Girl arrested for swearing at 911 after they hung up on her when her dad was dying

Here's a heartwarming story.

:eyes:

http://www.break.com/index/chick-arrested-for-swearing-at-911.html

If he can't handle people using fucking obscenity when they're under fucking stress he needs to go to work at a fucking Burger King.

"No you can't have it your way until you clean up your mouth! Got that you filthy mouthed little punk?"

They fucking fuck you in the drive thru!

he should start by policing his own mouth. He's making such a big deal about her mouth, tells her "no swearing over 911," and then calls her an ass.

Nice. :grr:

I had someone drop an F bomb on me last night - I had paged the poor guy at 02:00 A.M. and while I was talking to him his pager went off again. FUCK! he barked, then apologized profusely. I told him it's OK, we've all been there - yes INDEED!!!

Its true to.

the officer saying he wouldn't send an ambulance had my jaw dropping. There was no cause for that.

:wow:

You cannot always expect etiquette from people under situations of duress like this one.

Then again, the 911 call center could have been properly staffed. And in an emergency case like that, there is context FOR the justification for her frantic state of mind.

Mind you, they don't get the best of wages at these centers either, and all the anti-tax people would throw shit-fits if anybody said they deserve more pay given the conditions they themselves have to work under. The last thing a call server staff wants is to be treated badly either.

Then again, the cop answering presumed her initial use of the f-word was about them (so were they lazy or was he in the wrong for not thinking of the context she's frustrated over her dad's condition?)

Which was why she swore on the phone before the officer picked it up. She had no idea that he heard her, and when he picked it up she told him simply that she needed an ambulance. She never said anything rude to him directly. The officer then berates her for swearing not at him, but into the phone. If my dad was lying there dying and some cop on the other end of 911 berated me for swearing at a moment like that, I'd be pissed too.

The cop was totally off the wall when he gave it back to her, and needs to be written up.

But if her father died, she would have been the one responsible. Someone's there to help you, you don't treat them like shit just because they won't drop standard procedures and do what YOU want.

Well you can't rightly give them any answers if they don't answer the fucking phone, now, can you? That's what I meant when I say she had gotten no answer. Her dad is lying there dying and she had already called 911 several times and swore INTO THE PHONE when she wasn't getting an answer this time. She probably had no idea that they could hear her, and her frustration was more than understandable. She didn't say anything rude to the officer until he decided that her profanity was more important than her father's life.

As you can clearly see, both caller and call-taker were out of line, however, read the transcript and it's patently obvious who started it, and it wasn't the 911 operator.

I have listened to and read the transcripts of ALL the phone calls. The girl clearly drops an F-bomb right out of the shoot. When the operator tried to take control of the conversation - as every 911 operator is instructed to, the caller became abusive. No, she did not deserve to be sworn at in return, but her abusive behavior is right there for the world to hear, also.


http://www.911dispatch.com/training/index.html

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Her initial request (beyond an initial use of the F-bomb when it appeared that no one was responding to the call) was completely reasonable - I need an ambulance at such and such address.
His response was not - rather than ask why she needed an ambulance, he immediately berated her for swearing.

If her father had died, HE would have been the one responsible. If you are answering 911 calls, you have to expect to deal with agitated people since the nature of 911 calls is that the caller is in the midst of an emergency. If she had started out swearing nonstop and not making any sense, he might have had an excuse - but a single F-bomb followed by a request for an ambulance demands (1) the ambulance be immediately dispatched and (2) an inquiry while the ambulance is en route as to the precise nature of what it might find when it arrives.

that he makes at least $62,000 year.

Was the regular dispatch person out sick, so they put a guy on it who wasn't really trained on that type of work?

and all the charges were dropped, incidentally (perhaps because no such charges exist :shrug:)

The guy handling the call should have been fired.

He should have been sued for gross endangerment and false arrest. This is the kind of thing that pisses me off about cops. I don't think all cops are bad. Most of them are good and try and do the best job they can in a tough situation. But when they do screw up and abuse their power like this, there's practically no accountability.

Made up of citizens to watch the cops. No more cops disciplining cops. There's a complaint, the cops goes before the jury, and evidence is presented. They jury decides his fate.

Shouldn't be a full court of law, but something like it.

Should have the same for politicians also.

According to someone I know who used to live there, this is actually a regular occurrence and merits a major investigation.

edit: apparently, there's at least ONE good cop in all this: the chief. HE even admits it was a bad mistake- on the part of the POLICE.

Amazing how many people on this thread didn't bother to watch the video.

Oh, a woman's calling who sounds younger. I'll flex my badge, and treat her like a 5 year old before hanging up because she said a naughty word like I'm punishing a toddler.

