Police reviewing 911 operator actions

[The Big Unit]

Call-taker was 'unduly harsh,' assistant chief says

Story

Is our society really so sensitive? With this kind of scrutiny I find it amazing anyone is willing to work in a public service position.

Call

 

[dognduckhorn]

I don't think the concern here is the sensitivity of society. 911 operators are the first line on emergency responders, and their ability to calm down callers and get good information is important to the whole ability of emergency services to respond.

It's easier after the fact to second guess everyone involved, but I am wondering why the adults did not get on the line. Was it a language issue?

I think the ten year old did fairly well under the circumstances, but what a load to put on a ten year to communicate effectively with an operator.

 

[HornsHornsHorns]

Leo Enriquez clearly doesn't know what the phrase "unduly harsh means.

 

[EuroHorn]

Sounds like the 911 Operator handled it fine to me. Sounded like he was firm, but needed to be to control the situation and keep the kid from just becoming hysterical.

 

[Meursault]

I think the operator lacked composure and was kind of an idiot. "Unduly harsh" is a reasonable way to characterize his handling of the call.

Furthermore, I would say that someone who finds the description of the operator as unduly harsh to be too critical is himself being too sensitive.

He was a bit severe. Harsh. Whatever. Not really newsworthy.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

Little girl's brother is snatched and he is pissed he may be late to lunch or a smoke break.

She was outstanding though to put up with his useless ****.

 

[Schlieffen Plan]

Wow, he must take an early lunch. Anyway I guess he wasn't totally useless since he did get the police to the house.

I kind of feel sorry for the guy, probably not the best handling of a call he has ever had, but the only one that will ever make the news. Being a dispatcher is hard, you have people screaming incoherently and/or belligerently at you call after call and you have to try to figure out what's going on quickly. Often there are other people screaming in the background. It's rarely picture perfect for the evening news.

 

[jcz]

I think the guy was a jackass.

It wasn't even until late in the call that he reassured the girl that the police were on the way. He had ample opportunities to calm her down, to say, "I'm working on getting you help," but he never did.

When a ten-year-old girl has her brother kidnapped - and subsequently has her parents in a fullblown meltdown - I think she needs reassurance more than admonishment.

 

[EuroHorn]

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[jcz]

I don't necessarily disagree that the guy needed to maintain some sanity, but it's not unreasonable to expect him to empathize a bit, either. He's not talking to a man! Who's 40! He's talking to a ten-year-old girl.

And there were plenty of opportunities, too. There was lots of "dead air", where neither the girl nor he was talking. If I were her, I would have been asking, "Are you listening to me? Are you sending someone? Are you even there?" It wouldn't have hurt for him to just once say, "I'm typing this stuff in and I'm going to send someone to help, but I need you to stay strong for me."

It doesn't make sense to get emotional, of course. But it doesn't make sense to ignore the emotions, either.

 

[Hobbes2702]

The main problem was the time it took him to do anything. That call lasted almost 5 minutes before he told her police were coming. He also was yelling at a 10 year old girl when all she needed to hear was that the police were on the way. He was very slow to get anything done.

 

[EuroHorn]

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[TrashMaster G]

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[accuratehorn]

The mother was in the car, but she did not speak English. That is why the ten-year old called in.
I thought the 911 operator was too harsh, and did not let the child know help was on the way.
Usually when you hear clips of 911 operators, they are very calming, positive, and always ask the caller to stay on the line, and that help is on the way, and they keep talking and calming the caller until the help arrives. This wasn't a good job.
This incident happened in my neighborhood, and there is something fishy about it-who kidnaps a five-year old boy, then releases him 12 hours later? The four teenagers apparently targeted the couple, and the kids reported suspicious teenagers about a week earlier to the police, these people followed them to school or something. I would like to know the whole story, hope it comes out eventually.

 

[general35]

Maybe with adults, but not with kids. Kids are more likely to shut down when treated like that.
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That must be why i see so many more kids out of control in public places. i guess they can't be told no anymore.

 

[accuratehorn]

My wife just called, and apparently arrests were made today, and one of the kidnappers was a cousin of the father. I knew there was more to this than a random kidnapping-maybe the neighborhood will be more at ease today. My wife was afraid to go walking around the block.

 

[SubliminalHorn]

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[Mr.Wizard]

911 operator retired today.
The Link

The man who took the controversial 911 call from a distraught 10-year-old after her brother was kidnapped has retired.

 

[accuratehorn]

Looks like he was allowed to retire gracefully. I didn't see where the call was grounds for termination, but he could have handled it better.
Glad they arrested the perps here-they are charged with felonies with maximum sentence of life. Apparently they were going to ask for $300,000 ransom, and the real target was the 10 year old girl, but she was sitting on the opposite side of the car, so they snatched the other child. The kidnapper (ringleader) claimed the father owed him money-hope it all comes out what this is all about.