Columbus police are investigating an emergency dispatcher whose brusque replies to a rape victim have garnered national attention.

Columbus police are investigating an emergency dispatcher whose brusque replies to a rape victim have garnered national attention.

Shortly before 5 a.m. on June 8, a woman called 911 to say she had been raped at a friend's house on E. 14th Ave. near Ohio State University.

She said she was awakened by a man she didn't know who pressed a gun against her head and forced her to perform oral sex. After, he fled out the back door.

During the call, the woman provided her location as an intersection near the house, but she couldn't give an exact address. She said she was afraid to go outside to look at the address and asked whether police could instead track her cellphone.

"OK, they're not going to be able to find you like that, if you're going to say 14th and Summit," the dispatcher replied. "You're going to have to come outside."

Moments later, through sobs, the woman struggled to describe the man, saying only that he was a "small white boy" in a white shirt.

"Ma'am, you're going to have to quit crying so I can get the information from you," the dispatcher said.

When the woman couldn't add more to the description, the dispatcher replied, "Well, they're not going to be able to find him on this information that you've given. We'll send the officers over to talk to you."

"You're kidding me, right?" the woman responded. "I'm like a 20-year-old from Upper Arlington. I don't know what you deal with every day, but the kind of sympathy you have right now is zero."

"Ma'am, you've only given me a white male with a white shirt," the dispatcher said. "How many white males are out there?"

Later in the eight-minute call, the woman asked whether officers were close.

"Yes, ma'am. Campus is not that big. They're driving to you," the dispatcher said.

A day after the assault, police arrested Michael Callihan, 30, and charged him with rape and aggravated burglary in the crime. Police records show he was arrested at his North Linden home at 2798 Pontiac St. He's also accused of stealing a cellphone from the home.

Police haven't provided the name of the dispatcher. The Dispatch typically doesn't use the names of sexual-assault victims.

As a recording of the call circulated on the Internet and television, the dispatcher became the target of critics who said she lacked compassion.

After that outcry, the dispatcher was "retrained," said Columbus police spokesman Denise Alex-Bouzounis.

"Also, there's an internal investigation that CPD is conducting to ensure that (standard operating procedure) is followed," she said.

cbinkley@dispatch.com

@cbinkley