Woman dies after son calls 911; dispatchers think it's a prank Update: Detroit, April 7, 2006, 12:24 p.m.) An investigation is underway in Detroit after a six-year-old boy called 911 to get help for his mom, and the operator acted as if it were a joke. Detroit NBC Affiliate WDIV reports that six-year-old Robert Turner called 911 on February 20. He thought his mother, 46-year-old Sherel Turner, had passed out. She was later found dead. 911 tapes detail the call, where the boy tells a female operator that his mom had passed out. The operator demands to speak to an adult before sending police. The boy eventually hung up and called back a short time later. This time, the same operator warns the boy that he could get in trouble for making a prank call to 911. The boy said police didn't arrive until three hours later and found his mother dead. The family is now pursuing a lawsuit. Officials said the 911 operator will be disciplined, but because of her years of service she will not be fired. Police continue to investigate.

Dispatcher needs to be thrown in jail, solitary confinement for the rest of her stupidass life.

Poor kid.

Stupid cunt.

FIRE HER!

I'm curious.

When dispatchers go through their training, I assume that they must have some kind of training that deals with prank calls.

What's the SOP for determining if a call is a prank or not? Is it just left up to the judgement of the dispatcher?

Quoted: FIRE JAIL HER!

Quoted: I'm curious. When dispatchers go through their training, I assume that they must have some kind of training that deals with prank calls. What's the SOP for determining if a call is a prank or not? Is it just left up to the judgement of the dispatcher?

Probably if you hear snickering in the background, or if the victim's name is Mike Hunt, it's a prank.

government services are intended for the public as a whole, not any specific individual. though it sucks that as*holes like that are doing that job, the family will win no lawsuits...

Execute her





(after finding her guilty)

ah, we can always trust in the profesionalism and compassion of government workers.



I just picture this fat, stupid oprah watcher acting like a bitch on the phone because it's the one thing in her sad, pathetic life that she has any control over.

Thats is totally unacceptable.  I wonder what the official policey is on what to do if they think its a prank call?  Do they have guide lines the say when they can and cannot dismis a call?

Who has a link to the 911 call that was posted on here a few days ago?

Woman called and said her two daughters were fighting, age 11 and 13 or something, and the operator says "what do you want us to come over and shoot them?"

Quoted: Quoted: I'm curious. When dispatchers go through their training, I assume that they must have some kind of training that deals with prank calls. What's the SOP for determining if a call is a prank or not? Is it just left up to the judgement of the dispatcher? Probably if you hear snickering in the background, or if the victim's name is Mike Hunt, it's a prank.

I'm serious. What's the SOP? Is there any?

From just what the news article says, it sounds like the dispatcher couldn't have possibly been following it, or even using good judgment, but I'd like to at least get a baseline to go off of before I determine how much of and idiot this dispatcher was.

This version has the Union Leaders take on it
www.ktvu.com/family/8529743/detail.html
Must be nice to have a union gig.  You can kill somebody and still keep your job.

Quoted: Poor kid.

Oy! You ain't kiddin'!

That bitch should be fired. ALIVE.

Quoted: Quoted: FIRE JAIL HER!

+1

When I was a kid, my good buddy next door to me came home from school one day to find his uncle laying on the floor.  My friend  called 911, the operator thought the call was a prank and the uncle died while my friend desperately tried to revive him.  Nothing happened to the operator as a result.  Fucking assholes...

--VT

Quoted: This version has the Union Leaders take on it www.ktvu.com/family/8529743/detail.html Must be nice to have a union gig.  You can kill somebody and still keep your job.

. . . Officials said the 911 operator will be disciplined, but because of her years of service she will not be fired. "I know that operator. I know that she is a very good operator," said Harris. "She is very thorough." . . .

I guess if you're on the job long enough - you get one free pass on killing someone before they REALLY start coming down hard on you.

That's fucked up.
Worst part, that kid is going to blame himself for a long time.

