Our Communications Officer of the Month for January – Kiondria Johnson
A key aspect to the role of a communications officer is to respond to all calls – whether on the phone or on the radio – with a sense of urgency.
April will mark Communications Officer Kiondria Johnson’s fourth anniversary with the Division of Emergency Communications, but she handled a call last month regarding a threatened suicide like a veteran well beyond her years of experience.
A local coach said he received a text message from one of his teens who was threatening to jump from a bridge and end his life.
The caller thought the teen may have meant the Boulevard Bridge but he wasn’t certain, so Kiondria entered a call for service to that location, adding ambulance and fire units for a possible river rescue.
Kiondria also sent a message to the police channels and all precincts stating the concern and directing units to check the bridges in their precincts.
Second Precinct advised the Channel 2 operator that the young man in question had just been to the precinct asking for advice in reference to a domestic situation with his mother. He left, headed toward Southside Plaza, where Second Precinct officers immediately responded and found the teen.
Because of Kiondria’s quick thinking, knowledge and use of DEC procedures and proper notifications, a possible tragedy was prevented.
Kiondria’s professionalism and attention to duty in this incident made her the Communications Officer of the Month for January. Congratulations!
Previous Communication Officers of the Month
