RELEASE OF ADDITONAL 9/11 - 911 CALLS
Monday, August 14th, 2006TO:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WTC FAMILY SUPPORT GROUPS
FROM:Â Â COMMISSIONER PATRICK BRENNAN
              MAYOR’S OFFICE, COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE UNIT
DATE:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â AUGUST 14, 2006
SUBJECT:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â RELEASE OF ADDITONAL 9/11 - 911 CALLS
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I write to advise you that in the very near future, the City of New York will be publicly releasing recordings of additional telephone calls made on the morning of September 11, 2001. This release will supplement the City’s March 2006 public release of recordings of telephone calls made on September 11, 2001. The release of these records is pursuant to the principles established by the New York Court of Appeals in its opinion concerning the public release of New York City Fire Department (“FDNYâ€?) records concerning September 11th; that Court opinion was described more fully in our March 2006 letter (copy enclosed) concerning the earlier release. Of the additional telephone calls being released only ten are previously unreleased 911 calls made by civilians who were inside the World Trade Center and were seeking assistance. The overwhelming majority of the calls being released are not 911 calls at all, but are other kinds of calls recorded by the FDNY dispatch system.Â
The 911 Calls from the World Trade Center
Of these ten 911 calls made from the World Trade Center, two calls, and part of a third call, were not included in the March release because they had been identified as possible evidence in the federal criminal trial of Zacharias Moussaoui. Prosecutors in the United States Attorney’s Office had previously asked that the public release of these calls await the completion of that trial. The City has contacted the next of kin of each of these callers and offered to provide them with unredacted CDs of the calls.Â
Of the seven other 911 calls, only two contain sufficient identifying information to identify the caller. The next of kin of these deceased callers have been contacted and offered a CD containing an unredacted copy of their loved one’s call. Therefore, if a surviving next of kin of a deceased person has not been contacted by the City, we have not identified a 911 call from that person.
The Court of Appeals ruled that civilian callers to 911 on September 11th have a privacy right in their words. Accordingly, the callers’ portion of these ten calls has been redacted from these conversations, so that the words of those who called 911 from the World Trade Center will not be released. Only the words of the 911 operators, and of other government employees performing their duties, will be released. (The sole exception is the portion of the one call that was played, in unredacted form, at the Moussaoui trial; the portion played at trial is unredacted; the remainder of that call is being released in redacted form.)Â
Other 911 Calls from outside the World Trade Center
There are other 911 calls being released which were made from outside the World Trade Center. Many of these callers were people on the streets of downtown Manhattan, helping others who were having trouble breathing or had other physical problems as a result of the attacks. These callers were seeking advice and assistance from EMS. (EMS, the Emergency Medical Service, is part of the FDNY.) The callers’ words on these calls are also being redacted. These calls demonstrate the exceptional compassion and assistance New Yorkers provided to each other on that awful day.Â
FDNY Dispatch Calls
The FDNY dispatch system is operated by FDNY dispatchers, who primarily transmit information, instructions and assignments to other employees of the FDNY. Most of these calls were between FDNY dispatchers and other FDNY employees. These include calls by firefighters, fire officers and emergency medical service personnel who sought or provided information or instructions. The bravery and calm of the members of the FDNY as they courageously performed their duties on that terrible day are very evident in these recordings. There are also calls between FDNY employees and health care providers concerning available emergency capacity at local hospitals. The words of FDNY employees and health care providers performing their duties are not redacted. Under the reasoning of the Court of Appeals’ opinion, such persons do not have a right of privacy in their words.Â
All the calls are being released as a result of a comprehensive review ordered by New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta to ensure that all FDNY emergency and dispatch calls about the attack on September 11th are released to the public.Â
I ask that you share this information with members of your organization and anyone else you think appropriate. If you have further questions please call the Mayor’s Office, CAU at 212-788-7418. Thank you for your assistance.
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Ada Rehnberg-Campos
Mayor’s Office
Community Assistance Unit
100 Gold Street, 2nd Floor
New York, N.Y. 10038
arehnberg@cityhall.nyc.gov
212-788-7410
212-788-7754 (Fax)