Lawsuit settlement calls for change to Kansas City’s 911 communication center

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A lawsuit over a mishandled 911 call has led to a $4.124 million settlement for a Prairie Village man, but he says even more important, it will lead to change.

The family is speaking out about a key piece of the settlement—hopeful that something good will come out of their tragedy.

Cathryn McClelland was 41 years old when she collapsed in her Prairie Village home five years ago. She was home alone with her two young children. Her 8-year-old son called 911 for help.

The call was made on a cell phone, so it should have gone to the Prairie Village Police Department. Instead, it went to Kansas City. The released 911 tape revealed call takers were confused on how to handle it.

“I’ve listened to this call repeatedly,” said Frank McClelland, Cathy’s husband. “I still feel it’s heart-wrenching. Makes me choke up every time I hear (my son’s) voice on that call.”

ALSO READ: Kansas City expected to pay family $4 million in wrongful death lawsuit regarding 911 phone call

The call needed to be transferred to Johnson County, but it stayed in Kansas City. Call takers couldn’t seem to find the right number to make the transfer.

In all, it took 13 minutes before an ambulance was sent to Cathryn’s home. First responders got a pulse, but her brain was deprived of oxygen for too long. She died four days later.

Cathryn’s Code part of the settlement

KCTV5 recently talked with Frank McClelland and the lawyer representing the family, Brian McCallister.

We asked Frank how the family is doing.

“Well, we’re doing as well as we can,” said Frank. “I mean, like my kids are growing up without their mother, going on without my wife, Cathy,”

“This is what happens when we don’t have well-trained call takers,” said Brian McCallister. “The system ain’t working right now. We’ve got to do something.”

As part of the settlement with the City of Kansas City and the Kansas City Police Department, Cathryn’s Code will be implemented. It’s a systematic review of Kansas City’s 911 calls. At least 50 calls every month will be randomly audited for quality assurance.

ALSO READ: New technology and revamped training push to improve KC 911 wait times and response

Frank told us he was surprised that it wasn’t already happening.

“I was shocked,” said Frank. “I was appalled at the lack of accountability at the Kansas City Missouri Police Department’s call center.”

Both Frank and McCallister are intrigued by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas’ proposal to combine police and fire communications under one roof.

They point to long hold times as evidence of a broken system. It’s gotten worse since Cathryn’s death in 2019.

The numbers don’t tell the full story. Some days are worse than others.

This July had an average hold time of 52 seconds. On six days, the average hold time was more than a full minute.

Frank’s experience with his wife changed his perspective on 911. He recently had an emergency for his son and at that moment, he thought twice about what he should do.

He didn’t trust where his call would go, and what could happen.

“I started to call 911, but then I stopped, and I decided that it would be better and faster for me just to put him in the car and take him to Children’s Mercy Hospital myself,” said Frank.

His son is fine and Frank is hopeful that with Cathryn’s Code implemented, more families can trust the system.

“(I’m) really looking forward to improvement in the system,” said Frank. “We need it.”

Mayor Quinton Lucas weighs in

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has been vocal about Kansas City’s 911-hold problem. Last May, he turned to social media to share that when his sister called 911 for his mother, she waited on hold for five minutes.

“When you call and you don’t get an answer is wholly unacceptable,” said Lucas. “Every person who calls should have a call answered in less than 15 seconds.”

He believes unifying services is one way to address it.

“We use fire, we use police, we use different jurisdictions all combined to make sure we have enough staff, that we have adequate technology and so that no one is ever just sitting around waiting,” said Lucas. “That, to me, is an important step in the solution, but I hope people keep the public pressure up.”

For more reporting on 911 wait times in Kansas City, click here.

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