

Dear Mr. Reinan,

I'm addressing you specifically in this message because you reported the reprehensible behaviour of a city councilperson in Charlotte over his unwitnessed NON-INJURY accident reported to 9- 1-1. However, copies are also being sent to the Charlotte City Council e-mail address and a well-read, international newsletter list catering to Public Safety Telecommunicators (commonly called "9- 1-1 Dispatchers").

Hopefully, the not-so-esteemed Mr. Rousso will be provided a copy of this shortly after it arrives in the Charlotte City Council e-mail box.

I am NOT a Charlotte resident. As a matter of fact, I live and work in California. I've been in the Public Safety Communications field since 1977 and I've dealt with other self-important local government entities before, but never one with quite as hostile or mis-guided delusions of grandeur such as Mr. Rousso demonstrated in his calls to 9-1-1 earlier this week.

Perhaps you could be a conduit for us (and I do mean "us" because your article has been seen by a great many 9-1-1 professionals around the world) and advise Mr. Rousso and the readers of the Charlotte Observer of the belief that any "complaints about 9-1-1" he's heard since he became a city council member in Charlotte are probably based in hyperbole as ludicrous as the situation in which he put himself.

So, he had a "drastic situation," did he? His car was involved in an accident in a parking structure and the responsible vehicle was parked "too close" to his car. He doesn't like the response time for a very minor incident (as reported by the parking attendant), so he invents a What IF? motive clearly intended to circumvent the police department routine dispatch priorities for his own purpose. Any trained public safety telecommunicator can recognize that tactic.

When he calls back to find out why he STILL hasn't gotten an officer for his trumped up "bomb scare" (and subsequent detonation, destruction and death, for which he says scathingly that they "can forget about") he even asks to be connected to a police officer. Does he think peace officers are just standing around in the 9-1-1 Center or that Charlotte-Mecklenburg county has a switching system to shunt callers directly into responding patrol vehicles?

Now, THAT'S certainly indicative of a city councilman who's in touch with local public services... (as the kids say: NOT!)

I happen to be a Communications Supervisor for a 9-1-1 Center; I empathized with the dispatchers and their supervisor, Mr. Moore, as they attempted to deal with Mr. Rousso's rabid demands. (Did I imagine the barely-concealed tone of reprisal in the councilman's voice on that 9-1-1 tape? Is this the type of person the citizens of Charlotte realize they may have elected?)

Of course, we trained public servants deal with hysterical and nearly incoherent callers on a regular basis. Mr. Rousso may have never discovered his car damaged in a parking lot before... and, my goodness, ON THE EVE OF AN ELECTION, no less. That's scary!

Suffice to say, the mention of councilman Al Rousso's name will elicit multitudinous eye-rolling throughout the international public safety community and, certainly, repetition of some of the invective he frothed over the phone. But we won't say it on a taped line. We're smarter than that.

Happy to be here, proud to serve.
Linda Olmstead
http://www.gryeyes.com/

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