911 dispatcher on Josh Powell murder-suicide call reprimanded

The 911 dispatcher that responded to a caseworker’s call
from outside Josh Powell’s home as he murdered his
children and prepared to set his home on fire has been
reprimanded for the way he handled the interaction.

A letter of reprimand has been put in David Lovrak’s file
for allowing 22 minutes to elapse before deputies made it
to Josh Powell’s home.

The Salt
Lake Tribune obtained the letter which says the
handling of this call has shaken the public’s trust.

The letter, written by 911 Assistant Director Diana Lock,
said Lovrak violated four 911 policies during the call as
he failed to grasp the seriousness of the situation.

When caseworker Elizabeth Griffin-Hall asked how long it
would be for a response, Lovrak responded, “I don’t know
ma’am.”

Dispatcher Lovrak: They have to respond to
emergency, life-threatening situations first. The first
available deputy will be responding.

Griffin-Hall: Well this could be a life-
threatening situation.

It took seven minutes before Lovrak even dispatched a
deputy to the house as he asked the caseworker seemingly
unimportant questions about her role at the house and why
she was there. And then there was the exchange about the
car she was driving.

Griffin-Hall: I’m in a Prius. A 2010 Prius, with
the doors locked.

Lovrak: What color is it?

Griffin-Hall: He hasn’t opened the door.

Lovrak: Ma’am.

Griffin-Hall: I rang the doorbell and everything.

Lovrak: What color is your…

Griffin-Hall: I begged him to let me in.

Lovrak: Elizabeth. Please listen to my questions.
What color is the Toyota Prius?

Josh Powell murdered his two young boys while Lovrak was
on the phone with the caseworker. The house was an
inferno by the time the first deputies arrived.

Lovrak told Dateline NBC it’s hard to listen to
the way he fumbles through the call.

“It’s excruciating,” Lovrak said. “It’s painful to listen
to. Hindsight is always 20/20, and certainly realizing
what we all know now I wish I had recognized the urgency
of the situation.”

The reprimand recognizes that the call is being
scrutinized with the knowledge of the outcome, and it does
note that Lovrak entered the proper priority to the call.

The letter states that discipline is intended to correct
behavior and not be punitive, and the agency recognizes
that Lovrak has already made changes in the way he handles
calls.