Dallas Firefighter's Widow Says She's Not Impressed By Mayor's Call
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DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) – Dallas' Mayor Mike Rawlings is talking to CBS 11 about his call to the widow of a late Dallas Firefighter and her negative reaction to the conversation.
For months, Jenny Wilson has been asking Mayor Rawlings to look into her husband, Stan Wilson's death.
On Tuesday, the mayor called her with an update. Then, she called the CBS 11 I-Team to say that she was less than impressed by the conversation.
"Well, I wasn't calling to impress her," commented Rawlings. "She asked me to look into it. I promised her I would. I was doing good by my promise, calling her.
Speaking at a rotary club event on Thursday, Mayor Rawlings admitted the Dallas Fire Department could improve its communication. He says he sat down this week with Dallas Fire Chief Louie Bright and got a promise for new protocols and training.
Stan Wilson died after being ordered back into a burning building back in 2013.
Jenny Wilson says the mayor's promises are not enough. She's told the I-Team she is disappointed that Rawlings could not promise so-called "fire to ground" communications, which is a system that would record all orders given at a fire. It's a move she thinks would hold department commanders accountable, and one she believes would have made a difference in the fire that killed her husband.
"I think it's good to have transparency. The question is how much, when, where this needs to be," said Rawlings. "My heart still goes out to her family. And we are going to try to be better and better all the time at the city."
The mayor said Wilson's situation is quote: "Heartbreaking."
Wilson's attorney told CBS 11 Senior Investigative Reporter Ginger's Allen, "We didn't ask for a phone call. We asked for a meeting. And we didn't ask for sympathy, we asked for action." Two years later, Wilson's attorney says it still hasn't happened.
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