Crist doesn’t want to make 911 call tapes secret
by Dara Kam | March 3rd, 2010State lawmakers are considering a bill that would make tapes of all 911 calls secret.
Opponents of the measure, including First Amendment watchdogs, say that the tapes are rarely requested but when they are released often reveal errors by 911 dispatchers that resulted in the deaths of callers seeking help.
Gov. Charlie Crist doesn’t think creating a new exemption for the emergency calls from the state’s broad open records laws is a good idea.
“No, I favor transparency why would they be taken off,” Crist said. “It’s always better when you shed light on any situation, whether it’s a 911 call, whether it’s public expenditures. No matter what it might be, transparency is always the right call.”
First Amendment Foundation President Barbara Petersen gave examples of 911 calls released to the public that revealed errors by 911 operators that resulted in the deaths of callers seeking help.
_ In Tampa, a 911 dispatcher didn’t follow procedure and as a result, the caller died.
- In Detroit, a 911 dispatcher chastised a small boy for “playing on the phone” while his mother was unconscious. When the police arrived, the mother was dead.
A Memphis 911 dispatcher fell asleep after asking “What’s your emergency?”
Supporters of the measure argue that victims may avoid getting aid through 911 because they are afraid recordings of the call may end up on the 6 p.m. news.
A House committee this morning delayed taking a vote on the measure (PCB 10-3).
Tags: Charlie Crist, Open records
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March 3rd, 2010 at 1:31 pm
This is a very good idea, and I know of an instance where a caller could have been very embarassed due to a 911 call being played on TV – and it made me wonder how many calls are not made for that very reason. Airing these calls serves no useful purpose other than to sensationalize. Determining relevance to a case is a judgement left to a court of law, not the general public.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:09 pm
I do not always agree with the Governor but his is one time he is 100% correct.
We need more transparency not less! When people call a public phone number paid for by the real taxpayers you know the ones who pay taxes not the receivers, then every word and use of the public system should be public information. When the public pays the public rules. Thank you governor Crist and please stand up for what’s right with this foolishness!
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Charlie is correct.
Get the ACLU involved. Jim oh, Jim slip past the homeless and file.
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:12 pm
I’m not sure I understand the issue here. Tapes of calls are easily gained via public records requests hundreds if not thousands of times a day and it has been done this way for years. I don’t understand what a bill to keep them secret seeks to gain. I will say that it takes hours and hours out of a dispatchers day to make these tapes, time that would be better spent on answering emergency calls. What we don’t need is the media making wholesale requests for every little incident for sensationalism purposes.
As for the statement by the FAF President about calls not being made public to protect agencies against law suits, and pointing out 3 such calls, I would submit that a single mid sized agency in Fl gets approx 100,000 calls per year, so to point out 3 from that number is a ridiculous point! Most agencies do quality assurance on their calls to prevent just such incidents from happening.
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Marshall, since you “submitted” you must be a lawyer. These public recordings paid for with public dolars are presently public information available upon request for a small private fee. The bill is about folks like Tiger Wood (and probably more his owners and handlers, formerly called sponsers) wanting to stop the public from receiving 911 calls made that involve their careles or otherwise actions. Just say no to anything that suppresses transarency.
March 3rd, 2010 at 7:01 pm
People, this bill is about keeping information out of the hands of the press who exploit the innocent each and every day. Someone usually calls 911 as an act of desperation seeking help. When 911 tapes are played, those individuals become victims. They are at a week moment in their life acting desperately to save a persons life, reporting a crime, or seeking assistance in an emergency. Why should they be exploited on the six o’clock news? What public good comes from putting ones voice on the news and possibly putting them thru the anguish they have suffered reporting such an emergency? Other than selling the news there is no possible good that comes from replaying this emotional need. Written transcripts being made available still allows for transparency and the information is still available. This bill simply removes the emotion and keeps from making victoms out of the innocent. I know this because it happened to my son and happens to many innocent people, each and every day. My only wish is that you listen to 911 calls in a little different light.
March 5th, 2010 at 1:07 am
Over educated: Apparently you are not. I used the word submitted bescause I am placing it out there as a statement of fact. I completely understand why and how the media exploits these type calls. People need to understand that these calls can be used as evidence in court cases and that they are public record. That said, I would relish (not the condiment) some guidelines on how the media exploits them. Making recordings for media (and PI attorneys) exploitation takes up way too much time from already busy dispatchers.I would favor a hefty fee for anything other than court usage to cover the time it takes to make these tapes. Something more than a dolar. Time to submit this comment….
March 8th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Desperation truly makes men do strange things. Charlie Crist now wants to release all 911 calls to the public. With Marco Rubio now ahead in the polls, Charlie has gone stark raving mad. Charlie’s modus operandi does include the tossing of hand grenades into the dark as long as he doesn’t get any blood on himself, but this little chest pounding exhibition exceeds his all time attention seeking record.
Just imagine, as Charlie sits around on boring days listening to those in trouble screaming for help on 911, the criminals of Florida will likewise be screaming. And why would that be, we ask our brilliant governor? The criminals will be screaming with glee because the anonymous callers can now be identified and dealt with long before the murder – rape – assault- robbery trials come to fruition.