Aurora’s Anonymous Hero
She was nowhere near the Century 16 theater in Aurora, Colorado, early Friday morning. She didn’t confront the killer or stanch any wounds or drive any of the injured to the hospital. She didn’t wade through the wave of panicked, fleeing people to enter that gas-filled auditorium and bring order to the chaos. She did none of these things, yet she should be counted among the heroes of that horrible night. She was the calm voice when one was most needed.
I’ve searched the news stories about the shooting but haven’t discovered her name, so I hope she’ll forgive me for referring to her simply as the police dispatcher. It was at 12:39 a.m. local time when she put out the first call for police to respond to the theater. “Three-fifteen and Three-fourteen,” she said, addressing the two units she was dispatching, “for a shooting at Century Theaters, 14300 East Alameda. They say somebody’s shooting in the auditorium.” She soon came back on the air to provide more information that had come in over the telephone. “There is at least one person that’s been shot but they’re saying there’s hundreds of people just running around.” As we now know, that didn’t begin to describe what was happening.
Among cities of its size – about 325,000 people live there – Aurora is one of the safest. The FBI reports that in 2010 there were but 1,443 violent crimes reported to police there, including 23 criminal homicides. Shootings, though not unheard of, are rare in Aurora, and indeed the police radio traffic, as can be heard here, was light and routine in the minutes before the first shot was fired at the theater. Given what was to follow, the dispatcher might be forgiven for losing her composure.
She never did, not for a moment.
Every cop knows the frustration of having a dispatcher on the frequency who is not quite up to the task. The slightest delay in processing a request for assistance or information on a license plate or the details of a suspect’s description will have a cop grinding his teeth and pounding on the dashboard of his patrol car. It is not a job that just anyone can handle. I was a young rookie cop when my training officer took me to the LAPD communications center, then located in the old Parker Center headquarters building in downtown Los Angeles. It was important for me, he said, to see how difficult a dispatcher’s job was. It hasn’t gotten any easier, even as the technology has advanced with computers replacing the handwritten cards that once were used to log radio calls and track the status of police units. But one thing in the dispatcher’s job has remained constant even as the tools have changed: the need to remain calm while dealing with people who are not.
Thank you, Officer Dunphy, for that insightful and appropriately grateful post. I agree that the calm, efficient dispatcher deserves recognition. She may be too modest to step forward though, as many of you heroes are.
After throwing the situation into such sharp relief, the idea of one lone woman calmly orchestrating chaos put a little something in my eye. There are many forms of courage, and without a doubt her actions were admirable.
So true, so true. I worked for years as a volunteer officer over in El Monte (outside LA) and even though dispatchers get very good training, there is almost nothing that can prepare them for the pressures of an event like this.
Hemmingway had it right – guts is ‘grace under pressure’ and these quiet heroes receive far too little credit for the job they do.
Well said Dunphy! I always look forward to seeing your name in these spaces.
HOOAH!
I was a volunteer firefighter/EMT for 7 years and I can attest to the huge difference a good dispatcher makes. Crisp words, calm demeanor, competent impression – These help bring order to chaos and spread CALM (and let me tell you when your airpack is jammed in the rafters of a burning building, it doesn’t matter if YOU are on the radio, just hearing someone else being calm, cool, and professional reinforces YOUR need to be calm and think it through.)
So I definitely agree with everything you’ve said! I hope the dispatcher gets the recognition she obviously deserves.
Orion
It is nice that she was on top of things but what comes across most to me in this story is that the police arrived after the massacre. As you mentioned she coordinated the response. It just drives home the point that relying on the police or on a dispatcher is beside the point. They are not there to prevent the crime. They are there to clean up. It’s something of course, but if you want to focus on who deserves recognition, I say first and foremost it is the 3 guys who saved their girlfriends’ lives by throwing themselves in front of them and taking the bullets. They are real heroes.
I applaud her performance. She was doing exactly what she is paid to do…remain calm and follow procedures.
easy to say…”that’s their job”..but those dispatchers, especially in a small toen like Aurora, KNOW all the folks they’re talking to….I’ve been involved in incidents where officers were shot and we all just took for granted that the dispatchers just “did their jobs”…Found out later, they were emotionally involved. Hats off to them.
Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. Even after being glued to the TV since Friday morning, I’ve not heard one mention of this woman and I must confess I had not given one thought to her or her performance. I regret that I had not and again I thank you for telling us about her.
Thank you. We don’t always get these stories.
Wonderful story, told very well. Thank you for your insight.
Sort of reminds me the way Rudy Giuliani behaved during 9/11. The man never, EVER, lost his composure, he was always calm, direct, and had nerves of steel. People always respond favorably to that and it’s the mark of a good leader. There are times when people simply need to rise to the occassion, and this police dispatcher certainly did that. The police, firemen, and special units squads should all be thankful for that. I’m sure it was a big help under extraordinary and terrible circumstances.
I noted her calm, measured voice as well. Reminded me of the old NASA days when things were falling to hell but for the CAPCOM and crew it was just another day at the office.
I first noticed how important dispatchers can be when I watched a doc about that bank robbery in Los Angeles by two heavily armed and body-armored guys who turned out to be from Russia or some such place. I can still hear the dispatcher telling the cops TAKE THE HEAD SHOT TAKE THE HEAD SHOT.
I had mentally noted her calm voice too, but not having the experience in law enforcement it didn’t occur to me the great importance of such calm. I am not both amazed and deeply greatful at her professionalism and calm.
It’s now heroic to do your job? Simply not becoming a panicked mess when your entire task is to handle emergency situations is special? Nonsense.
The men who died shielding their loved ones were heroic. Not this.
You sir, I hope never have to need emergency help. My wife is a dispatcher for a large dept. She is one of the most conscientious hard working and committed people to ever choose to serve the people of her community. She works 12 hr shifts with mandatory overtime that reduces her days off to less than 5 per month. She works rotating shifts. That means she is on days for four months and then she is on nights for four months. She taught a man how to do CPR on his 2yr old son and saved him from having to watch his child die. She did this over the damn phone. She did this despite having lost her middle son to drowning. She did this knowing that it most likely wouldn’t work. She did this, not so she could get some kudos or her name in the paper or even a attagirl from her boss. She did this because the man called and he needed help to save his son.
YOU sir, are a prick and a coward.
There are no easy jobs. Everybody from a janitor to a senator has grinding, almost impossible obstacles to overcome. Nobody gets a pass — and nobody should get special treatment.
Amen to you Sir, bless your wife for doing a job that seldom gets recognition. Having worked as a dispatcher since 1994, what you have said is very true.
J.F., buy that woman some flowers and take her out to dinner. She’s a real treasure. As for the guy you answered, he’s just ignorant. Let’s hope he’s lucky enough that he never has to need a real professional like your wife.
Yes. Precisely. We learned that as well from the die-hard, committed firefighters who knocked down the High Park and Waldo fires during many days of grueling effort. Yes, they were paid to “do their job,” but do it they (and she) did. No panic, no retreat. Sometimes at great personal danger.
And I’m not going to insult you or slam you for your off-the-mark comment. Sometimes you just need to learn how the world really works, and I sincerely hope you do.
So this officer who has experience in this arena gives kudos to one he knows should be recognized, and you denigrate the attempt, by tapping out this drivel.
Do you think for one blessed minute you could do this ‘on demand’? {…and be honest, Aaron…}
If it was you or yours, odds are you would not be so Damned Flippant and recognize what A Team truly is.
As you so amply demonstrate by your owns ill-considered oral feces projection, it really sucks to be you……..and have not ever had a life-threatening experience. You’re due for one, and pray someone like her is on duty that day.
Excellence needs to be recognized and applauded. Excellence under stressful conditions, such as these, will usually determine whether people live or die. If you’ve ever been hanging out there when the SHTF you know the importance of the radio operator. The radio operator/dispatcher is a critical part of the team. If you have an excellent one you feel grateful and secure. If you have one fall apart on you at a critical time you feel helpless, angry and frustrated.
Aaron, I agree that there were many heroes in this instance. I live in Aurora and my husband works in the dispatch center…I have seen several reports of parents, boyfriends, friends and loved one’s protecting people that night and I commend them and their bravery. I also know as this unfolds the heroes inside the theater, the first responders, ATF, the bomb squad and even the robot will get praise for saving lives. But, I am very aware of the fact that the dispatcher general is forgotten as a member of the team and I am proud of her and her poise. I am very glad someone has taken the time to give her credit for the amazing job she did that night. Thank you Officer Dunphy!
