911 Dispatcher Who Yelled at Caller for Whispering During Buffalo Shooting Has Been Fired

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The emergency services dispatcher who reportedly yelled at an employee of the Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York who called 911 during the May 14 mass shooting and then hung up on her has been fired, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

The 18-year-old gunman allegedly traveled to Buffalo to target the heavily Black neighborhood, according to a 180-page rant he posted online prior to the shooting that contained racist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Ten people were killed and three others wounded in the shooting, and Gendron was taken into custody. He has been charged with first-degree murder and faces a sentence of up to life in prison without parole (New York does not have the death penalty).

Latisha Rogers was working as an assistant office manager at the Tops market on the day of the shooting, and has told reporters that after hearing gunshots, she attempted to hide by ducking behind the customer service counter while she called 911 and whispered, hoping to avoid the gunman noticing her.

According to Rogers, the dispatcher scolded her for whispering, even going so far as to yell at her, “Why are you whispering? You don’t have to whisper.” Rogers has said that she replied, “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?”

The dispatcher then “got mad” and “hung up in my face,” said Rogers. A transcript of the call has not been publicly released.

Erie County county executive Mark C. Poloncarz called the dispatcher’s handling of the call “completely unacceptable” in a news conference last month.

County spokesman Peter Anderson confirmed that the dispatcher, whose name was not disclosed, was fired in an email Thursday to the Times. Her termination came at the conclusion of a disciplinary hearing.