Reporter says DC 911 director’s council testimony was the final straw
We have more on the forced resignation of Jennifer Greene who, until yesterday (Monday), ran DC’s 911 center, known as the Office of Unified Communications (OUC). According to WRC-TV/NBC 4 reporter Mark Segraves, the final straw for Greene, after many failures at OUC, was her April 27 City Council testimony when she tried to explain to Council member Kenyan McDuffie why calls can’t be processed within the 90 second standard set by the agency. McDuffie’s questions were apparently prompted by my testimony just prior to Greene’s appearance.
My assessment is that Greene was going to be gone soon any way. The testimony just expedited things. It doesn’t make me happy when anyone loses a job, but I am glad to see that the new administration in DC and the City Council get that there are serious problems at DC 911. Hopefully they will find the right professional to handles the challenges at OUC.
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Previous coverage: Watch testimony of Greene and Statter
The director of D.C.’s 911 call center has stepped down after sources tell News4 she was forced to resigned.
Jennifer Greene and the Office of Unified Communications has been under intense scrutiny following several high profiled missteps, including slow response times during the smoke incident at L’Enfant Plaza and the choking death of toddler who was not sent the closest paramedic.
The unsuccessful roll-out of a new computer tablet system also led to delayed response times.
“I’m very glad the mayor is looking at some of these agencies and cleaning them out, because we need, in her words, a fresh start in some of these agencies,” Councilwoman Mary Cheh said.
Sources tell News4’s Mark Segraves that the last straw was Greene’s testimony last week that the call center is unable to meet the national standard for response times.
“[T]hat’s really the last call that somebody may make,” Cheh added. “So we need to do what we need to do, and it includes changing the leadership.”
Green, who previously served as a commander with the Metropolitan Police Department, was promoted to director of the Office of Unified Communications by former mayor Vincent Gray.
Chris Geldart, the director of D.C.’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA), will oversee the 911 call center until a replacement is found. He will also continue to head HSEMA.
