Lincoln dispatcher honored last week

LINCOLN, CA — It was a night to honor those just doing their job.

But for many of these individuals, including honored Lincoln dispatcher Staci Poole, doing their job means lives are saved.

Placer County Law Enforcement Agencies held the annual Honors and Awards Ceremony last Thursday at Sunset Christian Center in Rocklin.

The night’s keynote speaker was also just doing her job but it lead to the solving of one of the nation’s most infamous kidnapping cases.

Officer Ally Jacobs of the University of California at Berkeley Police Department is credited with helping crack the Jaycee Lee Dugard kidnapping case and bring her captor, Philip Garrido, to justice.

In her first speaking engagement, Jacobs recounted the story of Aug. 26, 2009, the day Garrido was arrested and her life changed forever.

The previous day, Jacobs was tired and ready to end her shift when she was persuaded to sit in on a meeting with another campus officer and a man with his two daughters.

The man went off on a tirade, not unusual for Berkeley, she said.

“But then the children caught my eye,” said Jacobs, a mother of two boys. “You have this crazy guy with these two beautiful kids. It didn’t add up.”

She gathered as much evidence as she could from the conversation but had to let him go.

“It was so frustrating for me that I had nothing to go on other than my gut,” she said. “My stomach hurt. I did not want to let those kids go with him.”

A call to his parole officer raised suspicions that these were not his kids. Later that night, Jacobs got a call back from the officer, saying the tip on Garrido had helped find Jaycee Dugard.

Then Jacobs’ life changed with a flurry of media attention for her actions.

But it was the praise she got from her peers that meant the most, she said. She left the room filled with law enforcement members and their families by telling them that they deserve this praise.

“Don’t be afraid to do your job,” she said. “Do it like no one is watching. And if you do that, you are going above and beyond.”

Staci Poole recognized for distinguished service

Lincoln Police Department dispatcher Poole was recognized at the awards ceremony for her determination in finding the location of a terminated 9-1-1 call in which the caller talked about having a gun to his head.

At 11:20 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2010, Poole received a cellular 9-1-1 call. She heard two men talking; one of the men said he had a gun to his head, according to Placer County Law Enforcement Agencies.

At that point, the call was terminated. Poole tried unsuccessfully to find the location of the caller through the 9-1-1 system.

After trying several other resources, Poole located the address of the call and sent officers.

Arriving, officers found a male subject holding a shotgun to his head.

Poole was working alone and handled many demands, including calling for SWAT, mutual aid and additional help for herself in dispatch.

She accomplished all those call outs while maintaining excellent communications with her field units and answering incoming telephone calls, according to Placer County Law Enforcement Agencies.

The incident was resolved successfully with a person being taken safely into custody and no injuries to officers.

For her tenacity in finding the location of the caller and her excellent dispatching skills during this critical incident, Poole was awarded a Distinguished Service Commendation.

Read the full story here.

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