Karima Holmes, the director of D.C.’s Office of Unified Communications, will step down next year. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed Holmes’s departure from the agency, which handles the city’s 911 and 311 calls, on Tuesday. Her resignation comes as the office faces an audit over its alleged mishandling of emergency dispatches.
During a press briefing, Bowser said Holmes let her know a few weeks ago that Holmes “had an incredible opportunity for herself and her family,” but did not specify her reason for leaving. The mayor added that Holmes has improved OUC during her tenure.
But the agency is currently under intense scrutiny over its performance. District lawmakers and residents have raised alarms about inadequate OUC dispatches for years, and now the Office of the D.C. Auditor is moving forward with a formal review.
“This audit will evaluate the effectiveness of OUC’s 911 Operations Division against national standards, review a sample of 911 call recording and data, evaluate OUC culture and training, review OUC’s technological capabilities, and review OUC’s internal investigations of past incidents,” says a September solicitation to consulting firms for the audit. At the time, D.C. Auditor Kathleen Patterson told DCist she didn’t expect the audit to be finished until at least summer 2021, depending on the bids for the project and OUC’s level of cooperation.
A spokesperson for the office didn’t immediately respond to DCist’s request for comment about Holmes’ departure. Holmes will stay in her role until she takes a new job outside of the region after the presidential inauguration in January, NBC Washington reports.
Bowser appointed Holmes, a veteran of emergency communications, in 2016. Holmes is credited with overhauling OUC’s technical infrastructure, software platforms, and programs, including by introducing a 911 texting service and a new dispatching protocol for emergency responders.
Still, a number of incidents under her watch have raised questions about the agency’s emergency-coordination abilities.
Last August, D.C. police recovered the bodies of three men who had been boating in the Potomac River and gone overboard. First responders requested help with the search, giving the location as near the Capital Cove Marina at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. But OUC dispatched land units to the Anacostia Community Boathouse — located more than five miles away and on the wrong river — news reporting showed.
D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesperson Vito Maggiolo told DCist in August its incident commander heard the misdirected dispatch and “immediately corrected it.” In a statement, an OUC spokesperson told the Washington Post the dispatcher had made an error.
Previously, in June, a D.C. woman died after first responders were dispatched to the wrong address in the wrong quadrant of the city. Holmes later apologized, per FOX 5.
When asked on Tuesday whether she’s considering restructuring OUC or making other major changes, Mayor Bowser said no.
Holmes’ departure follows those of two other public safety officials in the District. D.C. Fire and EMS Chief Gregory Dean announced his retirement in September, and last month news broke that Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham will leave D.C. to head up Prince William County’s police department in Virginia.
