911 Operator dismisses call, woman dies.

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http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4739612

The operator became the judge, jury and execution on this womans life, all because of her own prejudices. I guess this is why parents teach their kids to call 911, right?

 

The unbelievable part is that she is going to keep her job which does not inspire confidence in the 911 system

"911 what is your emergency?"
"Are you the one that let the kid's Mom die?"
"Umm... yes sir"
"Can I have a real operator, please"

I hope at the end of the investigation she is charged with at least Murder in the 2nd degree, imagine how that poor kid feels, does what his parents and school tell him and rings 911 and is then told by the operator you're lying, so your mommy dies.

 

Yeah - usually kids are hailed as heroes when they call emergency...

 

This is a sad , sad thing. I'm torn. I feel terrible for that poor child learning how harsh the world really is at such a young age, seeing his mother die when those who should have helped him did nothing. I feel anger for the callous way this young mans pleas were disregarded by the woman taking his call (and I'm convinced that she SHOULD be fired) but I'm also stricken with sympathy for that dispatcher. She will have to live the rest of her life knowing that her refusal to listen to the pleas of an innocent 6 year old boy led to the death of his mother. I wouldn't want to live the rest of my life with that on my chest.

 

I wouldn't blame the operator. I'd blame all those other people who make prank calls to the emergency services. This is a "the boy who cried wolf" situation. The officer is said to have had alot of experience so she's probably had numerous prank calls. If she sends a dispatch out on a prank call she'll probably get in trouble, if she doesn't send it out because she thinks it's a prank but it isn't.

It's a horrible situation but begs the question: why did the mother pass out?

 

Six year old boys don't speak very clearly. I blame the operator. If I passed out and my son was the only one able to get help for me, I hope he wouldn't be verbally abused. I went ahead and listened to the calls. It's very sad.

[ April 11, 2006, 19:02: Message edited by: Drew ]

 

I would. It was her idiotic decision to not take the call seriously enough. What's the point of having a 911 system, if fools like this one, are making such poor decisions?

 

As BTA says, we don't yet know all the facts.

What we do know is:

1. That the decision to send an emergency crew to the home was ultimately the operator's, and thus she is the one who is primarily responsible.

2. The woman may or may not have been dead when the call was made, but she most definitely was dead three hours later.

The question that needs to be answered is what was the COD (cause of death)? And, just as importantly, when was this thought to have occurred? It is obviously some time between when she hit the floor and when she was found three hours later. Core body temperature at the time the body is found is usually a pretty accurate indicator to determine time of death.

Only after these questions are answered can we even begin to determine how irresponsible the operator's actions were. If the woman had been dead for approximately three hours when she was found, an arguement could be made that it wouldn't have mattered if the operator had dispatched the emergency crews - she likely would be dead anyway. However, if the body temperature indicates she was only dead for two hours when she was found - in other words she was alive for another hour after the 911 call was placed, then the operator's decision was reprehensible.

 

I didn't say I blamed the operator for the death of the woman. I do, however, blame the operator for for verbally abusing a frightened six year old boy and threatening while his mom was dieing. If you listen carefully to the little boy's second call, it sounds like he actually was trying to get his unconcious (or, possibly, dead) mother on the phone. Whether or not the dispatcher is responsible for that woman's death has no bearing on how heinous her behaviour was.

 

Drew,

I think CtR was referring to Abomination, not you. It was pretty clear from your message you were blaming the operator for not properly handling the call, but it cannot be determined yet if her failure to send an emergency crew directly resulted in the woman's death.

 

I do think it was the operator's fault, but I don't think she should be fired. I can only imagine that this incident taught her something she desperately needed to learn, based on how she reacted to this boy's call for help. It is terribly saddening that her lesson had to come at the cost of a woman's life, but what is done is done. Firing her now would be an act of retribution, nothing else. Of course, I'd be all for firing her before this happened (since she clearly sucked at that point), but you can't go back and this incident has likely made her better at her job, albeit at an unreasonably high cost.

I do hope she loses the lawsuit and has to pay, though.

 

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the lawyer handing the case has proof that the woman would've had an honest chance at survival if help had been sent when the call was made, instead of 3 hours later. If I find a link, i'll edit it in.

On the other hand, it doesn't matter if she would've died anyway or not. The point is that someone called 911 in an emergency and got no help atall. The kid was even threatened with police action. I would hold the operator responsible, with a manslaughter charge at the least.

 

I agree. I think she should be put in jail. As Drew pointed out, the tapes are pretty good evidence that the operator dismissed this child and the situation out-of-hand. The kid was never even given the benefit of a doubt. What a shame.