I'm sorry, but this is typical. That could have been a heart attack case, where seconds count (but knowing ambulance service, they would have shown up 30 minutes later at the wrong house).

No excuses for that idiot, none. He needs to reprimanded appropriately. But typical? Unfortunately I think this guy is burned out, 20 year vet, this guy has seen some shit. He has forgotten why he became a cop, to serve. They take everything personal. That's typical, cops burn out, lose the joy in helping others, just a matter of time before they visit CEDRIC. Career Ending Decision Resulting In Chaos. What an embarrassment. I'm glad the father was ok.

Maybe it was in this case, but not in my town.

The dispatcher told her to quit playing and hung up on her. Her dad died of a heart attack.

so he decided to lecture her and then hang up on her 3 times - but NEVER asked what's wrong?

fire the fucker!

THAT alone should get him fired, even if he had not been such a tight assed about hearing the word "fuck" from a stressed out person. To lie about an emergency situation, knowing full well that the reason he did not have the details because of his own actions. If it had been a different situation, not just a medical emergency, but something involving domestic violence, he could have been sending his fellow officers and first responders into a dangerous situation.

Callous disregard on more than one level.

And people wonder why I don't trust the system.

Civilians usually helm dispatch centers.

We have light duty jobs like this for our guys and gals. The police have the same thing. Our 911 is separate so we don't do light duty over there.

this guy wasn't regularly answering calls and hadn't been as completely trained as a regular operator - that would have made people think it's not quite as serious in my mind - my guess would lean more towards someone being assigned there pending an investigation - which would obviously not be something they'd want to mention after this disaster

He prob was working with another officer, maybe the night shift lieutenant, and/or cadet who stepped out for a bathroom break/coffee break.

In smaller cities, they may handle both the emergency and non-emergency calls.

LP isn't the most public-friendly department.

should never ever ever have that kind of power. He should lose his right to carry a weapon and to have anything to do with law enforcement or medical care.

job in the first place? Was it a demotion that they didn't mention and did he resent being assigned to that duty after 20 years?

What ever the story, he was a real prick.

Transmission went out in my car.
Called a shop in North Kansas City, and the says he can get right on it.
How long? I ask.
He says 4 or 5 days.
Ok cool.
Two grand?
Ok cool.

On day eight, I called him just before closing to ask what's up.
He says he needs to keep it for another day or two, just to make sure everything is good.
He can't test it because it's too cold out.
Granted, it's freezing out so I tell him I'd call him the next evening.

Meanwhile, I am having to have my friend drag my ass back and forth to work.
Trouble was, he worked days and I worked nights, so I'm going into work at like 6am.
I'm not happy.

So, I call him the next evening and he says he needs one more day, and I mutter under my breath, "goddammit, son of a bitch"
I was a little disappointed.

He calls me the next day, and tells me to come pick up my car and to bring CASH, because he won't take a credit card or a check because "I cursed him out"

Turned out he was a fundy whack-job and he didn't like me cursing at him.
No amount of explaining or apologizing for the mis-understanding would budge him.

I head to his shop after having to scramble to get two grand in CASH, without a freaking car and soon I'm standing face to face with this guy and I'm ready to kick his ass.

Instead, I was a perfect gentlemen and never opened my mouth while he berated me for like 5 minutes.

Then I handed him a $100.00 tip for the guys that worked on my vehicle.
It was December 23rd and I figured it would be a nice gesture.

At first he wouldn't take it.
I told him I didn't give a shit what he did with it, and he could jam it as far as I was concerned, but that would be a shitty thing to do to the guys that worked so hard to get me back on the road.

He called me a couple of days after Christmas to make sure I was satisfied with the work and he apologized to me.

So I learned a lesson.
Never curse on the phone with someone you don't know.

(edited to add: In no way do I equate this to a person calling 911 under duress. I have a bad habit of sometimes typing the first thing that pops into my low IQ brain).

I would have called the credit card company and told them he was refusing to honor your card.

die.

why not young woman or teenager? Maybe I am wrong here, but "cick" seems like a purposefully degrading term.
why not "incompetence revealed in police department.
Wish the locations of these items were easier to ascertain. Is Lincoln Park a suburb of Chicago?

was it written by frat boys or 12 year old boys or something?

and she tried to get through the cops infantile aversion to "dirty" words.
I can only guess the cop was a jesus freak and if people were not up to his standards they could just die.
He actually should have been charged with dereliction of duty.

I can imagine many of the calls they handle have a 'fuck, shit, piss, hell or damn' in them.

its an aggregate content site. Action News Channel 7 in the video did not refer to her as a "chick".

that labeled the video, not the news organization.

