Is 9-1-1 Dispatching Your Calling?

10:30 pm. Time to head to work. Some time ago, in the not to recent past, I worked as a 9-1-1 dispatcher. At the time I was married to my now ex-wife, and we lived in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The agency I worked for was a multi-jurisdictional department bordering with Chicago and several other suburbs. Initially, prior to being hired, I was one of more than 500 candidates tested to fill the position. The first round of testing included a written test. After passing that test I was put on a list with other candidates to continue to the next phase. As it turns out, there was only one position that would become available. Time past and I had heard little regarding the testing or hiring for the position. One day, while at work, my wife called me to tell me I got a letter from the department I had applied for. Since so much time had past (nearly a year) I thought little of her announcement. In fact, I thought that it was nothing more than a rejection letter or an explanation that my eligibility had expired. None the less, I asked her to open it and read it while I was on the phone with her. As she read I could hear the excitement in her voice! She finally got to the part in the letter that explained that a position had opened up and I was the next candidate in line for that position.

Most police and fire departments require a series of test to insure that they get the best, and most fit, candidates for positions. These test usually include a written exam, a physical fitness exam, extensive mental examinations, hearing and vision testing and so on down the list. At no time is an applicant's race, religious beliefs and, in some cases, gender reviled to the testing panel. That is until the face to face interview! These take place as one of the last steps to the hiring decision and are completely subjective! It was time for my interview with the hiring board. As I described myself in previous writings I'm a 6 foot 4 inch tall black man weighing, at that time, about 290 pounds! This fact did not influence the board but did play a major part in my time with this department.

The board interview went well as did the rest of the testing process and an offer was made. I accepted and started work right away! My training consisted of many hours of reading department policy and procedures as well as official state certification. For the state certification I was away for one week in traing. Once the training was done one more test followed for the certification. I set very high standards for myself and was not at all surprised when I received the second highest score in my class for the certification! One trick questions designed to ensure that we were on our toes stood between me and a perfect score. When I returned to work and explained the experience to my supervisor he said that he "didn't expect less from me"! Time passed quickly and soon I was done with the training and on to dispatching.

While manning one of the radio consoles on a cold winter's night one of the agencies officers came into the emergency dispatch center to deliver some paperwork regarding a prisoner transport. He was an officer I had not met and did not see me seated at one of the far consoles. I overheard him, as did everyone in the dispatch center, refer to his arrestee as a "nigger"! The room fell quiet with the exception of the crackling radio traffic in the background! He looked up and saw me. I could feel anger sweep over my body! Adrenaline rushed and readied my body for the impending fight to the death! God put his hand on my shoulder, once again, and the anger left immediately! I slowly stood up so he could see my full size. I walked the 30 feet across the room and stood in front of him. I stood close enough to notice the sweat, like a running fountain, rolling down his face. I extended my hand and introduced myself. Not another word was said! I returned to my station and continued working.

October 31^st. Working the afternoon shift has it's challenges. As the year winds down and the sunsets come earlier, people are a little more restless. I remember the call. A woman at the other end of the phone, her voice indicating she was older and in a panic! "Send the police, hurry, please send the police!" "What's the problem miss" I spoke in my monotone, official voice. "There's a group of colored kids wearing mask and they're going from house to house knocking on people's doors! I think they're up to something!" Once again I could feel the hand on my shoulder! Once again I heard the Christian spirit speaking to me in a soft and calming tone akin to a breeze on a warm summer night. "What color are the "trick or treater's" miss?" She replied "you know" and then paused," they're black!" "We'll send the police" I replied, assuring her that help was on the way. Often times I've wondered why God challenges my Christianity this way. Just as often he reminds me that he doesn't challenge my Christianity! Just as often He reminds me that all of us are His children and deserve to be treated with the same respect and love that He has for each of us! None the less, on this Halloween evening, we would get more calls like this! Still, I would have to answer the phone as an official representative of help in a world that offered little else to the helpless. That helplessness being the lessons of the past! The lessons passed down from generation to generation that teach how to hate instead of celebrating differences!

The reason for the monotone, dry voice is to inject calm and reason in situations where there is none! On the phone, this night, a distraught father. His wife no longer loves him and she wants a divorce. Locked inside his house, now surrounded by police! His demands were simple, he just wanted to talk to his lawyer, he just wanted to be left alone. The gun he held to his child's head, as a threat, would only bring more police and make his demands harder to achieve! As a dispatcher there are times when every emotion is to run! Like police and fireman, however, we run into the fire! We can't hang up the phone and hope the problem goes away! In that same monotone voice I calmed him and acted as a go between with the lawyer. Calmly he surrendered his child, his gun and himself to the police waiting outside! He was taken into custody without a hint of violence. He never knew about the weapons aimed at his head through an open window! He never would understand the headaches I suffered for nights after that nor the headaches and variety of ailments the officers, their commanders and the entire village suffered as a result of his actions. But when you're a Christian you will always help people in their worst moments and pray they never know that it was you helping them. There is no bragging about this type of work. Most of what you do becomes a reflex, a trained response to some of the worse challenges to the human spirit. God, in my opinion, holds these types of people in a higher regard!

As a result of this incident I left the emergency dispatch center. I left, not because of the stress, but because I felt God calling me to a different purpose. The night of this incident, despite the headache, I was able to go home and fall sound asleep. Not feeling, not caring and just being! Tomorrow was another day and another shift change. I felt myself slipping away into an oblivion from which there would be very little chance of recovery. Several days after, I quit my job as a 9-1-1 dispatcher. Several days after I became, not super-human, but human again. I thanked God! The blessing was not the ability to do this type of work nor the knowledge that I was a member of an elite group of people who, after intense training and evaluation could perform without emotion. The blessing was in the realization that this type of work is not for everyone! My blessing was in the realization that I did not have to, single handed, fix the world! Do not take on this type of challenge without a strong circle of support from people outside the police department. It can, and will, challenge your Christianity, your family life, everything that you stand for and, it's at that point when saving a life doesn't matter because you've lost your own! Do take on this challenge if this is what you feel in your heart! That's where Jesus resides and makes his presence felt! We will always need people to fill these roles. Are you up to this challenge?