Opinion: Editorial
Get the Falk out
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Search warrants released this week surrounding the homicide of University of Wisconsin junior Brittany Zimmermann provided chilling details about the event on April 2. The documents reveal a 911 call from Zimmermann’s phone contained “the sound of a woman screaming and … background sounds of a struggle for a short period of time.” This follows Madison Police Chief Noble Wray’s claims last May that the content of the 911 call should have resulted in dispatching police to the area.
The Dane County Public Safety Communications Office stubbornly maintained in a statement this week, “An investigation done in May by the 911 Center found no evidence the dispatcher who took a call from Ms. [Zimmermann’s] cell phone heard anything that indicated an emergency was occurring.” The statement goes on to say the dispatcher was a 20-year veteran of the 911 Center, was not distracted at the time of the call, had no hearing issues, was not working overtime and was using working equipment.
This leaves a question unanswered. How does the investigation of a call containing screams and signs of a struggle not reveal that an emergency was occurring?
One of two things is clear: Either the investigation of the 911 call was conducted by grossly incompetent individuals, or the investigation was conducted with the intention to save some individuals’ reputations.
Earlier this month, the 911 Center botched yet another situation when two noise complaints fielded by the center should have resulted in a police response to Lake Edge Park on Madison’s east side. Police were not immediately dispatched and one hour later, a resident found the body of 37-year-old Mark Gregory in the park.
Despite the continuing mistakes, Dane County Executive Falk told the Isthmus the issues at the 911 Center have been “overblown,” adding criticism directed at her and her staff has been “unfair” and area news reports have been “one-sided.”
To be frank, we are fed up with Falk’s failed leadership. Not only has this investigation led to multiple contradictions between Dane County officials and Madison Police, but it is clear Falk does not have the capabilities to fix the most crucial problem in Dane County today.
The criticism directed at Falk has been warranted, as she has failed to prove that problems at the 911 Center have been addressed and rectified. Instead, she launched a comprehensive, grassroots initiative to solve alcohol abuse in area middle schools. To us, the 911 Center’s errors seem like a more pressing issue at this time.
Misplaced priorities, lack of responsibility and a failure to rectify a glaring error in county safety all lead us to one conclusion: Kathleen Falk should not to run for re-election. Not only does the 911 Center need a new director, but this county also needs a change in leadership. The revelation of the questionable investigation conducted last May and the handling of Zimmermann’s 911 call over the last eight months as a whole prove it’s time for Falk to go.
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Nancy Mistele is committed to fixing the 911 Center immediately. She is a business woman who has also worked in government, having been elected to the Madison School Board for two terms. She can bring out the best in both the private and the public for the good of Dane County.
On Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 11:00 AM Nancy will be holding a press conference to officially announce her candidacy for Dane County Executive. It will be held rain or shine or snow, at the steps of the City County Building . Please join her and bring a friend (or two or three) along!
Wow. Compelling stuff. Falk won’t be happy.
And who is Nancy?
Nancy certainly is trying to capitalize on this disaster, isn’t she?
Whatever, Falk needs to go. Someone needs to be held seriously responsible for the debacle over the past year.