Do we know if officers arrived white the shooting was still going on and did or didn’t go inside?
Yes. Thank you and God Bless you, dispatcher. There may be nothing glamorous about your job, but you were an important cog in the machine.
And thank you, Officer Dunphy, for posting this.
Absolutely! Hearing that calm voice, I was amazed at the professional manner by which the incoming frantic calls were fielded by the dispatcher. Though you and I could detect emotions in her voice as the information formed a horrible image, the dispatched made a world of difference in the coordination of emergency efforts to save survivors. Bravo!
Officer Dunphy, thank you for writing this – that woman was remarkable and deserves recognition for doing a tough job – that old poem – when all those around you are losing their heads… Kipling, I think. And, for those above who feel what she did was only her job, and only those who sacrificed for others can be called heros, surely we have enough grace to go round. Thank you again for reminding us of this woman’s grace under pressure. Knight1
Good article, Jack. A timely, valuable reminder of the many people behind the scenes who are so pivotal to effective crisis response and day-to-day operations.
I have always said that calm is as contageous as panic…
The gal did well….
However I don’t award medals for people doing what is expected of them.
tain’t right..tain’t wrong…just is…
Agree 100%. I noticed this when I listened to the tapes yesterday but am glad you brought it to public attention.
Wonderful observation! Was she also the person that handled the incoming 911 calls? Or were those calls handled by a different operator (or operators) who forwarded the information on to dispatch? Either way, some good people did their job well and are to be commended – even for “just” doing their job.
“Somebody else made that happen.”
I have a police scanner at home. I hear a lot of wild radio traffic from the hilarious, to the bizarre, sad, and terrifying. The job of dispatcher is like the job of air traffic controller. These people have to keep an even, terse, consistent, helpful, and clear voice to do the job. It is not as easy as one might think.
I’ve been in a emergency when the air traffic controller was my lifeline. Her voice was even, helpful, and dispassionate. Our emergency couldn’t have come at a worse time. The frequency was busy as hell, and we weren’t sure what was going on. We fell back on training, doing everything we could to terminate the flight safely. We weren’t scared, we were too busy to be scared; had there been the slightest trace of hysteria in her voice, it would have broken us. After a nearly routine, safe landing we quickly parked. We calmly walked in to the airport office, and called TRACON to close our flight plan. Only after examining the aircraft did the full realization of what we had just been through hit us. We both had rubbery knees and that vaguely nauseated feeling when the adrenaline rush finally hit us, but had nowhere to go.
If you want the training to take hold, you have to maintain a dispassionate, focused attention. Keeping that composure during a mass murder event like this takes focus and training. Now that it is over, her colleagues owe her a sympathetic ear and a good stiff drink. Whatever minor mistakes she may have made, they’re not worth second guessing. Keeping composure was the most important thing she could have done, and she did so admirably.
I agree. I started my flying lessons when I was just 15 years old and flying has been a big part of my life ever since. If there is one thing that flying will teach you it is that nothing will more likely save your life or get you thru a desperate situation than “calm”. You must remain calm for your own well-being and you must impart it to those around you. I heard it in this lady’s voice and was amazed by her strength and professional demeanor. Hats off to you, Ms. Dispatcher!
Thank you, unknown dispatcher.
And thank you Jack Dunphy for the reminder.
I’ve been thru some tense things as a cop and without a doubt the dispatchers were the unsung heroes. Here’s to all of them.
Thanks, Jack, for pointing out this outstandingly competent and professional dispatch job. Those in the know or that have some semblance of an imagination “get it” and appreciate what she’s done and how you’ve pointed it out. Others, too dumb to flush, just take everything for granted and if no celebrities were involved consider nothing important to have occured.
Thanks for the article. I’ve watched these women wearing headsets take calls while working on a computer keyboard and using foot pedals to communicate with officers in the field. Try doing three things at once while maintaining your cool. Yes, this dispatcher deserves recognition for her work that night as her headset had to be glowing hot with all of the calls. Whoever she was will never forget that night and she deserves our praise.
Mr. Dunphy, thank you for this.
