LYON COUNTY (KSNT) – Officials in Lyon County report that emergency communications personnel are being harassed following a heated Emporia City Commission meeting.
Lyon County officials shared via a social media post on July 23 that dispatchers at the Lyon County Emergency Communications Center have been receiving abusive calls recently. Officials said the calls are being made about matters unrelated to the communications center.
“Dispatchers are here to help with emergency and public safety calls, including dispatching law enforcement, fire, and other life-safety assistance. Time spent handling non-emergency, abusive calls can take attention away from urgent calls where someone needs help.”
Lyon County, Kansas-Government social media post excerpt
Victoria Smith, public relations manager for Lyon County, told 27 News in a written statement that the Lyon County Emergency Communications Center has received multiple abusive calls on the non-emergency phone number. She said the center’s artificially intelligent virtual assistant, Betty, has also received a number of these abusive calls.
“Individuals who stayed on the line to speak to a dispatcher called them names, while the dispatcher tried to assist them,” Smith said.
Smith said all of the abusive calls received referenced a recent City Commission meeting held in Emporia on July 22. Commissioners discussed items related to data centers during this meeting and issued numerous verbal warnings to some attendees for interrupting the proceedings. Police forcibly removed one man from the meeting on charges of interference with law enforcement and disorderly conduct.
“Our Communications center is the primary public safety answering point for Lyon County and answers 911 and non-emergency calls for all public safety agencies within the county, including the Emporia Police Department,” Smith said. “The reason this is unfortunate is like most communications centers, the same staff answering 911 emergencies, are the same staff who had to answer these calls. It takes a valuable resource away from people who are truly in distress.”
https://www.ksnt.com/news/local-news/influx-of-abusive-calls-reported-by-lyon-county-dispatchers-after-heated-emporia-city-commission-meeting/
