Mom dies after 911 operator ignores boy's call

[Optimist Prime]

Originally posted by AGDee
The attorney for both "victims" said the voices sound similar, although the second lady talked to more than one operator.

And yeah, they have cut fire and police services in the City of Detroit due to financial problems. All the auto company layoffs aren't going to help the financial problems any either. I'm glad I don't live in the city proper and I work for a health care system, so if something happened while I was at work, there wouldn't be a need for 911...

Have you ever seen robocop?

[DeltAlum]

While I say we lived in "Detroit," it was really a very small suburb called Berkley.

One night while I was at work, Mrs. DA could see some flames at the bottom of the water heater where a door had come off.

She called 911 for some advice on whether it was dangerous, and almost before she was off the phone the entire Fire Department and two Cop cars were out in front.

Of course the City Hall/Fire Department was only two or three blocks away.

[enigma_AKA]

Man, y'all get off Detroit. We all know it's the future of most of the frostbelt cities...

Seriously though. We all know what needs to be done--it's more of a matter of how that can get accomplished that is the issue(without the money or proper infrastructure in place (i.e. mandates, taxing, etc)).

Also, while I don't want Fieger to get rich off of this one, I hope this calls a lot of attention (*ahem* Granholm) to the city's dire straits.

enigma_AKA

[PiKA2001]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
While I say we lived in "Detroit," it was really a very small suburb called Berkley.

Did they have kosher slurpees at 7-11 when you lived there?

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by enigma_AKA
Man, y'all get off Detroit. We all know it's the future of most of the frostbelt cities...

Hey, I've always said I enjoyed living and working in Detroit when we were there.

It was a good news town back then, and I really liked the folks I worked with -- a few of whom are still on the air there.

I don't think I've ever had a slurpee in my life -- let alone a kosher one!

[LightBulb]

Poor family.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

DETROIT, Michigan (AP) -- Two 911 dispatchers 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 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.

They could get a year in jail if convicted of the misdemeanor.

Worthy said the mother, Sherrill Turner, might be alive today had the dispatchers done their jobs correctly.

The president of the dispatchers' union did not immediately return a call for comment.

Click here for the article.

[BetteDavisEyes]

I'm glad they are not getting away with this.

[CatStarESP4]

Poor kid!

I am glad that the two 911 dispatchers have been charged with neglect. However, I think it should be a felony instead of a misdemeanor. They should go to prison, not jail, if convicted.

There was absolutely no excuse for what these two women did to that little boy's family.

[ASUADPi]

I called 911 once because I thought someone was in my house (I lived alone) and I was put on hold. I was like "okay, god forbid I'm dying". I was just absolutely shocked.

I think it would be great if Phoenix had a 311. I've had to call 911 so many times for traffic lights being out (which is annoying but I don't know what other number to call and let's face it people can't handle traffic lights being out, which in turn could cause a fatal accident).

I'm glad the family filed a lawsuit.

Not having read all five pages, is the women still working there? I don't care how long she's been employed with 911, you don't do shit like that. I hate to say this, but I hope she is the main plaintiff being sued along with the PD who hired her in the first place. That mother might still be alive if that woman had just done her damn job.

[DeltAlum]

911 was devised for EMERGENCY calls only.

A lot of calls today aren't true emergencies, and a lot of them are fake. In many cities, the system is completely overwhelmed with little or no funds to expand and fix it. I'll bet that this kind of operator decision happens fairly often, but fortunately without the terrible consequences.

The situation here is tragic, but I can understand how it happened.

Whether the operators here should be fired and/or face other punishment is the decision of their superiors. Hopefully, they have a better understanding of the situation than we do.

[sdsuchelle]

My mom is a 911 dispatch supervisor here in San Diego and they were all SHOCKED at what happened. She told me that they dispatch police officers to all 911 calls except sudden hangups (so if you ever call 911, at least say "help!").

However we also have major call-answering time problems in San Diego, which is due to short staffing. My mom has been working sooo much overtime because of it..

[DeltAlum]

When you wonder why something like this could happen, consider this:

"ALOHA, Ore. (July 14) - A woman who called 911 to get "the cutest cop I've seen" sent back to her home got a date all right - a court date.

The same sheriff's deputy arrested her on charges of misuse of the emergency dispatch system."

[CatStarESP4]

Originally Posted by DeltAlum

When you wonder why something like this could happen, consider this:

"ALOHA, Ore. (July 14) - A woman who called 911 to get "the cutest cop I've seen" sent back to her home got a date all right - a court date.

The same sheriff's deputy arrested her on charges of misuse of the emergency dispatch system."

It's amazing! Meanwhile someone with a REAL emergency could have gotten worse or died while this airhead was using 911 as a dating service.

She should have considered online dating instead!