NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A Channel 4 report on an excessive wait time at Nashville's 911 is one of the reasons Mayor Karl Dean is making a change in the center's leadership.

Metro police Lt. Duane Phillips, who has 36 years of service with police, will now be the interim director of the center.

Phillips, who has worked at the center in the past as a supervisor, is succeeding Terry Griffith. Griffith will help though with the transition.

Griffith’s background has been primarily in management. Dean and others said they felt that someone with more of a public safety background would be best suited to serve during the interim period.

"This is the one area of the government to where, as a mayor, you want to be able to – when you go to sleep at night – know that everything is being done the best possible way. I think making this change right now is appropriate. I’m very confident that Lt. Phillips is the right person to come in and be the interim director, and he’ll focus on response times. He’ll focus on making sure that everything is done right," said Dean.

Last week, Channel 4 reported the story of downtown resident Ben Bahil, who said he had to wait four and a half minutes for someone to even answer the line after he and his wife were attacked outside their apartment.

The search for a permanent director is ongoing.

Bahil said he is happy that Dean is taking action.