Committee presses dispatch on a 911 callback failure and AI use for nonemergency calls

Tory May, deputy director of operations for emergency communications, told the committee that quality-assurance data for emergency call‑taking were trending positively but that some noncompliance areas remain and are handled through coaching.

Council members pressed the team about a specific case where a 911 caller said she was disconnected and the expected police response did not arrive. May and Jackie Krausz, deputy director for technology, explained the system behavior: when a 911 call disconnects the system automatically calls back and provides an option to press 1 to confirm an emergency; if the caller disconnects before the call reaches the call taker, the incident will not reach dispatch. "In the event that you remain on the line, yes, that GPS location does work," May told the committee when explaining location limitations depending on whether the call connects to the center.

Members also asked about the use of AI in call handling; Krausz said AI is used only for nonemergency lines (calls to the city's nonemergency number) and not for 911 call‑taking at this time. The committee asked staff to return in September with more detailed data about AI usage, the frequency of automated messages/voice‑mail prompts, and aggregated counts of callbacks that result from disconnections. Staff said they could investigate specific incidents and provide longitudinal data if the committee supplied dates and call details.

Council members emphasized the need for clear public guidance to remain on the line when calling 911 and asked for more transparent reporting on voice‑mail/automated message rates and the technical review of the disputed incident.