NBC 5 has learned that Dallas Police have made progress in beefing up staffing levels at the 911 call center. This comes two months after the city partially blamed cell phone carrier T-Mobile for technical troubles shortly after Dallas infant Brandon Alex died. Now that boy's family has filed a lawsuit against the cell phone carrier.
"This is my favorite picture of Brandon," said his mother Bridget Alex. She brought a keepsake blanket to her interview with NBC 5 that is full of photos of her son Brandon, who at just 6-months-old died shorty after his babysitter couldn't get through to 911 on March 11.
Alex says her son had fallen off a daybed and was barely breathing.
"Nobody came, nobody came, I came and rushed him to the hospital," she said.
Alex says the babysitter called the 911 communications center in Dallas three times and was put on hold for about 40 minutes total.
She's now suing T-Mobile, which Dallas city leaders partially blamed for the call center glitch. But Mayor Michael Rawlings also said the center was understaffed.
According to Dallas City Hall records, there were 60 staffed 911 call takers in March.
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Dallas Police tell NBC 5 that to date, there are 99 employees at the center and as of mid-April, the average wait time was 9 seconds.
Alex says she also blames the city for the loss of her son but says the current wait time is certainly better that the 40 minutes her child's babysitter waited. "That's a night that I replay in my head every day...why didn't they come?" she said.
T-Mobile declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The Dallas Police Department is still hiring civilians for the call center. For more information about qualifications and starting salaries, visit the Dallas Police Department's website.
