Pierce County’s 911 Center needs to be its own department.
The newly formed 911 advisory committee voted unanimously to make that recommendation to the county commission. The vote came at the inaugural meeting of the committee last Tuesday morning.
Blackshear Police Chief Chris Wright made the proposal.
“I think the 911 center should be its own department with its own director,” Wright said.
The E-911 center was an independent department in county government until 2019 when it was placed under the supervision of Sheriff Ramsey Bennett.
Wright has previously said there have been some issues with dispatching.
In December of last year, the city learned Sheriff Bennett, in his role as director of the E-911 center, had directed dispatchers to dispatch certain calls to sheriff’s deputies instead of Blackshear Police, despite those calls being within the jurisdiction of the City of Blackshear.
Bennett did not respond to Wright’s claims.
The recommendation will be forwarded to the county commission for a final decision. The 911 advisory committee can only make recommendations.
Commissioners will likely consider the recommendation at their next monthly meeting May 2.
