Mom Dies After Boy's 911 Call Considered Prank

[englishleigh]

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

-->Perhaps they are relatives of Roy Nagin, NO/Katrina mayor.


.

 

[ljwf22]

-->Perhaps they are relatives of Roy Nagin, NO/Katrina mayor.


.

Mike Brown of FEMA, more like. :hand:

 

[Valinda]

This morning Fox is playing another 911 tape from Detroit in which a woman has been shot in the friggin' head and is calling for help and the 911 operator keeps asking her if she is a mental patient, is she crazy, etc....the woman lived but is permanently disabled....what is wrong with 911 in Detroit??????? :snooty:

Geez, I'd hate to have an emergency there. I'm about 90 miles away from Detroit. I do sometimes visit their casinos.

 

[ThoughtFox]

This is a truly sad and terrifying story! Children are taught at home and in kindergarten to call 911, and then this poor little boy is treated like this by an adult. It literally makes me sick at my stomach - the look on his little face in the pictures I've seen is just heartbreaking.

It literally makes me shake with anger to think about him sitting there for hours with his dead mother while this . . . woman . . . went on about her business with no conscience.

This can happen anywhere: We had a 911 scandal here in Tennessee recently, in which it was discovered that calls were not being answered or taken seriously, and phones were going unmanned - USA Today even covered the story:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-24-911-missed-calls_x.htm

Hoyt Branham, who lives in northern Hamilton County, said that in October 2004 he severed an artery in his arm while working in his shop. He called 911 in Chattanooga, told them he was bleeding profusely and provided his location. But no one showed up.

Branham, 70, said he was alone and getting weak, so he called neighbors and his daughter ended up taking him to the hospital. He said 911 operators later denied that he called, but a review of their recording equipment showed he did.

"I just don't trust them," Branham said.

It's dang scary!

 

[Floh]

I wonder if the reason she hasn't been fired is because the City would then be admitting 'guilt'? as she works for the City i would imagine ultimately that department would be found responsible?

i believe they will try to settle out of court without 'officially' admitting to anything.

meanwhile, the operator(s) responsible should be redeployed to some department where they could cause no further damage -- ever! :furious:

 

[BhamMama]

I still do not know what her health problem was, but will be watching the news.

I've heard it reported that she had heart problems with an enlarged heart being one of the main things.

I tried to avoid this. I just knew I shouldn't listen. Against my own advice I did it anyway.

This is sick! They have done something terribly wrong to that child and his family. The tone of their voice was uncalled for. I dont care how many prank calls you get. It's their job!!!

To think that poor baby sat there with his dead mother waiting on help and doing just what he was told is just heartbreaking.

 

[Valinda]

I wonder if the reason she hasn't been fired is because the City would then be admitting 'guilt'? as she works for the City i would imagine ultimately that department would be found responsible?

i believe they will try to settle out of court without 'officially' admitting to anything.

meanwhile, the operator(s) responsible should be redeployed to some department where they could cause no further damage -- ever! :furious:

I don't see how she can go on working there knowing that her gross negligence caused a little boy to lose his mother. It seems like the guilt alone would make her resign. Maybe she has no remorse. I could never forgive myself.

 

[Floh]

I don't see how she can go on working there knowing that her gross negligence caused a little boy to lose his mother. It seems like the guilt alone would make her resign. Maybe she has no remorse. I could never forgive myself.

Me neither, Valinda.

i hope she's watched very, very closely if she continues to do the same job.

i also hope she never rests easy.

nasty of me, i know. but that little chap has lost his mummy and will never have that absolute love again. bless his little heart. he tried to do the right thing and save her.

now the tears really are flowing here, a continent away.

 

[Reader]

This case was originally in Up to the Minute. The child's 911 call was ignored and his mother died after hours of waiting for help:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38330&highlight=robert+turner

Now, the two 911 operators have been charged:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/9/911_CALL_DEATH?SITE=FLTAL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

DETROIT (AP) -- Two 911 operators who authorities say wrongly assumed it was a prank when a 5-year-old boy called to report that his mother had collapsed have been charged with neglect of duty.

By the time an officer arrived, the boy's 46-year-old mother was dead.

