Morgan Hill Dispatcher Of Year No Longer Under Radar

MORGAN HILL, CA -- Veteran Morgan Hill police dispatcher Paula Rodriguez knows her job flies under the radar in being recognized like an officer would. But the post is critical to a successful law enforcement operation.

It's all ok to Rodriguez, who takes her position in stride with dignity and grace in a dispatching force of eight people in the department where she has served in the original eight to come on board in this fast-growing city.

The Santa Clara County Dispatcher of the Year for her department recently attended a ceremony honoring her contribution.

Starting out in records then dispatching, Rodriguez has sacrificed a lot in the last 35 years - which officially fell within National Public Safety Communications Week on April 16. The honorary week ended Sunday.

She's worked hours most would consider absurd. Try functioning at a high level from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m.

"Really the most demanding thing about being a dispatcher is working the holidays, working the weekends. It's missing the things the kids did," she said. Now her kids are adults, but now she wants to spend time with the grandchildren.

She's gone into work when she has sensed a catastrophe unfolding such as when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake crumbled the San Francisco Bay Area, shattering the entire front glass wall of the police station and sending lights out of their sockets.

She's experienced a lot of loss from people she doesn't know, hearing victims at at their most frantic, desperate times.

One call in particular got to her and has stayed with her. A 2-year-old toddler walked in the wrong path in front of dangerous pit bull and was mauled to death, she noted.

"To this day, I could hear the mother screaming," she said, gulping.

But despite it all, it's not hard to sense the 57-year-old grandmother wouldn't have traded the post for anything else.

It's not for everybody though. That's why the turnover is so high in many jurisdictions.

"A lot of people get into it thinking they can do it, then they leave," she said.

How does she do it?

Exercise and beauty help immensely. She walks, runs and hikes the Coyote Creek Trail on a regular basis. Then, it's back to work in the adrenaline-fueled chair where life can swing from a quiet community to "zero to 60 in two seconds," she said.

She has also maintained a sense of humor, admitting that criminals can be innately stupid.

"Criminals will always slip up," she said with a dry wit.

Dispatchers may believe their unnoticed much of the time, but police departments far and wide across the state pointed out how these telecommunications workers are instrumental to community public safety.

"Paula has been the calm voice at the other end of frantic 911 calls for decades, helping thousands of our residents through their worst days. With 35 years under her belt, Paula is our resident expert on.....just about anything. Paula, on behalf of the thousands of people you have helped, we say a huge thank you. We appreciate you and we love you," the Morgan Hill Police Department wrote on its Facebook page, signing "Your Blue Family."

The appreciation doesn't end at the Morgan Hill boundary.

Jurisdictions of the thin blue line recognized their top-notch communicators from the southern boundary of Santa Clara County to the Peninsula where the Los Altos Police Department tipped its hat to its own Audrey Bates as its Dispatcher of the Year.

Bates has logged 42 years in public safety, serving the communities of Los Altos, Mountain View and Palo Alto. She was recognized by her community for "always willing to lend a helping hand."

More accolades traveled across the state, including acknowledgement from the California Highway Patrol.

“The selfless efforts of telecommunications professionals are crucial for public safety,” CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said. “With any new crisis, dispatchers who provide services tothe public and every CHP unit are to be commended for their dedication and hard work.”

More than 900 public safety dispatchers work for the CHP in 24 Communications Centers
statewide, where they handled more than seven million calls in 2018. A large majority of the
wireless 911 calls in California are handled by CHP dispatchers.

Calls are never routine. Dispatchers must instantly determine the correct response to ensure safety in an emergency. They are also in constant communication with patrol officers, looking up license plates, driver license numbers and running criminal record checks on wanted subjects.

The following tips will help callers during an emergency:

• Stay as calm as possible.
• Call from a landline if possible.
• Be prepared to provide your name, phone number, address or location and a detailed description of the incident or vehicle being reported.
• Cellular telephones may not tell the call-taker where you are. The location of the emergency may be the single most important information for the dispatcher in case the call is cut off.
• Wait for the dispatcher to ask questions, and then answer clearly and calmly.
• Listen carefully and follow all directions provided by the dispatcher.
• Be prepared to provide a physical description if the emergency involves a criminal suspect.
• Remember, 911 is for life-threatening emergencies. Misuse of the emergency system will result in a delay for callers with real emergencies and is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.