This past weekend a young mother and police officer, Ella French, was fatally shot while conducting a routine traffic stop for expired license plates. Both Officer French and her partner were shot but were able to return fire through their injuries and injured one of the suspects. Two brothers have since been apprehended and charged with the shooting.
In the midst of a traumatic event, time slows down. Seconds feel like minutes, your peripheral vision is non existent, and fine motor skills are a thing of the past. Your brain gets staticky. Luckily for Chicago PD, that wasn’t the case for Keith Thorton Jr.
Keith was the dispatcher on duty when Ella French and her partner were shot. His quick thinking and command of the airwaves are being praised for potentially saving lives that day. If you can stomach the transmission, you can listen to it here.
Dispatcher Thorton was cool under pressure. Keeping the air clear while getting officers to the scene, setting up a perimeter, dispatching ambulances, creating a clear route to the trauma center, and getting a helicopter to the area. We’ll never know how many lives he potentially saved that day. But there is no doubting his professionalism prevented the tragedy from spreading. Even though French’s partner is still in critical, it’s because of Keith Thorton that they even have a fighting chance.
Dispatchers are often overlooked. They’re heard and not seen. But these men and women have some of the toughest jobs in the world. They’re charged with creating a safe space in a dangerous environment without even being able to see what’s going on. They’re so knowledgeable in not only law enforcement, but EMS, Fire, and other emergency services as well. Under high pressure situations, they have to be able to do 20 things at once. I can hardly answer the correct group if I have two chats going at once.
While Keith is rightfully getting the praise he deserves, he humbly deflected the attention from himself saying, “Get out of your car, stop midway through your jog or walk, and make a purposeful effort to show my brothers and sister in blue YOUR LOVE for them.”
Rest In Peace Ella French, and God Bless Keith Thorton Jr.
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