RTD honors public safety dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week

RTD’s Transit Police public safety dispatchers are on duty every moment of the year, providing essential services to the agency and the public at large. They field an average of 250 emergency and non-emergency service calls a day; dispatch sworn Transit Police officers, secondary employment officers, security personnel and other emergency services; and monitor more than 15,000 cameras across RTD’s vast system. They are skilled multitaskers, adrenaline junkies and, at their core, caring individuals driven to make a difference and ensure a welcoming transit environment.

During National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, RTD honors the dedication and skill of its 21 public safety dispatchers, who are seen by their colleagues as the calm in the storm, said Transit Police Communications Manager Billy Kraft. While dispatchers often work in the background and are not thought of as frontline employees, “they are there every day and night to help keep law enforcement staff, RTD and the general public safe,” he noted.

Last year, RTD’s public safety dispatchers fielded more than 80,000 calls to the agency’s two Transit Police Communications centers, and they are on pace this year to eclipse that number, with more than 33,000 calls to date. While most calls originate with internal groups, close to 4,000 this year came from emergency phones. The group also responds to reports submitted in English and Spanish through the Transit Watch app.

A minimum of four and as many as six employees are always at work. Kraft said the goal is to add another seven individuals to the team by the end of the year, to support the growing Transit Police Department.

“They love their job – they really do,” Kraft said. “Dispatchers see things that most of the world’s population doesn’t see. Some are entertaining. Some are extremely serious.

“They know they’re going to see those things, but they also can deal with them better than most people.”

The following are examples of the outstanding work by RTD’s public safety dispatchers during a single recent week. These types of calls are representative of a typical shift.

The morning of March 31, someone broke a bus window at West 92nd Avenue and Federal Boulevard. Using active surveillance later that day, Public Safety Dispatcher Tammy VanDrake found the individual, and Transit Police was sent. Due to VanDrake’s diligence, the individual – who also had several arrest warrants – was taken into custody.

On April 1, Denver Police Department issued a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) for a mother and daughter. Public Safety Dispatcher Amber Escobedo reviewed RTD camera footage and located both individuals. Escobedo and Public Safety Dispatcher Ashley Price began coordinating a response that involved several light rail stations, light rail control and multiple police agencies. Denver Police escorted the child safely from a rail platform and detained the adult.

That same night, Transit Police Communications was advised of multiple shots fired at Perry Station. Transit Police officers requested Transit Police Communications’ assistance in locating a witness. With help from Video Investigations, Escobedo and Price found the individual and helped put the officers in contact with the witness.

On April 4, Wheat Ridge Police Department advised of a possible kidnapping, and said that the adult and 2-year-old might be headed to Wheat Ridge•Ward Station. Public Safety Dispatchers Autumn Schoepflin and Flavio Barrigan checked cameras while holding trains and buses in the area. Initially, nothing was found. As the dispatchers played back camera footage a bit later, they located an adult male and child on the station platform who matched the individuals’ descriptions. They contacted Wheat Ridge Police immediately, and officers detained the adult while keeping the child safe.