City investigating whether 911 calls were handled correctly; dad charged with murdering two children (Calgary, Canada)

The City of Calgary is now investigating whether the 911 calls made by the mother were handled properly. The father, JAMES BING JUN LOUIE, has been charged with two counts of 1st-degree murder in the deaths of their two children. The mother was also attacked, but survived.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Father+accused+killing+children+must+undergo+psychological+assessments/2304052/Calgary+reviews+calls+slain+children/2293419/story.html

Calgary reviews 911 calls by mom of slain children
Chilling scream sent police to crime scene

By Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald
December 2, 2009

Calgary- The city says it is further reviewing two frantic 911 calls from a mother fearing her children were being harmed by their father.

But the head of 911 says Ying Louie's pleas for help were dealt with properly, although different operators handled her two calls without recognizing them as being from the same caller.

While there was no history of police being called to the home, Ying told the operator she feared her husband posed a danger to her son Jason, 13, and daughter Jane, 9.

"She expressed concern based on the father was refusing to let her talk to them. That gave her concern for the safety of her children," said Steve Dongworth, manager of public safety communications.

Charges against the children's father, James Bing Jun Louie, have been upgraded to two counts of first-degree murder. He also faces an attempted murder charge for allegedly attacking his wife.

Ying was driving to her Panorama Hills home after work Friday, while calling emergency operators on her cellphone at 8:33 p.m.

For eight minutes, Ying was asked if there was a physical altercation, weapons in the house, specific threats of harm, injuries, or property damage. None of her answers resulted in police being dispatched to her home.

"None of those triggers were present in the evaluation of this caller," said Dongworth.

Ying was told she could call back once she was home and had more information and that police would be dispatched.

When Ying arrived home, her second 911 call at 8:59 p.m. consisted of a single scream.

An emergency operator rang the cellphone back, which went straight to voice mail. Ying identified herself by name on the message, and the operator used it to search a database for her driver's licence, said Dongworth. Her address was then forwarded to police.

After the chilling scream, police were automatically dispatched and arrived at the couple's home within 16 minutes.

"We follow up on those," said Dongworth. "We get a lot of hangup calls, mostly from cellphones."

Even if police had arrived at the scene after the first call, it wouldn't have changed the tragic outcome --the children were already dead, police say.

Autopsies were performed Monday, but test results are expected in coming days.

The slaying of the two children is deeply distressing for the emergency operators, Dongworth said.

"For any emergency responder, knowing the outcome, which we didn't know at the time, will have a significant impact on them. Those people would be asking themselves could they have done something different."

James Louie's next court date is Dec. 14.