The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the actions of a 911 dispatcher over a call made in Spanish about a shooting on Sunday, officials said.
Mireya Maria Averado, 65, was killed early Sunday morning around 2 a.m. on 5021 East Colonial Drive, according to the sheriff’s office.
In a 911 recording obtained by NBC 6, a man can be heard telling the 911 dispatcher in Spanish his mother had been shot.
A spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office said the agency was evaluating the circumstances in the incident. The sheriff’s office houses the 911 call center.
“If modifications in our procedures are necessary, appropriate action will be promptly taken,” Ginette Rodriguez, a spokeswoman, told NBC 6 in an email.
“Generally, once it becomes clear the caller doesn't speak English, we will ask if an English speaker is readily available. If the answer is no, we bridge the call with an interpreter service and have them translate. All employees are trained on this procedure,” Rodriguez added.
She said that out of the 41 dispatchers and 74 operators at the Orange County call center, 21 speak Spanish.
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In the seven-minute recording, the dispatcher asks the Spanish-speaking man if anyone speaks English. The man can then be heard asking people around him if they speak English. About 90 seconds into the call, an English-speaking man can be heard talking to the dispatcher.
Language Line Service, the contracted language interpreting company used by the sheriff’s office, said dispatchers usually have to press one or two keys to quickly reach an interpreter.
Though the company was not involved in the incident, Dale Hansman, manager of public relations, said once a dispatcher calls Language Line, it can take from a few seconds to a couple minutes to get an interpreter on the line.
“Over thousands of calls, the average call was connected to an interpreter in under six seconds. Six seconds from when they have reached us,” Hansman said.
He said about 85 percent of calls request Spanish, especially in Orange County.
Officials believe the shooting was a result of a robbery to the food truck Averado operated.
Two men were seen running from the area shortly after the shooting, officials said. The case continues under investigation and no arrests have been made.
