E-Comm dispatch team honoured

A daytime shooting followed by a dramatic police pursuit through Vancouver’s busy downtown core has earned a team of E-Comm dispatchers national recognition for their exemplary service, teamwork and skills.

Jordan Bruce, Lori Pike and Michelle MacRae were honoured by the Canadian Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) in November with the Excellence in Teamwork Award for their role during a 2014 active shooter event.

The incident started when a gunman opened fire in a busy area of downtown Vancouver. The suspect fled on bicycle and Vancouver police officers gave chase; one of them commandeering a bike from a nearby rider. The chase continued through a busy bike/pedestrian walkway for two kilometres,  ending in gunfire between officers and the suspect outside of a popular attraction.

During the incident E-Comm received an influx of calls as the dispatch team filtered through a flood of information to provide police officers with vital up-to-the-minute details of the suspect’s whereabouts. The dispatchers kept calm while managing two busy channels and more than one-thousand radio transmissions in support of Vancouver police officers whose outstanding efforts resulted in the successful apprehension of the suspect.

“I am extremely proud of Jordan, Lori and Michelle,” said David Guscott, E-Comm President and CEO. “This award recognizes the high degree of professionalism they displayed during a volatile situation and demonstrates the critical and challenging role of a dispatcher in today’s world.”