It's a site written by frat boys or 12 year old boys.

Judging by that "7" in the corner of the video, I'm guessing this happened in the Chicago suburb Lincoln Park as I recognize the video as being from a Chicago station.

The Lincoln Park in Chicago is not a suburb, but rather a neighborhood within the city.

That was the original headline.

I like it. It's age neutral, it's congenial, it's retro-hip.

That's why "chick."

editor would allow that degrading term in such a serious story. In any story for that matter.

I hope that dispatcher is fired and receives all the negative publicity possible.

This story is horrible. I do not condone foul language but in her panic, I can see how this would happen. She is young, needs help and does not know how to approach the situation. Getting treatment from the officer as she did on the first call only led to things getting worse. He was rude, indifferent and acting superior. No way to treat a person in panic.

:thumbsdown:

he treated the caller.

I also take offense that this website calls the caller a "chick".

First off, dispatchers have heard it all, been sworn at, called everything imagineable at least 100 times over their career, if he were a dispatcher the F word would have not even been heard, it would have been tuned out. I know this because I have experience in emergency services.

This sgt blew it all the way around. First off, he wasted alot of time arguing with this girl and not asking the right questions.....he was supposed to confirm the address, ask what is wrong, is her father breathing, telling her what to do until the ambulance gets there...while doing this he was supposed to be contacting the FD/ambulance to get them rolling. Calling this girl an ass was most unprofessional. He needs to be suspended without pay and re-taught how to answer 911 calls.

It's hard to keep one's head when an emergency occurs, especially for a 17-year-old. The sargeant should have realized this; the first rule of 911 calls is "Take control of the phone conversation", he was on a 17-year-old level arguing with her instead of taking charge of the conversation.

hung up on me when calling them in an emergency. wtf is wrong with these people!!

Girl had an attitude straight off the bat - she's her own worst enemy from the sound of it.

she's young, extremely frightened and frustrated. Her attitude was fine until he jumped on her about her language, which she didn't even know was being recorded at the time, because he wasn't on the line yet.

He's the adult, AND the professional. Had HE done his job properly, none of this would have happened. He was completely in the wrong - when you work in a service industry, you learn to keep a lid on your temper and do your job. In this he failed.

He could have died, indeed, while she was busy being pissed off. Most people, when they want help, are happy to cooperate with the person who's job it is to get necessary information.

I'm not saying the cop ISN'T an asshole, but he's not the one who set this in motion.

911 isn't the service industry. McDonald's is service industry. 911 is authorized civic workers and although you should always treat public workers with respect, you need to treat people who have the power of life and death over you with a little more respect than a fucking hamburger flipper.

What the fuck is wrong with you?

edit: I KNOW what's wrong. You didn't bother to watch the video.

Am I wrong about?

That the caller was as much of an asshole as the 911 worker?

That it was the caller's own words that set the exchange in motion?

That it's a not good idea to treat people like pissants?

She was in a panic already. HE had not yet even picked up the line yet, but could hear her. HIS reaction to that set it off- or did you miss that part in the video?

Furthermore, the cop treated her like shit in return, in a situation in which he already should have presumed there was a serious problem. He is paid via taxes. He knows he is in a position in which he will be interacting with people who are in a panic and he should have done everything possible to calm her down- just like 911 operators all over the nation do every single goddamn day.

EVEN THE POLICE CHIEF ADMITS THE COP WAS IN THE WRONG. Or did you miss that from the video, too?

Seriously. What the fuck is wrong with you that you would ever even slightly blame a girl for cussing when she finds her father- who recently had had brain surgery- on the floor in convulsions? Here's some advice- the next time you have the imp of the perverse whisper to post some seriously wrong shit, tell it to go take a long fucking walk. You and everyone on this thread agreeing with you are seriously and disturbingly wrong, and I sincerely hope you're not in a position to have authority over anyone or anything.

I don't understand how ANYONE could possibly put decorum regarding something as stupid as an obscene word over the price of someone's own life. Even if the girl had been cussing AT the officer (she hadn't), it still wouldn't have excused the officer one bit to act as he did. It's like if a woman was going into labor and she swore as she started experiencing tremendous pain and then the doctor decided to not treat her until she decides to calm down and apologize for swearing. Only this offense is even more egregious. People who defend actions taken by this cop/911 operator scare the fuck out of me and I hope to never meet these sick, sick, authoritarian individuals. Not only should that cop be fired, he should be sued and left penniless. Sickening.

emergency SERVICE. In hindsight, I suppose my choice of words were not the best.

