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'Entire call is under investigation' | DC mayor responds to criticism after 911 delays, infant's death

DC leaders are seemingly split on how to handle problems at Office of Unified Communications

WASHINGTON — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is setting the record straight after her deputy mayor of public safety and justice told reporters the city was "considering asking the fire department to take over dispatch responsibilities” from the Office of Unified Communications.  OUC has come under scrutiny for sending crews to the wrong address in the past and when Bowser rehired the agency's former Director Karima Holmes. 

Deputy Mayor Chris Geldart’s comments came days after 3-month-old Aaron Boyd Junior died after being locked in a hot car. EMTs arrived to help more than 10 minutes after 911 was called.  

“As the experts say, it’s a phenomenon of the failure of the memory, not the parents' love and care for the child,” Bowser said in reaction to the case.

At 6:01 p.m. on Aug. 9, a parent reported the infant was left inside a locked car for about an hour on Park Road, NW. Daytime temperatures in D.C. reached 96 degrees that day. 

WUSA9 learned that one minute later, the parent called back saying the infant was out of the car, in the apartment, but not breathing. WUSA9 was also told the call taker recorded the information first by reporting the child was out of the car and then at 6:02 p.m., added the infant was in cardiac arrest.

In the seconds between both critical messages, the fire dispatcher canceled the call after only seeing the first message that the child was no longer trapped. After 12 minutes, emergency crews arrived to help the baby boy, but it was too late.  

“That entire call is under investigation from the point of being a call of a child locked in a car to a cardiac arrest,” Bowser said. "We want to make sure that all of our systems are prepared to deal with all calls.”

OUC released a statement offering their condolences to the family and saying they will release the findings of their investigation when it's complete. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is performing an autopsy to officially determine the cause and manner of death.

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