911 Operator: "I don't care. You shouldn't be playing on the phone. Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble."[/quote]

That's real nice...

Paging R-32!

Quoted: [I'm serious. What's the SOP? Is there any?

Will vary by agency.

When I first hired in to the dept.  I was given a tour of central dispatch.  I kid you not, the dispatchers on duty were either reading romance novels or doing needle point.  Only one of the dispatchers that I have ever known was under 200 lbs.   All the rest were hogs.

I gotta say this, Detroit is seriously short staffed,both Fire,EMS and Police.  They may be trying to screen calls a little better.  Clearly this woman screwed up,probably related to some one high up in Detroit politics.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm curious. When dispatchers go through their training, I assume that they must have some kind of training that deals with prank calls. What's the SOP for determining if a call is a prank or not? Is it just left up to the judgement of the dispatcher? Probably if you hear snickering in the background, or if the victim's name is Mike Hunt, it's a prank. I'm wondering if that's exactly what happened?

Not at all.

The original link in the story I posted has a link to the audio of the 911 call. Kid was speaking well for a six year old and wasn't laughing or anything - very deadpan serious and the dispatcher immediately started hacking on him.

911 Kills.

Ban 911, do it for the children.

Not to play devils advocate but both of my sons called 911 as pranks.  Both got their butts beat for it and neither have attempted to do it again.  What I'm getting at is IF my two sons both did it - its easy to assume other's have as well.  

I should note that neither of my boys made up a lie about an emergency.  Both were under 5.

Patty

Wow...

OK, I work in a dispatch center, and Yes that shit does go down from time to time. I have never seen it happin in my center.  In this case you can thank the Union she is not being thrown out on her butt. My center we are not union. (That would mean we threw them out on their ass!, all they do is promote lazy behavior....just look at a Union Firefighter)<--- that is a crack at Firedog51d for being a  tard... ( Since Im also a Firefighter I can make cracks about what the gals do in dispatch, but if you want to pick on them doing crafts, and reading it just shows you did not learn squat.)

OK back on track...

We do get tons of crank calls every day, most are from little boys who use a cellphone that is no longer in service (9-1-1 only). or a coin phone. If we can get an address at least a cop goes no matter what. I have had calls were I thought the call was a crank and it turned out real...Im not willing to risk your mother/fathers/childs life on my judgement on wether the call is a crank or not. ( I made my one big mistake a few years back, I did not kill anyone, but it was bad.)

I dont know what she was thinking....But you can bet, if this is her first one this year, and they are union, she will get at least two more chances before she gets canned.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm curious. When dispatchers go through their training, I assume that they must have some kind of training that deals with prank calls. What's the SOP for determining if a call is a prank or not? Is it just left up to the judgement of the dispatcher? Probably if you hear snickering in the background, or if the victim's name is Mike Hunt, it's a prank. I'm serious. What's the SOP? Is there any? From just what the news article says, it sounds like the dispatcher couldn't have possibly been following it, or even using good judgment, but I'd like to at least get a baseline to go off of before I determine how much of and idiot this dispatcher was.

A friend of mine (the local dispatcher) stated that at least one officer is sent to ALL CALLS.

citations are issued if it turns out to be a prank.

ETA:  he did say it is up to the dispatcher to send the officer.  The department does not allow dispatchers to use discretion in 911 calls in order to avoid liability.

Quoted: What's the SOP for determining if a call is a prank or not? Is it just left up to the judgement of the dispatcher?

I have never lived in a jurisdiction that did not immediately send an officer to a 9-1-1 call. Even if the caller called and asked "Is sally home? ... Sorry wrong number.", they would dispatch an officer under the assumption it might be some kind of kidnap or something.

After working and dealing with the morons that we have for dispatchers, I tought my oldest, and now I'm starting with the middle one, that if they have to call 911 and the dispatcher says that they aren't sending someone unless they talk to an adult, they are to hang up and then hit redial and scream their lungs out, until someone comes to the house.  

