Written by Amanda Coers – The fourth of nine classes with the Brownwood Citizens’ Police Academy gave us a look into the stressful, and often overlooked, world of dispatch, and a talk with a DWI hunting patrol officer, Kris Salazar.

Communications Manager Deedra Molotsky, has been with dispatch for 25 years and she’s heard it all. From calls about loose cows running amok to officer-involved shootings, Deedra’s been on the other end of the line, coordinating multi-agency efforts to support local law enforcement.

Dispatch receives calls from anyone in the community needing assistance from Firefighters, Police Officers, and Emergency Medical Services. A dispatcher operates as the eyes and ears for responding units before they arrive on the scene, gathering critical information to help ensure the safety of the responders. Dispatchers are an officer’s lifeline, and Deedra is firm about training her operators to regularly check-in with officers in the field, requesting their locations.

“If I don’t know where the officers are, I’m going to be upset,” she told the class. “I absolutely want to know where they are, I’m looking out for them. I love these guys, these are my brothers and sisters, my sons. And I’m going to do everything I can in dispatch to ensure their safety.”

Operators work 8-hour shifts, often eating at their stations, and are lucky if they get a break to go to the bathroom. The evening shift is by far the busiest. Dispatch needs to think quick, access multiple information outlets, and remain cool and collected while talking with the caller, whether it’s an irate neighbor, or a frantic mom who’s child is hurt.

And while the operators are trained and ready to assist 911 callers, accidental calls to dispatch are becoming a serious problem. There are days when dispatch receives almost 50 calls from children playing with phones, or misdials from cell phones in pockets.

“Please do not give children old cell phones,” Deedra said.

Deactivated cell phones and landlines still have the capability to call 911 and operators can find themselves in a jam while trying to get a young child to give the phone to an adult to better assess whether or not the call is a legitimate emergency. But it’s not always accidental calls from kiddos. Often a 911 call is placed from unsuspecting adults.

“We call those, if you’ll excuse the phrase, butt dials, and we get a lot. I would say 50% of our calls are those. People will put them in their pocket, we hear a lot of people going to work.”

If you, or your child, accidentally dials 911, don’t hang up. It’s best to let dispatch know it was an honest mistake. “If you don’t stay on the line, even if we call back, we’re going to send an officer.”

 

Part Two of Tuesday’s class included a presentation from patrol officer Kris Salazar, giving a run-down of DWI arrests. Officer Salazar has been with the Brownwood PD for a year and a half, and has a passion for DWI busts.

Brownwood Police Officer Kris Salazar at the 2015 Trick-or-Treat Trail Event with the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce

“I’m trying to stop them before they hurt themselves or others,” Salazar said.

“Accidents are the worst thing we have to respond to, and it’s the most avoidable thing when it comes to drinking and driving,” Assistant Chief Fuller added.

Texas is leading the nation for motorists who are injured or killed in alcohol-related crashes. In 2013, over 1,300 deaths were caused by drunk drivers, representing almost 40% of fatal traffic deaths in the state. Police Departments across the state are cracking down on drunk drivers. In 2013, there were 99,915 DWI arrests, which resulted in 71,030 convictions.

In 2016, over 70 people arrested for DWI in Brownwood. And it’s not just alcohol, it could be illegal or prescription drug use impairing drivers. But the Brownwood PD is on the lookout.

“I’ll pull people over for anything,” officer Salazar said. “Lights out, improper turns, speeding, any little thing I can find to make a stop, so I can find drunks, find drugs, or find people with warrants.”

Reckless driver calls from citizens can be extremely helpful for officers to locate drunk drivers. Officer Salazar advised callers to keep an eye on the driver as long as possible from a safe distance and consistently update dispatch with the driver’s location until officers can arrive to make a traffic stop.

 

When an officer suspects a driver is intoxicated, there are several indicators that can help them make an arrest.

“I’ll check for an odor of alcohol, red, glossy eyes, slurred speech, open containers,” Salazar explained. Officers will also administer tests to check for driving under the influence. There are three basic tests: horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN), the walk-and-turn, and the one-leg-stand. Often, elderly or physically impaired individuals may have a difficult time with the walk-and-turn and one-leg-stand, but there’s no easy way to explain failing the HGN test.

When an officer suspects a driver has been drinking, they’ll ask the driver step out of the car and then administer the HGN test, which involves moving a penlight in front of the driver’s eyes, about one foot from the face. It’s a scientifically-proven test for high blood alcohol content (BAC), with eyes producing an involuntary twitch (referred to as Nystagmus). The tale-tell bouncing of the eyes is a dead giveaway.

“When we see that,” officer Salazar said, “It’s a pretty good indicator they’re way over the limit.”

Almost anyone you speak with knows someone who’s been affected by the tragic decisions of drunk drivers, and officer Salazar is no exception. He shared with the class the story of his friend and fellow officer, Carmen, from the Temple Police Department. They had both trained together, and had participated in the San Antonio 9-11 Memorial Climb together. In November, Carmen’s patrol unit was struck from behind by a drunk driver as she was investigating a traffic accident.

Carmen was out of her vehicle when her unit was hit, and she was dragged beneath the vehicle. She lived, but is undergoing months of physical therapy.

“She loves her job, and wants to be back out there,” Salazar said. “But unfortunately because that individual decided to drive drunk that night, she’s injured.” It is not certain if Carmen will be able to return to patrol duties, but Salazar is hoping for the best.

“That’s why I’m out there. I’m trying to get every drunk before it becomes an accident.”