On the recordApril 13, 2016
California is a much warmer State and much more beautiful, if I may add that. I rise today to recognize National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. After 17\1/2\ years as a 911 dispatcher, I know firsthand the challenges our public safety dispatchers face, the stress they are put under, and the critical importance of their work. That is why I am proud to introduce a resolution commemorating National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. I remember working the graveyard shift at the LAPD, sitting four floors below ground, taking calls from people from all walks of life, often during their most vulnerable time in their lives. {time} 1615 In fact, it was my work as a 911 dispatcher that got me involved in politics. When I was working for the LAPD, I took a call from a little girl who ended up being murdered at the hands of her uncle. When I answered that 911 call, all I could hear was thumping. Later, I learned that that thumping noise was her head being bashed against the wall. Soon after, five shots were fired, and she was murdered--11 years old, murdered at the hands of her uncle. I yield to my colleague, the gentleman from the San Fernando Valley, Congressional District 29, Tony Cardenas, to share with us some information about how he supports 911 dispatchers in his district.