I'm not going to say what I would do to this waste of flesh.

Redbaron

My then one year old son once accidentally called 911 while playing with the phone once, and then the phone got hung up.

The Madison PD were there with 2 B&W's and 2 officer's within 2 minutes and would not leave until they toured the house to ensure someone wasn't be held hostage or whatever.  This all happened while I was out in the back yard cleaning the pool.  First thing I knew about it was when all of a sudden there's an armed cop on my back porch.  

After they explained why they were there, and why they needed to see the house and everyone in it, all was cool.

Saw the cops later that afternoon when we went to dinner and I thanked them again for coming so soon.  My son's 11 now, almost 12.

Merlin

We send two officers to every 911 call.  Even if its just kids playing on the phone or Jorge trying to dial and international number.  If the call comes in the to 911 center two officers respond.

Dispatcher should be fired and if it can be proven that the three hour delay contributed to the womans death then there should be a civil judgement.

Quoted: Thats is totally unacceptable.  I wonder what the official policey is on what to do if they think its a prank call?  Do they have guide lines the say when they can and cannot dismis a call? Who has a link to the 911 call that was posted on here a few days ago? Woman called and said her two daughters were fighting, age 11 and 13 or something, and the operator says "what do you want us to come over and shoot them?"

I'm sure everyone has heard the tape of the actually 911 call by a woman calling to complain about her drive through hamburger order by now?

Quoted: When I was a kid, my good buddy next door to me came home from school one day to find his uncle laying on the floor.  My friend  called 911, the operator thought the call was a prank and the uncle died while my friend desperately tried to revive him.  Nothing happened to the operator as a result.  Fucking assholes... --VT

Brings up the question of does the state have any obligation to respond? Why default to the nanny state in every emergency?  Why not call an ambulance service, your doctor, a family member or friend? Especially if you have already been blown off by the local 911 operator.

Quoted: Quoted: When I was a kid, my good buddy next door to me came home from school one day to find his uncle laying on the floor.  My friend  called 911, the operator thought the call was a prank and the uncle died while my friend desperately tried to revive him.  Nothing happened to the operator as a result.  Fucking assholes... --VT Brings up the question of does the state have any obligation to respond? Why default to the nanny state in every emergency?  Why not call an ambulance service, your doctor, a family member or friend? Especially if you have already been blown off by the local 911 operator.

Do most 6 year olds have the numbers of local ambulance services at hand?  He's 6.... give him some fucking nanny state for god sakes.  If you don't want the sheep to dial 911 for everything, then you guys need to work on your leaders to stop telling them to depend on 911 for everything.

I love that.  "You don't need to prepared, be armed, defend yourself, ect. you have the police!" ------ "Would you stop calling us for everything god damn it!"

Quoted: Quoted: Thats is totally unacceptable.  I wonder what the official policey is on what to do if they think its a prank call?  Do they have guide lines the say when they can and cannot dismis a call? Who has a link to the 911 call that was posted on here a few days ago? Woman called and said her two daughters were fighting, age 11 and 13 or something, and the operator says "what do you want us to come over and shoot them?" I'm sure everyone has heard the tape of the actually 911 call by a woman calling to complain about her drive through hamburger order by now?

Did the child ask for a hamburger?

I heard about this the night they reported it, and was gonna post something but there were no website links available yet.

The dispatcher SHOULD be fired, no ifs, ands, or buts, regardless of her past.

That kid did exactly what every single parent wants..they called 911 in an emergency, and they were ignored.  A parent died. hell, charge the dispatcher with negligent homicide... some form of manslaughter.

No Expert

Quoted: government services are intended for the public as a whole, not any specific individual. though it sucks that as*holes like that are doing that job, the family will win no lawsuits...

On this one they will I would think.  IANAL but it would appear to be negligence of some type.

