Police Chief Disciplines Dispatcher, Commandeers Department After Lanny Ross Death

The dispatcher who sent ambulance crews to the wrong address when Lanny Ross had a fatal heart attack last month will be disciplined, Chief Jerry Larsen confirmed on Monday, just after he assumed command of the village dispatching department.

The terms of the discipline were not released since it was a personnel matter and there was no hearing, Larsen said.

The move to discipline the reportedly veteran dispatcher and transfer control of the department to the police chief comes more than a month into the review of what happened on that , said Larry Cantwell, the village administrator.

Cantwell and Cullum had admitted that the dispatcher made an error when inputting Lanny Ross' address into the software system, but they also said that

"We scrutinized and reviewed every aspect of that department since the Lanny Ross situation. This is really a part of the conclusion of that review," Cantwell said. The dispatcher's name has never been released.

"I'm going to handle all of the day-to-day operations which includes all personnel matters: training, discipline, protocols, policies," Larsen said on Monday. Joan Jacobs, the chief dispatcher, will answer to him.

Ken Cullum, who had run the dispatching department, will still be involved. A department head and code enforcement officer, he will continue to act as the board's liaison to the fire districts, which contract the village to provide dispatching services. He will also oversee the maintenance of the Emergency Communications Building.

"Hopefully, we can work together to provide a better system," Larsen said. One of the first things he said he wants to improve is "to speed up the amount of time we are taking to dispatch." An ambulance wasn't dispatched at all until two minutes into Sherri Ross' 911 call despite her having given the dispatcher her exact address within the first few seconds. 

"We know it had some problems," Larsen said. "There's always the chance for human error. We're trying to limit the possibilities of human error. It all goes back to training, training, training." 

He said disciplining the dispatcher "set the tone" of changes within the department.

He said he and Cullum arrived at the arrangement. "Kenny and I sat down and talked about it. I just offered that the police department is already set up to do this kind of work and I thought it would be helpful to Kenny," Larsen said. "We are better suited to handle this type of organization."

Cantwell said the decision was made, "In part, because they have a 24/7 staffing level of superior officers. They can offer a higher level of supervision during a 24 hour period."

While the police chief will be in charge, the dispatching department will remain a separate entity from the police. "It's not going to be a police department dispatch," Cantwell said.

Dispatching services for fire and police used to be completely separate in East Hampton Village, Cantwell explained. They were consolidated into one about 20 years ago, and for a time run by the police chiefs. Cullum, who has been with the village for 14 years, took over running the department.

East Hampton Village Communications Department dispatches the East Hampton Village police, Sag Harbor Village police, and the five fire districts that serve East Hampton Town. East Hampton Town police are dispatched internally.

In other jurisdictions, such as the town, the chief of police is in charge of the dispatching department.

"I see this as one of a number of changes," Cantwell said. The mayor had already taken steps to upgrade the software system to better manage multiple similar addresses.