"I understand they get a quite a few crank calls, but you have to take it seriously when someone calls 911," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Wednesday in announcing charges against Sharon Nichols, 43, and Terri Sutton, 47.
-------------------------------
Attorney Geoffrey Fieger, who defended assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city on behalf of the family. Fieger said Robert's mother, who had an enlarged heart, would have survived if help had been sent immediately.

Disciplinary action against the operators was pending and could range from suspension without pay to dismissal, police said.

The prosecutor refused to say if the two should have been fired, but added, "They should not be taking 911 calls."

 

[mssheila]

Charging these operators with Neglect of Duty seems pretty light to me. But at least they're being charged with something. Here's a quote from the article that made my blood boil.....

Kimberly Harris, president of the dispatchers' union, called the charges "absolutely ludicrous" and said the operators could not hear the boy's call well because they use antiquated headsets.
"If the operators were able to hear, then they would have heard what the little boy said, and he would have received the proper units," she said.

Good lord in heaven.. if they couldn't HEAR the boy, why did they ASSUME he was pranking them? Why would that be an assumption when you're trained and it's DRILLED INTO YOU that every single 911 call could be a life and death emergency. Even if a lonely elderly person calls for no particular reason, and says they just need a friend, some dispatchers treat that as an emergency because elderly people can become confused easily. If a child calls, you're taught to perk up and listen carefully... That child might not know what to tell you, and you are given interview skills to try to elicit the information from them. Even a 911 hang up, or a prank call. Sometimes you just don't know why someone is calling at all, and it doesn't make sense, you ALWAYS send someone to check it out. I was an emergency 911 operator, and I KNOW this to be fact.
The thing with the headsets is absurd. That's a bunch of BS if I've ever heard it. They heard and understood him, because they REPLIED to him. They repeated what he was saying sometimes. I am so angry over this!:behindbar

 

[LinasK]

Glad to hear the witches are being charged! Finally some justice in this world. They had no business being 911 opreators if they woudn't take it seriously. You send a unit, if it's a false alarm, you BILL the family for the prank!

 

[concernedperson]

Glad to hear the witches are being charged! Finally some justice in this world. They had no business being 911 opreators if they woudn't take it seriously. You send a unit, if it's a false alarm, you BILL the family for the prank!

I agree.I had an encounter with Dekalb County yesterday. He told me to hire a bodyguard. I said I have one and he called you. Then, I got sweeter and asked for more help. It won't matter in the long run. We will still have to do this on our own.It truly is a good cop vs. a bad cop. Or an indifferent cop. But, with that said I truly respect most.I am just living a strange situation.

 

[MSM]

I am also glad that they have finally charged these operators. They deserve more than a few days' suspension for letting that poor child's mother die. When they released the transcripts of the calls, I read them and thought that there was absolutely nothing in them that would make you think it was a prank.

Also: I understand that it's the union president's job to stand up for the operators, but she has made some truly asinine excuses for their behavior. This last one is total BS because if you read the transcripts, they clearly heard and responded to the child.

This case makes me furious :furious: and my heart breaks for the little boy who did what he was taught to get help, and instead got callous indifference.

 

[LinasK]

I agree.I had an encounter with Dekalb County yesterday. He told me to hire a bodyguard. I said I have one and he called you. Then, I got sweeter and asked for more help. It won't matter in the long run. We will still have to do this on our own.It truly is a good cop vs. a bad cop. Or an indifferent cop. But, with that said I truly respect most.I am just living a strange situation.

Hoping you are okay, CP...

 

[concernedperson]

Hoping you are okay, CP...

Working on it all the time.It will be..hoping for the best and knowing the other. I gave balloons to all the kids today.Whatever their parents issues are and if they are illegal or not, I just wanted to make it a kids day.

The big boss came in with his limo. The kids were intrigued.He actually allowed the kids to view this. I didn't say it but I wanted to, continue to strive as you never know where this will lead.I am a hopeful buffoon.And, I really like this guy. He isn't easy but he isn't mean either. It is so different being exposed to someone with responsibility. It is so different when someone steps up to the plate. I feel better.

 

[Bobbisangel]

Charging these operators with Neglect of Duty seems pretty light to me. But at least they're being charged with something. Here's a quote from the article that made my blood boil.....

