Jennifer Greene, director of D.C. 911 call center, resigns under criticism

The director of the District’s 911 call center Jennifer Greene has resigned after the agency came under scrutiny for problems in providing timely dispatch to several high-profile emergency calls.

A spokesman for the D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to say whether Ms. Greene was forced out, but said Ms. Greene turned in her resignation on Monday.

Ms. Greene, a 29-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, was appointed to oversee the Office of Unified Communications in 2011 by then-mayor Vincent C. Gray.

Since Ms. Greene has overseen the agency, the 911 center has been criticized for taking too long to dispatch emergency calls as well as dispatching first responders to incorrect addresses. The OUC came under scrutiny during the investigation into the handling of Medric Mills, who suffered a heart attack and collapsed across the street from a fire station.

Firefighters inside the adjacent station received the brunt of the scrutiny for their failure to render aid to Mills, but authorities also documented mistakes made by 911 call takers and dispatchers, who, after receiving emergency calls about the incident, sent first-responders to a wrong address located three miles from where help was needed.

The OUC most recently came under scrutiny following the emergency response to the January fatal smoke incident on Metro. The agency had overseen the transition of fire department radios from analog to digital, and firefighters had trouble communicating via radio in Metro tunnels as they sought to rescue passengers trapped in a smoke-filled train. A city review of the incident also highlighted delays in the time it took to dispatch first responders and communicate information about the situation.

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D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency Director Chris Geldart will serve as the interim director of the agency.

Ms. Greene was making $190,000 a year, according to D.C. employee salary data from April.

The mayor’s spokesman Michael Czin said Deputy Mayor Kevin Donahue will oversee the hiring process for a permanent replacement. Mr. Czin said he didn’t know whether there would be an emphasis to promote from within the agency or to hire from outside.