District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
In June 2015, Jullette M. Saussy was named the medical director of DC Fire and EMS. On January 29, 2016, she announced her resignation from that position in a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser. In her letter, she called the department's culture "highly toxic to the delivery of any semblance of quality pre-hospital medical care."
History of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
In late August 2011, the department shuttered its Twitter account, which had been in operation since March 2009. It also encrypted its police radio broadcasts. The department's communications director, Lon Walls, justified the closure by saying, "Social media is for parties. We ain't giving parties". Chief Ellerbe provided a different rationale, arguing that incorrect information could be distributed by the Twitter feed, endangering public safety or causing problems for emergency responders. After pushback from local media, the account returned, although it no longer reported crime-related events. The department refused to decrypt its radio use, however.