Human Failings, Not ‘ghost Calls,' Leave Us Unsure That All's Well in Dallas 911

The latest stats from Dallas' 911 call center should provide some measure of comfort that this basic city service is back on track.Note that key word, should.While weekend numbers showed that operators were able to respond quickly to calls, count us among those unconvinced that all is well in the 911 center. Our skepticism hinges on a regularly shifting City Hall narrative about what's behind the service problems.All we can be sure of is that surges in 911 calls correlated with two tragic deaths on recent nights and left hundreds of people on hold for emergency services.Faced with awful headlines that a Dallas caregiver failed to secure help for a dying 6-month-old boy, the city pointed the finger at T-Mobile-generated "ghost calls." To hear 1500 Marilla explain things, phones belonging to the carrier's customers flooded the center with random 911 calls, forcing people with legitimate emergencies further back in the queue.  Continue reading...