Article: City needs wake-up call over slow 911 response; It took an appalling 26 minutes for dispatchers to direct police to a bloody brawl.

Scottsdale residents have every reason to be furious over the lame response to Saturday's 911 call from Durkin Park. It took an appalling 26 minutes for dispatchers to direct police to a bloody brawl. The melee left a 16-year-old boy in a coma and eight other people in the hospital after a teenager drove an SUV into a crowd. Officials said the response time on top-priority calls like this should be 2 to 3 minutes. In this case, dispatchers received 51 calls between 10:19 p.m. and 10:45 p.m.

At a heated meeting Wednesday night in a neighborhood church, police and emergency management officials offered the usual assurances to about 800 residents. Two 911 dispatchers were put on leave. ...

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