911 call taker fired after hearing determines she mishandled call during Buffalo shooting

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https://buffalonews.com/news/local/911-call-taker-fired-after-hearing-determines-she-mishandled-call-during-tops-shooting/article_8c8a58ce-e282-11ec-922f-87146267c849.html

911 call taker fired after hearing determines she mishandled call during Tops shooting
Sandra Tan | Jun 2, 2022

The Erie County 911 call taker accused of mishandling and cutting off a desperate call by a Tops employee during the mass shooting on May 14 has been fired.

The county administration terminated Sheila E. Ayers after her disciplinary hearing held Thursday.

Ayers, an eight-year 911 call taker with Erie County's Central Police Services Department, was working in the Enhanced 911 call center the day of the shooting.

Latisha Rogers, an assistant office manager at the Jefferson Avenue Tops location, had dialed 911 while hiding behind a customer service counter when the assailant was gunning down people in the store, ultimately killing 10 of them.

Rogers said the call taker, whom The Buffalo News learned was Ayers, reprimanded Rogers for whispering and told Rogers to speak up.

"She was yelling at me, saying, 'Why are you whispering? You don't have to whisper,' " Rogers said. "And I was telling her, 'Ma'am, he's still in the store. He's shooting. I'm scared for my life. I don't want him to hear me. Can you please send help?' She got mad at me, hung up in my face."