By JIM HOOK, Public Opinion (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania)

Franklin County Commisisoners recently honored 911 dispatchers for handling communications during a triple homicide and kidnapping. With Commissioners David Keller (left) and Bob Ziobrowski (right) are (from left) dispatchers Kevin Rhodes, Ben Rice, Brady Oursler and Kory Alspaugh. Dispatchers Brian Denham and James Birgfeld were absent.

Emergency dispatchers shook off feelings of disbelief during a triple shooting and child abduction on July 27 in Quincy Township.

“Their work was stellar,” said David Donohue, director of the Franklin County Emergency Management Agency. “I can’t say enough about how they worked as a team.”

Dispatchers at first heard gunshots over an open telephone, and eventually coordinated communications among 22 agencies during the incident. Their actions serve as an example that can be used in regional and national training programs, Donohue said.

Court documents filed by Pennsylvania State Police, Chambersburg, allege that Kevin Cleeves, 35, of Waynesboro confronted his estranged wife before killing her, her boyfriend and the boyfriend’s mother. Cleeves left with his 4-year-old daughter. An AMBER Alert was issued in which authorities said Cleeves should be considered “armed and dangerous as well as suicidal.” Authorities found Cleeves and his daughter the following day at a motel in Austintown, Ohio. He surrendered without incident. Cleeves is charged with three counts of criminal homicide in the murders of Brandi Nicole (Killingsworth) Cleeves, 25, Boonsboro, Md.; Vincent Luke Santucci, 28, Waynesboro; and Rosemary Linda Holma, 55, Waynesboro.

A disagreement about custody arrangements apparently triggered the violence, according to court documents. Cleeves confronted his wife in the driveway, but was ordered off the property on Anthony Highway. He opened fire around 9 p.m.

Around the same time, 911 dispatchers were handling a mass casualty incident at the Shippensburg Fair, Donohue said. As a result of a fight, six people were transported by ambulance and 10 others refused treatment.

“It was one of those things you’re not ready for,” said Kevin Rhodes, a dispatcher from Fayetteville.

Someone had called 911 and the telephone line was open, no voice, just background sound.

“In 13 years I’ve never had an incident like this,” said Ben Rice, a dispatch supervisor from Chambersburg. “We take calls every day about fights or violent incidents. This raised the bar above that.”

Dispatchers realized how serious things were when they heard gunshots.

“We need to find out where they are,” Rice said.

Global Positioning System technology located the cell phone before dispatchers could confirm the location with a person.

“Ten years ago we might not have had that,” Rice said.

Police responded within 90 seconds of the first call, according to Donohue. Dispatchers also received a second call from the scene.

Dispatchers also managed the response to a crash involving a Pennsylvania State Police trooper responding to the incident. The incident lasted through the night.

“We were busy. We didn’t have a lot of time to recover,” said Kory Alspaugh, a dispatcher trainee from Shippensburg who was called into the fray. Brady Ousler, a dispatcher from Shippensburg, recalled an awkward silence at the end of the shift.

“We looked at each other: Did that really happen?” he said.

EMS dispatchers followed media coverage of the incident because they felt they had a personal stake in the event, Rice said.”Psychologically it helped us by bringing a little bit of closure,” he said.

Franklin County Commissioners on Tuesday presented commendations to 911 dispatchers.

“It went so well,” Donohue said. “It followed best practices. It was almost textbook perfect.”

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