When a business owner and beloved member of Denver’s East Colfax neighborhood was shot outside her apartment late July 15, four calls to 911 — including the first one made — went to Aurora’s emergency operations center, most likely because the callers were using Verizon as their wireless carrier.
Technology exists to more accurately route 911 calls from cellphones to the correct 911 communications center, but Verizon — one of the three major carriers in the United States — has refused to install it in Denver and other parts of the country.
T-Mobile and AT&T put the technology in play in Denver earlier this year, said Andrew Dameron, director of the city’s 911 service.
But Verizon declined even after city officials asked the company to do so.
“Their response was they essentially are not doing the same thing that AT&T and T-Mobile are doing but believe the onus is on the states and 911 authorities to come up with solutions to use that technology,” Dameron said.