Laredo Police Department celebrates National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - The Laredo Police Department celebrated the unsung heroes of emergency situations during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.

The recognition is held annually during the second week of April to honor public safety telecommunicators for their commitment, service, and sacrifice.

According to the police department, dispatchers are always heard but rarely seen and say it’s their quick response and decisive actions that help countless people dealing with emergency situations, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

One telecommunicator spoke about the job that requires these professionals to routinely answer the most desperate of calls with a calm voice and send help when it is needed.

“One experience that I keep close to my heart is when there was a man that was lost by the railroad. He needed help finding his way back home,” said 911 Dispatcher Gabriela Ramirez. “We have very advanced systems in our communications department where I was able to send him a message and he was able to receive it on his phone and allow me to have access to his phone so I could locate him. With that being said, I was able to guide him toward safety. I was able to guide him toward our police department which helped him and were able to get him back home.”

The 911 program for Laredo manages the counties of Webb, Jim Hogg, Starr, and Zapata.

There are 80 telecommunicators in total with about 40 of them tending to the Laredo Police Department.

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