The cop was not only an asshole, he was totally responsible for the way the events unfolded. Had he remained calm and done his job, none of this would have happened.

The girl and the cop aren't the only ones with anger management issues, here.

Many cops are power-hungry by nature. Not all of them, but many want to become police officers because they want that power over other people. When the young girl doesn't put up with his shit (good for her), it pissed him off so much and he just couldn't let that stand because it's an affront to his ego.

Pretty telling that a pig cop like this has all those accolades and awards and he's never been reprimanded before. The guy was just plain evil and I'm sure he's ruined the lives of many other people. He wants and needs that power.

At some point she should have just swallowed the bitter pill and do what she could to help her dad, instead of calling back and threatening a lawsuit, etc. That was just as childish and stupid as the cop was.

That said. I'd fire the cop.

What the FUCK. How can ANYONE defend the police in this situation? This was wrong on so many levels it's hard to believe, and here people- "democrats" all- all berate a girl whose father might be DYING for cursing a bit.

Unbelievable. Shame on you, and NashVegas, and everyone else on this thread who is apologizing for the stupid fucking pig who answered the phone on that 911 call. (edit) YOU OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T WATCH THE VIDEO. The CHIEF admits it was "not our finest hour".

911. Emergency. Hello? McFly? What the fuck is wrong with the people on this thread who are defending the cop?

Oh. I KNOW what's wrong. Cop apologists always take the side of police, even when they're obviously in the wrong.

Shame on you.

Two people can be in the wrong. I already said I thought the cop should be fired.

That doesnt mean the girl wasnt behaving like a moron.

the next time you find, oh I don't know, a relative who has just had brain surgery in convulsions on the kitchen floor, I'll be sure to pick apart how you behaved like a moron and then try to punish you for it before I lift a finger to help you.

What. The. FUCK.

You and Nash are quite the pair. Unbelievable.

Father - just a couple of weeks pas brain surgery convulsing on the floor. I doubt the run of the mill 17 year old would have a clue how to medically assist her father.

Calls 911 in a panic - gets no answer. (It isn't clear how many times this happened before she got a response - at least once)

Calls 911 still in a panic - still appears to get no answer, issues a vulgarity as she is about to give up for at least the second time when the phone is picked up.

Finally - help - she clearly and calmly asks for an ambulance to be sent to her address.

Instead of asking what is wrong, the dispatcher berates her for the frustrated expletive. Frustrated after she finally got someone to answer the phone that all the dispatcher is interested in is scolding her, she responds out of that frustration with another expletive. Instead of trying to figure out what is wrong, the dispatcher hangs up on her.

At that point, in the panicked state she is in, I am surprised she is functional at all. She calls back twice more and continues to get similar responses. Then - finally - she finds someone to stay with her father and goes to get help the only way that appears to be left to her - to drive to the station.

Would a mature adult behave that way - I've encountered adults who would, whether I would call them mature or not - perhaps not. But she is not a mature adult. She is a scared 17 year old whose father just had life threatening surgery, and is now collapsed on the kitchen floor convulsing and the people who are supposed to help him only seem interested in scolding her. I can see blurting out that she is going to sue him out of frustration.

What you SHOULD realize, and what you DO realize in the midst of justifiable panic are often very different things - and even more so when you are talking about someone who is only 17.

And answer the operator's questions. Going postal isn't taught in Life Skills class.

And I have to ask what the FUCK is wrong with you to take what is so obviously the WRONG side here.

before the phone was answered was to indicate she needed an ambulance at such and such address. The cop's response was to tell her to stop using vulgarity. Sorry, but if my father might be dying and the response to the calm, clear assertion that I needed an ambulance was to be scolded that before someone answered the phone I uttered a vulgarity, I am not sure what question she was supposed to be answering.

I just cannot believe how some people here are siding with the police, even though the chief admitted that the cop who answered the call was in the wrong. He was even at a loss in the interview with the TV station to explain the behavior of the cop answering the call.

I can't explain that point of view. I can't even sympathize with it. All I can do is give a well-deserved tongue lashing.

Upon being told to calm down, would you have become abusive and said, "well send me a fucking ambulance!"

(FYI, the f-bomb did happen after the line was picked up. She swore before the operator had a chance to say anything.)

No 911 dispatcher in the world is going to send out an emergency crew without first trying to get information out of a caller, in a certain order. If you want the ambulance in the fastest time possible, you have to cooperate with them and give them the information they need in the order they ask it. It's that simple.

His comment in the next phone call, starting with "are you going to swear again ..." let's just say I think we're all agreed there. But after that, even, when she calls back, it's not to get her dad the help he needs, but to threaten his job. IMO, anyone who says this girl isn't a piece of work is just looking for an excuse to be pissed off at authority.

