At the Porter
County Council meeting Tuesday night, Executive Director of Public Safety
Michael Brickner recognized three 911 dispatchers for outstanding work.
Brickner first
thanked the council for giving him a public platform to recognize the
dispatchers and showcase the good work going on at the 911 center. He then
presented one of the highest awards a Porter County employee can receive,
the Honorable Mention Award, given only to a select number of people who
demonstrate outstanding work in critical situations.
Brickner recounted
the incident that prompted him to recognize the dispatchers, Cara Reeder,
Lori Maddack, and Roberta Pollock. In December the 911 center received a
call about a burglary in progress in Portage that turned into a vehicle
pursuit leading onto the Indiana Toll Road. Reeder, Maddack, and Pollock
maintained contact with and provided support to the involved officers until
the incident was resolved without injuries. While they were handling this
case, however, the 911 center was also experiencing a high call volume, so
while providing support to the officers, the three dispatchers were handling
in addition seven unrelated police calls, five medical calls, including a
cardiac arrest, and 29 other calls.
Brickner said the
dispatchers exemplified team work and professionalism in chaos. “Without a
doubt our dispatchers are the unsung heroes of public safety. They perform
their duties mostly behind the scenes, and are rarely recognized for their
work even though it is of the utmost importance.”
Councilman Dan
Whitten, D-at large, congratulated the dispatchers on a job well done, and
recounted his experience with 911 dispatch in police work. “How those
pursuits end, in tragedy or in a seamless arrest as they are supposed to,
depends on the kind of dispatcher you have,” he said.
Brickner also took
a moment to introduce the new 911 Director, Robert Lanchsweerdt. He is a
former Chief of Logistics and Supervisor at the South Bend Police Department
and was in integral part of St. Joseph County’s recent 911 consolidation.