Kimberly Harris, president of the dispatchers' union, called the charges "absolutely ludicrous" and said the operators could not hear the boy's call well because they use antiquated headsets.
"If the operators were able to hear, then they would have heard what the little boy said, and he would have received the proper units," she said.

Good lord in heaven.. if they couldn't HEAR the boy, why did they ASSUME he was pranking them? Why would that be an assumption when you're trained and it's DRILLED INTO YOU that every single 911 call could be a life and death emergency. Even if a lonely elderly person calls for no particular reason, and says they just need a friend, some dispatchers treat that as an emergency because elderly people can become confused easily. If a child calls, you're taught to perk up and listen carefully... That child might not know what to tell you, and you are given interview skills to try to elicit the information from them. Even a 911 hang up, or a prank call. Sometimes you just don't know why someone is calling at all, and it doesn't make sense, you ALWAYS send someone to check it out. I was an emergency 911 operator, and I KNOW this to be fact.
The thing with the headsets is absurd. That's a bunch of BS if I've ever heard it. They heard and understood him, because they REPLIED to him. They repeated what he was saying sometimes. I am so angry over this!:behindbar

They should be fired for the way they talked to that little guy. They were so rude and threatening. They didn't do their job. That is the bottom line and because they didn't do their job a lady is dead. I'm sure that the city will settle up with the family instead of going to court because they have already admitted that the women were in the wrong.

 

[Bobbisangel]

Working on it all the time.It will be..hoping for the best and knowing the other. I gave balloons to all the kids today.Whatever their parents issues are and if they are illegal or not, I just wanted to make it a kids day.

The big boss came in with his limo. The kids were intrigued.He actually allowed the kids to view this. I didn't say it but I wanted to, continue to strive as you never know where this will lead.I am a hopeful buffoon.And, I really like this guy. He isn't easy but he isn't mean either. It is so different being exposed to someone with responsibility. It is so different when someone steps up to the plate. I feel better.

What is going on or would you rather not say? Maybe you have already talked about it somewhere on here and I didn't see it. If you would rather not say that is alright too.

 

[concernedperson]

What is going on or would you rather not say? Maybe you have already talked about it somewhere on here and I didn't see it. If you would rather not say that is alright too.

No, this is different. I am seeing people step up to the plate.I am seeing responsibility. I am seeing big people with lots of money say it is time for everyone to have a chance. This is wonderful for me. I have been in real estate for awhile.

I saw a lot today. I saw some things that can't be expressed on a board.I am just so happy that everyone is not being discounted and balloons make a difference in children's lives. And that someone who has lots of money would take a step to see that every situation is not a standard and give the opportunity. Some things are so much better than yesterday. Just better, I think someone cares. I am much happier.

 

[nanandjim]

They should be fired for the way they talked to that little guy. They were so rude and threatening. They didn't do their job. That is the bottom line and because they didn't do their job a lady is dead. I'm sure that the city will settle up with the family instead of going to court because they have already admitted that the women were in the wrong.

I think that they should be fired and prosecuted. IMO, they are directly responsible for this mother dying. Isn't that involuntary manslaughter? This child not only lost his mother, he will surely suffer his entire life, thinking that he is somehow responsible for her death.

You can bet if this child were from a wealthy family the operators would be held accountable for their actions. On second thought, if he were from a wealthy section of town, the mother would probably still be alive because the operators may have responded differently.

 

[Angels_Not_Forgotten]

I think that they should be fired and prosecuted. IMO, they are directly responsible for this mother dying. Isn't that involuntary manslaughter? This child not only lost his mother, he will surely suffer his entire life, thinking that he is somehow responsible for her death.

You can bet if this child were from a wealthy family the operators would be held accountable for their actions. On second thought, if he were from a wealthy section of town, the mother would probably still be alive because the operators may have responded differently.

ITA. This is SUCH a sad case. There is NO reason for what happended to have happened. We teach our children to call 911 in case of an emergency and for what? SO they can be laughed at, threatened, and ignored? This is a serious crime in my eyes so it deserves a serious punnishment. As stated above, 911 isnt a charity service. If it was a prank, the family pays. if its real, then they have done their job. They could have easily sent someone, just ONE officer or ONE parimedic to the scene. something simple could have saved this from being such a tragidy.