State Police are looking into why a Rutland Town officer was not able to reach the emergency dispatch center in Rockingham last week while responding to an incident reportedly involving a firearm.
Some have pointed to the incident as proof that the local Rutland Dispatch center should not have been closed.
Last Thursday afternoon, Rutland Town Police Captain Ted Washburn responded to a 911 call from a man who said two men in a red sedan were pointing a handgun at him in the General Electric parking lot.
Rutland town Police Chief Ed Dumas says Washburn tried multiple times to contact the police dispatch center to request back up but those calls went unanswered.
“It’s kind of a big deal if you’re making a felony stop and nobody’s answering your radio - first of all because you don’t make them every day," Dumas said. "And if you do make one you’d like to have some sort of an acknowledgement that they know you’re there ... that you have assistance available to you it gives everybody who’s listening on the radio - other officers - a heads up - 'okay, this could be serious let’s hear what’s going on.' ”
Dumas says other officers were listening and came to Washburn’s aid. No weapons were found in the suspected car.
A number of social media posts pointed to the communication breakdown as evidence that the state made a mistake in closing the Rutland dispatch center.
When the state made the decision to close the Rutland dispatch center earlier this year, emergency responders said dispatchers were already handling a high volume of calls and voiced concerns that the cuts would make the public less safe.
Dumas says radio systems do go down occasionally and the newly consolidated dispatch center in Randolph may be experiencing some kinks.
Vermont State Police Captain Donald Patch, personnel manager of the Rockingham dispatch center, is investigating what happened.
