WASHINGTON — DC neighborhood commission members expressed what they called "grave concerns" about how the District handles 911 calls and its Office of Unified Communications (OUC). Criticism of the OUC intensified last month after 10 dogs died in flash flooding at District Dogs. Call logs show emergency crews were initially dispatched for a water leak, and a response took more than 20 minutes.
ANC Colleen Costello lost her dog in the flood and has been outspoken about the problems leading up to it. She and pet owners who lost their dogs met with Mayor Muriel Bowser to discuss how to prevent the tragedy from happening again.
"I would have preferred to see a much stronger response with respect to OUC and making sure that the errors that a lot of people have been flagging for a long time get remedied. I did not walk away personally with the impression that that was a big problem on their radar screen," Costello said following the meeting.
Now, Costello and dozens of other ANCs have put their demands in writing for Bowser, OUC Director Heather McGaffin, DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson and several other councilmembers.
The letter requests D.C. leaders promptly take actions to address concerns, including a Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight hearing this month with the OUC director. ANCs want the meeting to happen sometime in September.
"We believe this oversight hearing cannot wait. OUC’s call answering performance declined precipitously from January to February 2023, and the call abandonment rate increased steadily from August 2022 to February 2023," the letter says. "When inviting Director McGaffin to testify at the hearing, the Committee should request that she provide updated call answering, text-to-911, and dispatch data as of February 16, 2023—the end date for the most recent dataset provided to the Council. The Council should further ensure that the updated data is made publicly available."
The ANCs also want an update on the implementation of recommendations made in a 2021 audit of the OUC
The letter also points to recently enacted emergency legislation that requires more transparency from DC 911. It calls for the OUC to publicly report daily staffing statistics.
"Those statistics should include the number of call-takers (including staff who respond to text-to-911 messages) and dispatchers working each shift and the number of employee call-outs," the letter says.
In addition, the letter calls for an independent 911 task force to hold to OUC accountable and investigate "chronic and systemic problems" at OUC. The letter says the task force should issue recommendations for changes "as expeditiously as possible."
The letter concludes with a strong words for D.C. leaders:
"We hope you will treat this responsibility with the seriousness and urgency it deserves and requires. All of our lives depend on it—including yours."
In a press conference Wednesday, Mayor Muriel Bowser said she had not yet seen the letter, but said she remains focused on making sure the officer has appropriate staff and training.
When asked about why call data has not been released, Bowser said, "Certainly we want to be responsive. What we don't want to do is take away from the important work that OUC has to do."
This is a developing story. We are working confirm additional details. Stay with WUSA9 for updates as they come in to our newsroom.