If Kansas City can’t trust its 911 system will help in an emergency, what can we trust? | Opinion

Perhaps clock-wearing, grill-baring Flavor Flav said it best in the 1990 song by Public Enemy:

“911 is a Joke.”

Too harsh? Well, let’s see …

In May, Mario Williams, the owner of the Klymax Lounge on Kansas City’s East Side says he called Kansas City 911 at least five times before police responded. But when they finally came, it was too late. Suspects had killed three people and critically injured two.

In June, Mayor Quinton Lucas posted on LinkedIn about delayed response times when his sister called 911 about their ailing mother.

This month in St. Louis, officials said the 911 system there was “overwhelmed” and had long-standing problems, which led to deadly delays during a storm.

And this month in Philadelphia, critics said police could have done more to investigate a 911 call that ended in a mass shooting. Police blamed it on a dispatch error.

Local officials acknowledge the 911 program, which launched 55 years ago in 1968, may need changes. But meanwhile, here in Kansas City, we have longer and longer waiting times. The Mid-America Regional Council, the coordinating agency for Kansas City’s regional 911 system, announced plans to test the system in July. We’re still waiting.

MARC also tracks data on 911 calls and as of Saturday, the average Kansas City Police Department wait time on 911 was 42 seconds, down from Friday’s 1 minute, 40 seconds. Perhaps the attention since the Klymax shootings has made a difference. How does that compare to our neighbors? Kansas City, Kansas’ wait time was 8 seconds, and Overland Park’s was 4 seconds.

When Mayor Lucas posted on LinkedIn, he cited a five-minute wait: “Yesterday when calling 911 for my mother, my sister waited on hold for five minutes. While we were fortunate yesterday, the all-too-regular delay for people when calling for an emergency in our city for police, EMS, or fire response remains terrifying and unacceptable.”

If the mayor’s mother can’t get an immediate response, what about yours?

Men with guns at Klymax Lounge not a priority?

Another reason for slow police response to the Klymax Lounge is because it was classified as a priority level 4, which is not considered immediate — despite the fact that a report of men with guns outside the club was made in one of the earlier calls. If that’s not immediate, what is?

Kansas City Star reporter Matti Gellman explained the system.

There simply is no defense for assigning this series of calls such a low priority. Could it be the increased summer load, or a lack of personnel?

But we can’t help wondering whether, if such a call was made from a tony spot on the Plaza or a James Beard award-winning place in the suburbs, would it ever be classified a level 4?

And what about the so-called “abandoned” calls? If a 911 caller hangs up, that’s how police label the call. That is one possible reason why, police say, the Klymax call was downgraded. But we can think of many reasons a caller might need to hang up the phone. MARC says as much in its document, Important Tips for Calling 911, available on its website at marc.org

What if the attacker enters the room and your safety would be compromised if you spoke out loud? What about simple, crippling fear? Will police call back to check, or send out a cruiser?

In those circumstances, MARC suggests using text messaging. There is a text to 911 service available in the Greater Kansas City metro, which includes Cass, Clay, Douglas, Jackson, Platte and Ray counties in Missouri, and Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami and Wyandotte counties in Kansas. Atchison County does not presently have text to 911 service.

(Other reasons to use the text to 911 service are if you are deaf or hard of hearing; if you are unable, for medical reasons, to speak into the phone; or if your cell signal isn’t strong enough for a voice call to go through.)

What you need to know before making an emergency call

When you do get through, the dispatcher will ask you basic questions:

• Where is this happening?

• When did this happen?

• What is happening now?

• Why?

• Is anyone injured?

• Who is involved?

• Descriptions?

Be ready to answer the questions calmly and completely.

But in the meantime if you have lost hope in the system, ask yourselves: What’s the alternative? Even people who have lost faith in the police still call 911 in an emergency. What else can you do? If you can’t trust 911, what’s left?

We demand better service to every 911 caller in Kansas City.

We certainly don’t want to leave the last words to Flavor Flav, who rapped: “911’s a joke in yo town.”

Not our town, Flav. Not our town.