In a prior life, I was an active CB radio Channel Nine monitor — so much that some of the 911 operators would recognize my data on their screen and launch the call with “911 … Hi, whattcha got?”
(I still laugh, thinking of that. It was an honor.)
They who “also serve” deserve to be recognized. You have done so, as is honorable to do.
I sincerely hope she hears of this column, and reads it.
I would like her to know that a layman with only a tenuous grasp of what she goes through respects her highly.
She is a professional.
If someone did an outstanding job, take the moment to look-up the number for their employer, call it and tell them. It takes only a couple minutes. How many people since Friday morning actually called and said anything to praise the dispatcher? Besides those that know her personally in some way?
Right after reading this, I looked up city information for the local community, called a number listed and said “Well done!”
If that is too much effort, well, you can talk platitudes all day, but until you do something… it’s only talk, and talk is cheap.
Unmentioned in this tribute was that moment when one of the officers on the scene nearly broke down over the radio, and the dispatcher calmly inquired, “Officer, do you need rescue?” I believe it was that question, and that calm voice, that helped the officer pull himself together with a terse “No”. Years from now, that will be the one thing in that whole horrific recording that I’ll remember most clearly.
There is a huge difference between simply doing your job and doing your job well. Those who would dismiss the dispatcher for simply “doing what she is being paid to do” are remiss. This woman deserves as much thanks as anyone for doing her job well that awful night.
So thank you!
True, she wasn’t personally at risk. But if those were people she knew moving to the sound of the guns, about to risk their lives and sanity to deal with a massacre, and she helped them do it… maybe not physical courage, but it sure was moral courage.
The Denver Post has an article that profiles/interviews the Aurora dispatcher:
http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_21135164/aurora-dispatchers-recount-night-horror
Bless them.
Thanks for this link to the interview, and thanks Mr Dunphy for the story. These amazing ladies and their co-workers from police, fire & medical did an outstanding job in a wholly chaotic and nerve-wracking situation. Finding resources and coordinating everything is not an easy task, esp when you have to rely on sometimes conflicting phone & radio traffic, hoping that you get an accurate picture of what is needed.
I’ve been an emergency dispatcher for more than 20 yrs, and as this story was unfolding, my co-workers and I empathized with the dispatchers and first responders– wishing them the best as they labored to save lives. Hats off to all of you, you are true Heroes in every sense of the word!
Thank you Officer Dunphy for reminding us of one who did her ‘job’ with such professionalism, calm demeanor while on the radio (which calms everyone else out in the field), and grace under pressure. Thank you for a job well done to the dispatcher. I do hope that someone prints this out and gives her a copy and her supervisors too.
Those who provide the officer in the field with the information he needs to operate efficiently must be bright, calm, accurate and consistent. Failure to communicate re an existing want or warrant or mistaking a felony for a misdemeanor could have deadly results. Taking just a little too long to roll a backup could turn a wife into a widow and some kids into orphans. Failing to share all available pertinent information could give the crooks a substantial advantage. When an officer sees a crime in progress and calls for a backup as he zooms in, he is discomfited when the dispatcher panics and calls for repeat after repeat of his call, because she just doesn’t want to believe “that this is all really happening”. That is a question best reserved for EOW: “Partner, is all this real, or just a nightmare?”
Jack thank you for recognizing the unsung Herod of police work. In this case the dispatcher in Aurora, Colorado who displayed extreme courage and fortitude in the face of an overwhelming situation. I am a 35 year veteran of the LAPD and to this day I still remember my training officer taking me to the horseshoe at old PAB headquarters to introduce me to the dispatcher that was handling our division. I was able to see and hear the difficulty of her job that made me appreciate her role in providinging that sometimes needed lifeline to the citizens of Los Angeles and the officers of the LAPD.
I agree with everthing you said about the dispatcher and more.
I was at the North Hollywood shoot out and dispatcher was also great that day.
It was pretty wild and she said some like this.OK guys I know its crazy out there but I got this under control so lets get to work. I think she was married or dating one of the offiers involved.
Thanks for giving a well deserved “at a boy”
The boy who willingly died so that his girlfriend could live, just an annoying civilian. Person on the radio in the office a hero.
Not going to read this column anymore or make excuses for it. its too discouraging.