Yes, government services are intended for the public as a whole, but in this case there was NO attempt made at providing them.

Dumb operator needs to be kicked in the ass a few times on the way to jail.

Quoted: That's fucked up. Worst part, that kid is going to blame himself for a long time.

Yup.  Worse still is what will happen to him?  If he doesn't have a father figure in his life, he'll either bounce around relatives houses or end up in an orphnage or foster home somewhere.

Eventually he may end up in a gang somewhere committing crimes because he didn't have a strong mother to tell him right and wrong.

911 dispatch is not allowed to hang up on a caller.  I tell my son if an emergency is enough for him to feel the need to dial that number, then he'd better not hang up until the police arrive.  But upon hearing more of these instances, I think the best thing for him to do is just dial 911 and put the phone down on the table (not saying a word).

I assume that they must have some kind of training that deals with prank calls.

A couple of years ago this subject came-up when I was talking to the uniformed patrol captain at the local sheriff's office.  He said that if the dispatcher thought it was a prank call, you send an officer rather than an ambulance.  The officers are all "public safety" officers meaning that they have both fire and EMS training so if there is a problem they can help.  If there isn't a problem then they can handle that by issuing a warning or citation.  Either way, someone gets sent.  I like that policy.z

We get dispatched to all 911 hang-ups and misdials/wrong numbers, there's no excuse not to go to something like this; to either respond to an actual emergency or chew out a prank-calling little shit.

Quoted: 911 dispatch is not allowed to hang up on a caller.

Who the hell are you kidding?...

I hang up on people all of the time.

I tell my son if an emergency is enough for him to feel the need to dial that number, then he'd better not hang up until the police arrive.

Im OK with that, and encourage you to keep telling him that, but I will hang up on your son in a heartbeat if Im backing Emergency calls for something that is not "In Progress" (CPR/Burg in progress/Robbery/Someone getting their ass beat ifo your kid..ect)

But upon hearing more of these instances, I think the best thing for him to do is just dial 911 and put the phone down on the table (not saying a word).

He will get a open line 9-1-1 responce, and in most places that is a Priority level 2 type call...You need to not teach him that. You could be the one putting his life in jeopardy.

Quoted: Quoted: When I was a kid, my good buddy next door to me came home from school one day to find his uncle laying on the floor.  My friend  called 911, the operator thought the call was a prank and the uncle died while my friend desperately tried to revive him.  Nothing happened to the operator as a result.  Fucking assholes... --VT Brings up the question of does the state have any obligation to respond? Why default to the nanny state in every emergency?  Why not call an ambulance service, your doctor, a family member or friend? Especially if you have already been blown off by the local 911 operator.

You make an excellent point.  

It's the same with the RKBA (at least most places in the U.S. except D.C., etc.)  There is absolutely no reason that the police should be held liable if they fail to show up for whatever reason (missing street signs, other higher priority calls, etc.), which they are not.  

People complain about how useless the gov't is and, inexplicably, they want Socialized Medicine.

Quoted: I heard about this the night they reported it, and was gonna post something but there were no website links available yet. The dispatcher SHOULD be fired, no ifs, ands, or buts, regardless of her past. That kid did exactly what every single parent wants..they called 911 in an emergency, and they were ignored.  A parent died. hell, charge the dispatcher with negligent homicide... some form of manslaughter. No Expert

OK, smart guy. You have any proof that she was alive when the 911 call was placed, or are you going jail someone for a death they may not have contributed to?

Quoted: Quoted: I heard about this the night they reported it, and was gonna post something but there were no website links available yet. The dispatcher SHOULD be fired, no ifs, ands, or buts, regardless of her past. That kid did exactly what every single parent wants..they called 911 in an emergency, and they were ignored.  A parent died. hell, charge the dispatcher with negligent homicide... some form of manslaughter. No Expert OK, smart guy. You have any proof that she was alive when the 911 call was placed, or are you going jail someone for a death they may not have contributed to?

