The Western New York town of Tonawanda is under fire after they sent out an Emergency Alert on the morning of 9/11 and, apparently, then lied about it being “only a test”:
If you received this message on your phone this morning, the Town of Tonawanda is testing a new emergency alert program. This Emergency Alert was only a test. pic.twitter.com/6AZAWriruz
— Town_Tonawanda_PD (@TTPD) September 11, 2020
Right? Usually, a “test” would have the words “this is a test” in it:
No it wasn’t. You screwed up and now need to make up an excuse. @TTPD You don’t “test” your emergency alert system on 9/11 and you don’t “test” your system with a message other than “This is a test.” pic.twitter.com/NG9376htva
— Eric Nagel (@ericnagel) September 11, 2020
It confused the media this morning as well:
Did you just get this COVID-19 alert on your phone from the Town of Tonawanda? We are working to learn more. pic.twitter.com/SZMt8pOAOq
— WGRZ (@WGRZ) September 11, 2020
Later on, the town supervisor, Joe Emminger, admitted the message was sent on purpose and it was an “error of judgment”:
Town of Tonawanda Supervisor Joe Emminger says the emergency alert was not a test, but an intentional push that was made in error of judgment and meant only for town residents, not the entire region’s 911 system. He reiterates it should not have happened on 9/11 or at that hour. https://t.co/62oN9DPDv5
— Andy Young (@AndyYoungTV) September 11, 2020
Whoops!
1. Earlier today the town sent out, through our iPAWS mass communication tool a iMessage reminding people to be vigilant about Covid protocols.The message was sent out through our emergency services coordinator without notifying anyone else including myself or the chief of police
— Joe Emminger (@joeemmingerr) September 11, 2020
Mistakes were made, he admitted:
2. There were numerous mistakes made in sending out this message. First of all, the message should not have been sent out through the emergency 911 system. Second, it was a totally inappropriate day and time to send a message out. The 9 o’clock hour on 9/11 is a sacred time.
— Joe Emminger (@joeemmingerr) September 11, 2020
And he’s really sorry:
3. Third, the message was supposed to go out to Tonawanda residents only, not the entire region. As Supervisor of the town, I apologize, not only to the residents of the Town of Tonawanda but also to the residents of our region for any higher anxiety levels or stress levels.
— Joe Emminger (@joeemmingerr) September 11, 2020
The message also crashed the town’s website, which is actually a good thing to know for when there’s a real emergency:
4. The message asked people to go to our website to find out more information. The people did exactly as they were asked to do but due to the volume, our town website crashed. It may be down for most of the day. We will be addressing this issue as well as review the events
— Joe Emminger (@joeemmingerr) September 11, 2020
So, apology accepted?
5. Once again, I apologize for the embarrassment that this has caused the Town of Tonawanda and I appreciate your understanding.
— Joe Emminger (@joeemmingerr) September 11, 2020
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