Did YOU know she had already called once and didn't get a quick answer? Did YOU know she cursed BEFORE the call was answered?

Why'd she say "What the fuck?" Oh I don't know, maybe because this was the second time she'd called and not gotten a quick answer, and her father who had just had brain surgery was on the floor in convulsions? And what did she get? "Okay, well, first of all, you don't need to swear over 911"

She answered, "OK".

"And slow down."

"Send me a FUCKING AMBULANCE!"

Then he hung up instead of calming her.

Watch the video. You're WRONG, Nash. Unbelievably and unconscionably wrong. About the whole thing.

"WTF" came as the call was being picked up.

I have nothing more to say to you, you really seem to be looking for someone to swear at as much as she was.

I was quoting her.

:rofl:

You really are funny today. Bye.

Your level of wrong makes me angry on a very basic human level. You need some perspective, son. I truly hope you get exactly what you deserve to obtain it.

Welcome to my ignore list. I should never have removed you from it in the first place.

Now doesn't that make you suddenly turn rational and non-combative?

No. Anyone who's had 5 minutes of training in dealing with angry or distressed people knows that one of the worst things you can do is tell somebody to "calm down." It's an insult, and carries the distinct meaning of "I am the wise, smart one here, and you are an hysterical ninny." And I can pretty much guarantee you it will make the other person become even angrier and more distressed.

and you think your dad is dying and instead of asking why you need an ambulance someone takes you to task for swearing.

No, I wouldn't do the same thing - never said I would. I am an adult with multiple emergency first aid/ER certifications under my belt over the years. People said she was acting childish and I pointed out that she IS a child.

Your FYI is rationalization - she was swearing when the phone was ringing and it appeared to her AGAIN that no one was picking it up. She was not swearing at the person who picked the phone up - it just caught her frustrated comment because it happened to be answered at just the moment the line went live.

As for sending out an ambulance before getting all the details - that is exactly what they do. The ambulance can always be called back, but when every second counts the ambulance needs to start rolling.

Are coming from those who insist there was only one asshole on the phone.

compare the actions of a panicked child whose father recently had brain surgery and who is currently on the floor convulsing with the actions of a trained emergency professional, whose job it is to ensure that the proper emergency response is made - who hangs up on the panicked child because he is offended by the language she uses, and hangs up not once - but three times - then arrests her when she shows up at the station - still without ever once asking what she is panicked about, and then lies to the response team about why he didn't dispatch them immediately.

I certainly hope your life never depends on a child being perfectly rational and controlled to make sure that the emergency crew won't get mad and hang up on your rescuer rather than doing their job.

Both are assholes. Period.

I certainly hope if my life should ever depend on a child (and 17 is NOT child) it would be one whose parents properly taught them about emergency procedures and how to follow them. And if it should depend on an adolescent, I'd hope it wouldn't be a snot-nose who'd put her sense of superiority ("Well send a fucking ambulance!") over my need for emergency medical help.

Children are taught that if they call 911, someone will come on the phone and help them. They are taught to answer questions.

They're not told that 911 might not answer, and that after several tries someone might answer but will be more interested in lecturing you about your language than saving your dying father.

Instead she starts the call by threatening to sue.

Its kind of like when my parents used to yell at me, after a point I would just yes them to death just to get out of the immediate argument.

She should of dealt with said lawsuit later.

...when some people in healthcare, law enforcement, and government won't do the jobs they are paid for.

BTW, since Sestak is such a RECENT democrat, who exactly is the DINO you are trying to beat?

But in life and death situations, generally speaking, the person who needs help is the one who most benefits by playing "bottom."

I don't play "bottom" to anybody. I play fair, do MY job, and expect others to do theirs or face the consequences.

Sestak says he is FOR healthcare but is against single payer (and the Kucinich amendment to allow states to do single payer if they want to.)

He is a follower according to Gov track, and IMHO he is NOT ready to be a Senator yet. He'll lose the race to Specter and we'll lose his House seat to the GOP.

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:wtf:

outrageous, inhuman behaviour. Where do they find them?

I got a call and it was a hassle to get to the phone.
"Hello, Hello..."
Nothing
So I scream "Fucking asshole"
Right as I started the phone connected to them and they got it.
So she is all "Umm Hello?. Could I interest you in"
And then I hung up.

Seriously, what a power hungry bureaucrat. The consequences should sting. Maybe a demotion.

but I think this cop should be sent to intense counseling, along with his enabler boss. What a jerk. Obviously the girl was agitated. Cut her some slack.

j