Police Dispatcher

A Philadelphia police dispatcher was shot inside his West Philadelphia home yesterday morning but lay dead for hours in his bed before family members realized he had been killed. Fred M. Slaughter, 32, apparently died early yesterday morning in the home he shared with his mother and stepfather, police said. He had been shot multiple times in the face and chest. Police found casings from a large-caliber weapon at the scene. Slaughter was last seen alive about 2 a.m., enjoying a drink on the porch of his family's home in the 700 block of North Preston Street in the Mantua section, his stepfather told police.

Michael H. Rizzuto, 47, a longtime Maple Shade resident, police dispatcher and captain of the community's police reserves, died Saturday of complications from hemophilia at Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center, Camden. Mr. Rizzuto was a police dispatcher for 19 years. He "was probably the finest radio dispatcher in the county, and he trained all of our radio dispatchers," said Maple Shade Township Police Chief James T. Ryan. Mr. Rizzuto was also active as the township's deputy emergency management coordinator and deputy civil defense director, and worked with the first-aid squad and the heavy rescue squad, Ryan said.

After more than 20 years as a Washington Township police dispatcher, Betsy "Ma" Lion has retired. To mark the occasion, the Washington Township Regional Lodge 86, Fraternal Order of Police has given Lion a plaque of appreciation for her years of service, which include more than 12 years as a school bus driver, truant officer and member of the township's ambulance association. "Betsy's devotion to our community is awe-inspiring, and she will be sorely missed," said Frank Gurcsik, the ambulance association's secretary/treasurer.

A Washington Township police dispatcher was fired yesterday for allegedly discussing confidential information about a major narcotics investigation, which then was passed on to one of the targets of the drug probe. Kathryn "Cass" Oncay, 52, a 15-year veteran, was suspended without pay with intent to dismiss after Police Chief Richard Moore served her with eight administrative charges yesterday afternoon. The charges are misconduct in office, assisting a criminal, releasing confidential information, compromising a criminal investigation, violating standards of conduct, violating standards of loyalty, disobedience to laws and regulations, and making public statements.

A police dispatcher received a reprimand and a reminder of the sensitivity of his duties after he allegedly argued with a resident who called and visited the station. Commissioner William L. McCrossan said Wednesday night that he and Police Chief Richard J. Herron "chastised" the dispatcher for the incident. He said that more could not be done because there was no proof of the phone conversation. At the commissioners' December meeting, resident Mike Eubanks told the board that about four months earlier, he called the police station to report a disturbance next door.

A Camden City police dispatcher was being held at the Camden County jail yesterday on a charge that she conspired to commit murder, according to jail officials. Marilyn Barreto, 35, of the 2200 block of Mulford Avenue in Pennsauken, was arrested early Thursday during a series of police raids that led to arrests and the collection of guns and large quantities of drugs, a city official said. During one raid, state troopers dropped out of helicopters to surprise drug dealers at Northgate I, a high-rise apartment building next to the Ben Franklin Bridge that has long attracted crime.

A Richboro man who stabbed his mother to death while a horrified police dispatcher listened over the phone was found guilty in Bucks County Court yesterday but mentally ill of first-degree murder. The conviction of Christopher Whelan, 30, means he will serve life in prison for killing his mother last year in their Northampton Township home. The body of Joan Whelan, 60, was found at the foot of a staircase in the two-story house, a kitchen knife embedded in her chest. The sounds of her death were recorded over a 911 line that Christopher Whelan had called moments before.

An unidentified man was shot in the chest Friday night in Chester Township, Delaware County police reported. The shooting happened shortly before 10 p.m. in the 1000 block of Powell Road near a 7-Eleven store, police said. A person answering the telephone at the store said the shooting did not involve anybody from the convenience store. A police dispatcher did not have information about the condition of the shooting victim and no arrest was reported. The assailant reportedly fled in the direction of Toby Farms School.

An unidentified man was shot in the chest Friday night in Chester Township, Delaware County police reported. The shooting occurred shortly before 10 p.m. in the 1000 block of Powell Road near a 7-Eleven store, police said. A person answering the telephone at the 7-Eleven said the shooting did not involve anybody from the convenience store. A police dispatcher did not have immediate information on the condition of the shooting victim. No arrest was reported. The assailant reportedly fled in the direction of Toby Farms School.

