Following mass shooting error, officials celebrate 911 call center funding boost

Police may have caught a mass shooter before he murdered the majority of his victims if not for a radio dispatch blunder in July 2023.

Two days before killing four people and injuring four others in Kingsessing, a gunman allegedly fatally shot 31-year-old Joseph Wamah Jr. on the same block as the massacre.

Wamah’s body was not discovered until police arrived on the scene for the second shooting. At least one person heard the gunfire the night he was killed and called 911, but dispatchers mistakenly sent officers to the 1600 block of N. 56th Street in Overbrook, instead of the 1600 block of S. 56th Street.

Kimbrady Carricker has been charged with the crime – one of the deadliest mass shootings in Philadelphia’s history.

More than a year after the mishap, the Philadelphia Police Department has made “remarkable progress” in improving its 911 call center, said City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, whose district includes Kingsessing.

Gauthier organized a hearing late last year, during which police radio workers discussed the impacts of understaffing and low morale, as well as the unit’s retention and recruitment challenges.

During the most recent municipal budget cycle, lawmakers and Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration approved funding to give dispatchers a 5% raise. That bump is on top of a 5% contractual raise and designed to bring salaries more in line with what emergency call-takers receive in neighboring counties.

In addition, the PPD created a new civilian police radio supervisor position to provide a promotion pathway for senior 911 call center workers. Previously, the leadership role was reserved for sworn officers.

Under the new model, there will be a mix of sworn and civilian personnel overseeing the radio unit, officials said.

“What you see today is a culmination of effort, time and dedication to make things better for the men and women of this room,” said Gordon Zimmitt, president of AFSCME District Council Local 1637, the union representing dispatchers.

Zimmitt, Gauthier and others addressed the press Thursday in the large radio room at PPD headquarters. Dispatchers wearing headsets responded to calls in cubicles equipped with three computer monitors.

Currently, there are about 300 call-takers, with 60 positions unfilled, according to police department leaders.

“Make no mistake, it’s very much headed in the right direction, but we still have work to do,” Zimmitt added.

In the wake of the Kingsessing shooting, dispatchers began asking callers for a “directional indicator,” such as East or West, to make sure officers are sent to the right location. Callbacks from supervisors are also now being recorded, among other policy changes.

Gauthier said the July 2023 error “shook the community’s trust in the city’s ability to successfully respond to emergencies.”

“Philadelphians can rest easier knowing that our 911 call center has never been better equipped to provide every single caller with professional and responsive service,” she told reporters Thursday.