Philadelphia residents are frustrated with the city's 911 system. So what needs to change?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia City Council's Committee on Public Safety held a hearing Tuesday to address what it described as ongoing challenges to the city's 911 system.
The city held the hearing following the Kingsessing mass shooting back in July when a dispatch mishap prevented officers from quickly responding to the shooting's first victim.
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During the hearing, Maria Rodriguez testified that her father recently had a stroke and called for help.
"On his cell phone record, I have an indication of 28 calls done by him to 911," Rodriguez said. "There never was a call back or at least a wellness check."
One West Philadelphia resident, who asked not to be identified out of concern for her safety, told CBS Philadelphia she's called 911 multiple times for help on several incidents, including after teenagers lit several fire crackers in a field next to her neighborhood.
"No one answers 911," the resident said. "You hang up. You call back. It rings for 5-10 minutes"
At the hearing, the union representing Philadelphia's 911 dispatchers said they're budgeted for 350 positions, but right now, they have less than 300 people for those positions.
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Dispatchers at the hearing said they're currently overworked and underpaid.
"People don't want to deal with the post-traumatic stress of the job without proper compensation, and that is a real issue right here," Senior Dispatcher Tomasz Rog said.
Dispatcher Michelle Jordan said she handled the call when Philadelphia police officer Richard Mendez was shot and killed at the airport last month.
"I never got appreciated," Jordan said. "I never got told, 'You did a great job. I know you're tired. Maybe you should stay home today,' because, you know what, we work with these officers every day."