Mom Dies after Boy's 911 Call Deemed a Prank

[Marseeya]

DETROIT -- A 6-year-old boy's 911 call for help was thought to be a prank, but the call was real and the boy's mother died, according to WDIV-TV in Detroit.

http://www.wftv.com/news/8529743/detail.html

And the 911 operator isn't even being fired.

I'm sorry, but there's just no room for error here. I don't care if she faces prank calls every day, this is just inexcusable.

 

[sajetto]

OMG, aren't they going to do something about the operator! I don't buy that they are going to "address" the situation. Someone is dead b/c they didn't take the call seriously. That's just wrong, there needs to be some accountability for making such a tragic mistake

 

[Tina]

I read this today on the Free Press site. Its just horrible. I listened to the first 911 call (they have an error on the site for the 2nd call) and I could not hear anything that would have led her to believe it was a prank. He was just a scared little boy. She should be fired and possibly face charges.

 

[VSL]

At the very least she should be fired. You can't take risks like that.

 

[twinklebug]

She should be fired and possibly face charges.

Fired for sure. Charges? No. I doubt she intended to ignore an honest request for help. Just a horrid mistake that she'll eventually have to come to terms with.

My worry here is for the child more than what happens to the operator. Not only has he lost his mother but will probably have major distrust for the system his whole life as he watched his mother die but no one would come help.

 

[ducklite]

Most municipalities have a rule that all 9-1-1 calls must be responded to, even if the person on teh other end says "nevermind, it's OK". It's appalling that a dispatcher was allowed to make a subjective call like this.

Anne

 

[Tina]

You can hear the actual 911 calls here:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006604080315

Both audio links work on this page.

 

[Free4Life11]

Awful! I can't imagine that.

 

[Chuck S]

I think the EMS should have been dispatched immediately and a call center dispatcher should not be able to make that type of decision. As to whether it actually led to the death of the mother, we really don't know, the article states the boy found her passed out and that she wasn't breathing, she may already have been gone, but that certainly doesn't excuse the conduct of the 911 operator. She should be terminated, but as a supposedly tenured union employee, at the very least she should be transferred to some other duty within the city that would not require her to deal with emergency situations.

 

[Marseeya]

Thanks for the links, Tina. That is just infuriating, listening to that poor little boy. What did the operator think a child would do after she threatened him like that??? "I'm gonna send the police over." NO DUH!!! Why on earth didn't she do it???

When my kids were little, DS called 911 and hung up on them. 911 called us right back and asked to speak to us, so I got on the phone with them and apologized. I asked what they would have done if we hadn't answered and they said, "We would have checked it out, of course!"

This whole thing makes me sick.

 

[Beth76]

Did she even send the police over like she said? I read the transcript, but from the audio I couldn't understand a word that boy said. I know my son called 911 once and didn't say anything into the phone. The police still came to my house.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Around here if a child calls, even in a prank, the police are automatically dispatched. There is no call back. I like our system better.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

The whole thing makes me sick, but when I read the link Tina posted, I am beyond ill. That poor child. Not only was he scared for his sick mom, and trying to get her help, but 3 HOURS went by before he realized nobody was coming and he called again, only to be threatened with the police.

I think, or one can hope, the public outcry from this will get that dispatcher fired. She needs to find a different profession. I wonder how many other people have died under her watch?

I am someone who feels lawsuits are getting frivolous, but in this case, I hope there are lawyers lined up at this kids door.

 

[MerryPoppins]

That poor boy. He did the right thing. I feel so sorry for him.

 

[twinklebug]

Around here if a child calls, even in a prank, the police are automatically dispatched. There is no call back. I like our system better.

Same here. What seems like a prank call or wrong number could be disguising a more serious matter that even a simple call back to the home may not reveal.

 

[olena]

That's horrible!

The lawyers will be lining up around the block for this.

So she's not getting fired? I have to wonder what it takes to get fired in that department.

 

[CookieGVB]

Seems a shame that because they were living in a big city, the mother had to die.

That poor boy.

 

[Saffron]

Oh my gosh. My heart breaks for that little boy. How very tragic. To wait, and wait, and wait, for someone to help your mommy, how horribly cruel and sad for him.

The 911 system in our county is set up so that every single call is answered. Even if you tell the dispatcher you hit speed dial by mistake, an officer comes by to make sure everything is okay.

How very, very sad for that little boy.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

This is heart breaking. I wish I'd never heard this. My heart just breaks for that little boy. He did what he was taught to do, and must have been so frightened, and confused. Six years old.

I really want to smack that dispatcher. I can't believe they won't fire her! Is she Union or something? WTH?!




ETA: Around here if you call and say nothing, they send the EMTs out. If you say, "Whoops! Didn't mean to call you! Sorry!", they don't. But if you accidentally call often enough, they charge you.

 

[azgal81]

That is just so sad! I thought that they had to investigate all 911 calls prank or not but I guess I was wrong. Maybe with this tradegy that will now be in place in detroit. I can't believe the oeprator isn't going to get fired or anything for this in the article they were all talking about how through she was. Um right not this time! You think if she was so through she would have sent someone to the house and not just declared it a prank.