Drizzt
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Capital Times (Madison, WI)
January 29, 2003 Wednesday, ALL Editions
SECTION: FRONT; Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 566 words
HEADLINE: BULLETS FLYING, 911 CELL CALL HITS A GLITCH
BYLINE: Steven Elbow The Capital Times
BODY:
As bullets whizzed by the head of a Middleton man last Thursday, he ran to the basement using a cell phone to call 911.
He was put on hold.
A criminal complaint against the alleged shooter, Jason Z. Thomas, says Steven Meyer had to make several attempts to reach the Middleton Police Department before he got through. "I'm sure this guy was pretty frustrated," Middleton Police Sgt. Charles Foulke said.
The problem, he said, is that cell phone calls are not automatically routed to the appropriate jurisdiction - in this case Middleton police dispatch - and instead have to be rerouted by the Dane County 911 Center.
"The glitch is that in this state we don't have cell phone 911 calls that say who the caller is and what the geographical location is," Foulke said.
"It always creates a problem," he said.
In Thursday's case, he said, it wasn't really a problem. Several shots had been fired before Meyer placed his call, and 911 dispatchers were dealing with about a dozen calls stemming from the incident. Officers were already en route to the scene of the shooting by the time Meyer placed his call.
"It can really cause a problem when someone calls from their car," Foulke said. "A lot of times they don't know where they are exactly."
More than 30 states have passed laws to deal with emergency cell phone calls, which are now less of a technological issue than a financial one.
Dane County 911 Communications Center Operations Manager Duke Ellingson said in Dane County alone it would cost between $500,000 and $750,000 to upgrade the technology to implement a tracking system.
State lawmakers say they expect to introduce bills in both the Assembly and Senate this session to require upgrades to emergency dispatch systems. Such legislation has previously been hung up over how much wireless users would be charged for the upgrades and how much of the cost would be shouldered by dispatch centers.
Under one proposal from a coalition of wireless carriers, county government and other groups, wireless companies and local governments would split revenues from a surcharge on phone bills of about 60 cents a month.
Thomas, 35, the alleged shooter in Thursday's incident, faces charges of reckless use of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon in the incident on Sunrise Court. If convicted on all counts, he could face 30 years and nine months in prison.
According to the criminal complaint, Thomas, a Georgia resident, was in town visiting friends. He and several others were at Meyer's Sunrise Court apartment watching movies and drinking when he became belligerent and obnoxious and began disparaging Meyer's girlfriend. Eventually Meyer, a longtime friend of Thomas, "body slammed" him. Thomas pushed back and Meyer punched him in the mouth.
Reportedly Thomas left, saying, "I'll be back and I have something for you."
Shortly thereafter, Meyer and another man were outside on a porch smoking a cigarette.
Meanwhile, Thomas allegedly went to a car, pulled out a handgun and began shooting at them. The people in the apartment ran to the basement for protection, but Meyer remembered that the front door was unlocked and ran up to lock it. While he was at the door, a bullet reportedly whizzed past his head.
Meyer ran back down the stairs and called 911 on his cell phone.
January 29, 2003 Wednesday, ALL Editions
SECTION: FRONT; Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 566 words
HEADLINE: BULLETS FLYING, 911 CELL CALL HITS A GLITCH
BYLINE: Steven Elbow The Capital Times
BODY:
As bullets whizzed by the head of a Middleton man last Thursday, he ran to the basement using a cell phone to call 911.
He was put on hold.
A criminal complaint against the alleged shooter, Jason Z. Thomas, says Steven Meyer had to make several attempts to reach the Middleton Police Department before he got through. "I'm sure this guy was pretty frustrated," Middleton Police Sgt. Charles Foulke said.
The problem, he said, is that cell phone calls are not automatically routed to the appropriate jurisdiction - in this case Middleton police dispatch - and instead have to be rerouted by the Dane County 911 Center.
"The glitch is that in this state we don't have cell phone 911 calls that say who the caller is and what the geographical location is," Foulke said.
"It always creates a problem," he said.
In Thursday's case, he said, it wasn't really a problem. Several shots had been fired before Meyer placed his call, and 911 dispatchers were dealing with about a dozen calls stemming from the incident. Officers were already en route to the scene of the shooting by the time Meyer placed his call.
"It can really cause a problem when someone calls from their car," Foulke said. "A lot of times they don't know where they are exactly."
More than 30 states have passed laws to deal with emergency cell phone calls, which are now less of a technological issue than a financial one.
Dane County 911 Communications Center Operations Manager Duke Ellingson said in Dane County alone it would cost between $500,000 and $750,000 to upgrade the technology to implement a tracking system.
State lawmakers say they expect to introduce bills in both the Assembly and Senate this session to require upgrades to emergency dispatch systems. Such legislation has previously been hung up over how much wireless users would be charged for the upgrades and how much of the cost would be shouldered by dispatch centers.
Under one proposal from a coalition of wireless carriers, county government and other groups, wireless companies and local governments would split revenues from a surcharge on phone bills of about 60 cents a month.
Thomas, 35, the alleged shooter in Thursday's incident, faces charges of reckless use of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon in the incident on Sunrise Court. If convicted on all counts, he could face 30 years and nine months in prison.
According to the criminal complaint, Thomas, a Georgia resident, was in town visiting friends. He and several others were at Meyer's Sunrise Court apartment watching movies and drinking when he became belligerent and obnoxious and began disparaging Meyer's girlfriend. Eventually Meyer, a longtime friend of Thomas, "body slammed" him. Thomas pushed back and Meyer punched him in the mouth.
Reportedly Thomas left, saying, "I'll be back and I have something for you."
Shortly thereafter, Meyer and another man were outside on a porch smoking a cigarette.
Meanwhile, Thomas allegedly went to a car, pulled out a handgun and began shooting at them. The people in the apartment ran to the basement for protection, but Meyer remembered that the front door was unlocked and ran up to lock it. While he was at the door, a bullet reportedly whizzed past his head.
Meyer ran back down the stairs and called 911 on his cell phone.