Upper Merion police were investigating a report of a man seen exiting a home carrying a BB gun near the Caley Elementary School in King of Prussia, authorities said. The 1 p.m. sighting on Regimental Road prompted police to ask that pupils remain indoors as a precaution while officers conducted their investigation, according to a statement by spokesperson Kathryn Ashbridge posted on the Upper Merion Area School District's website. No BBs were fired, a police dispatcher in Upper Merion said.

Santa Claus came early to Cynthia Recarte's Lindenwold home, stacking gifts for her little ones under the tree more than a week ago. Then, hours before Christmas Day, a Grinch stole the presents. But Santa came back to save the day. This time, the jolly one's team wore blue uniforms, not red. The sleighs were motorized, with sirens - no reindeer here. When the Recartes lost more than $10,000 in cash and gifts during the burglary, South Jersey police officers and Camden County dispatchers decided they couldn't let the family's 4-year-old twin girls and 2-year-old son wake up without presents under the tree.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The days since Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend then shot himself in the head have been very difficult for his mother, who said Wednesday that the slayings have not diminished her love for the couple. Belcher's mother, Cheryl Shepherd, had been living with the Kansas City Chiefs linebacker and 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins to help care for their 3-month-old daughter, Zoey, and was at the couple's home Saturday morning when Perkins was shot. "That's my son, and I love him," Shepherd said in a brief telephone conversation Wednesday.

MONTROSE, Pa. - A part-time police officer in northeastern Pennsylvania was charged Wednesday with killing his estranged wife in 1983, a shooting death that had previously been classified as a suicide. The state attorney general's office said John David Walker, 52, of Montrose killed Lynda Walker, based on new evidence obtained by exhuming her body last year and from conducting fresh interviews with him and witnesses. Walker was jailed without bail, and court officials said he did not have a defense lawyer on file.

AUBURN, Ala. - Several people were shot at an apartment complex near Auburn University in Alabama when a fight broke out during a pool party, authorities and a witness said. Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson told the Opelika-Auburn News that police were called Saturday night. He did not say who was shot or discuss their conditions. Turquorius Vines, 23, said he was at the pool party Saturday evening at the University Heights apartments with one of his friends. He said he and his friend were approached by two other men who started arguing with them over a woman.

Last week, media outlets filed motions to unseal the records concerning the arrest of George Zimmerman in connection with the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Florida has a rich tradition of "sunshine" when it comes to public access to court proceedings, and it seems likely that, sooner than later, the public will see what evidence special prosecutor Angela Corey has that warranted the filing of second-degree murder charges. Thus far, Corey and defense lawyer Mark O'Mara have agreed to limit customary access.

SANFORD, Fla. - After weeks in hiding, George Zimmerman made his first courtroom appearance Thursday in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, and prosecutors outlined their murder case in court papers, saying that the neighborhood-watch volunteer followed and confronted the black teenager after a police dispatcher told him to back off. The brief outline, contained in an affidavit filed in support of the second-degree-murder charges, appeared to...

SANFORD, Fla. - After weeks in hiding, George Zimmerman made his first courtroom appearance Thursday in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and prosecutors outlined their murder case in court papers, saying the neighborhood watch volunteer followed and confronted the teenager after a police dispatcher told him to back off. The brief outline, contained in an affidavit filed in support of the second-degree murder charges, appeared to...

‘A MAN IS NEVER more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar," said Mark Twain. Last week, "NBC News" became truthful, at least partially, when it issued an apology about altering a taped 9-1-1 conversation between George Zimmerman and a police dispatcher in the high-profile Trayvon Martin story, a case being linked to racism and profiling. What viewers of NBC's "Today" show heard was this taped comment by Zimmerman, talking with a police dispatcher: "This guy looks like he's up to no good.

THE PUBLIC SLIMING of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teen slain last month after buying candy and ice tea at a convenience store, is under way. A month after Trayvon's tragic death, now comes word that the 17-year-old had been visiting his dad while on a 10-day suspension from school for having a baggie containing marijuana residue in his book bag and, according to the Miami Herald , a marijuana pipe. That's not cool. But what does that have to do with what went down the night Trayvon was killed?

PHILADELPHIANS outraged by the Trayvon Martin case will rally in the city Friday and Monday. Organizers are asking that protesters show up wearing hoodies as a show of support for the unarmed black teenager gunned down by a Hispanic neighborhood-watch captain. "Enough is enough. This was just blatant discrimination," said Chris Norris, a lead organizer of Monday's 6:30 p.m. rally at Love Park. "It's blatant racism. I can't believe it happened. I feel like I'm in a dream.