Hey V_G! long time no animosity from!  How ya been?

You are right... I have no proof... cause SHE'S DEAD! From the report:
"Detroit NBC Affiliate WDIV reports that six-year-old Robert Turner called 911 on February 20. He thought his mother, 46-year-old Sherel Turner, had passed out. She was later found dead.

911 tapes detail the call, where the boy tells a female operator that his mom had passed out. The operator demands to speak to an adult before sending police."

She could have been dead when the kid called, but we will never know.  Unless some investigator can pipoint the time of death to 2-3 hours AFTER the call.  I don't know, what's the window for estimating ToD?

She (the dispatcher) may not have contributed as you said... to the victim's "death"... she sure as hell didn't contribute to the victim's life.  

My main point is she should be fired. Period. There is extreme negligence of duty here.  We can all talk about how we want the "nanny-state" to go away... somehow I don't see 911 as a "nanny-state" issue when you are dealing with a situation like this.  Do we expect the 6 y.o. to start CPR on the parent? Do a heimlich? Dress and bandage a wound of some sort?

I've heard 911 tapes where people call in abouit the absolute STUPIDIST things... including the hamburger call mentioned earlier... and they were handled better than a call for an emergency which was basically ignored!  Did the kid call 911 asking the time? No. Did the kid call asking for movie times? No. Did the kid call asking for instructions on how to cook a thanksgiving turkey? No.
He called cause his mother was on the ground not breathing, and the 911 operator (who's job it is to respond to emergency calls) blew him off!  Well thank you very much.

Do we know from that story excerpt if he walked in the house and found her that way or if it just happened in front of him? No, we don't. I'm sure that detail will come out later.

I saw the story on the news as it was ending and could not find anything online at the time.

Should the dispatcher be charged with a homicide of some type?  I dunno, maybe if the facts warrant it...but regardless of that if they did... IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. Not if they won't even consider firing her.

As for jailing her for a death she didn't contribute to.... well, let's use the BATFE rules of "constuctive intent". She didn't actually cause the death, but by her being at the job, and having the ability to send responders to help in the situation and choosing not too she had therefore shown intent NOT to do her job, which results in the failure to the public trust.  

Had she done her job and the woman died....she had still done her job. By NOT doing her job...well, I guess that point is lost now isn't it?

No Expert

ETA: Google links of news stories. Most seem toi indicate a belief that the mother was alive at time call was made.

This happened in Detroit, whole place is run by incompetent morons, thieves and racist libs. I expect nothing less then these kind of occurances. It's what happens when the over riding reason why you vote and hire people is their richness of color and their last name. If Detroit was flushed tomorrow, most of us in Mi would leave our wallets in our pockets and say good riddance.

Quoted: This happened in Detroit, whole place is run by incompetent morons, thieves and racist libs. I expect nothing less then these kind of occurances. It's what happens when the over riding reason why you vote and hire people is their richness of color and their last name. If Detroit was flushed tomorrow, most of us in Mi would leave our wallets in our pockets and say good riddance.

+1 million

Quoted: Quoted: When I was a kid, my good buddy next door to me came home from school one day to find his uncle laying on the floor.  My friend  called 911, the operator thought the call was a prank and the uncle died while my friend desperately tried to revive him.  Nothing happened to the operator as a result.  Fucking assholes... --VT Brings up the question of does the state have any obligation to respond? Why default to the nanny state in every emergency?  Why not call an ambulance service, your doctor, a family member or friend? Especially if you have already been blown off by the local 911 operator.

We pay for 911 for a reason.  We pay for it through our phone bills, and we pay for it through our taxes.  I think it is completely reasonable to expect the system to function to the best level possible.

Jim

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: FIRE JAIL HER! +1

Jail isn't good enough. I think She should attend the funeral and then be publically hanged by the feet, beaten, and left to die.