This breaks my heart! (death mentioned)

425 Views 17 Replies 16 Participants Last post by Greensleeves, Apr 11, 2006

Breathless Wonder

Discussion Starter · Apr 9, 2006

I just saw a clip on NBC. A little boy called 911 TWICE. The second call was *3* hours after the first, and the dispatcher assumed his calls were prank calls. She didn't send help, and his mother died.

Edited to add the link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12208992/

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aniT

· #2 · Apr 9, 2006

You know, whenever kids I know called 911 and hung up an officer always showed up at the door within 10 minutes. They KNEW it was probably a prank but didn't want to take the chance it was not.

When my daughter was 1 she called 911 and I hung up before it started ringing. (I thought that meant the call had not gone through yet.) I was called right back by an operator who told me next time to just wait on the phone until someone answered so I could tell them it was a child playing with the phone. Opps.

Anyway, I can't believe this story. EVERY CALL should be treated as if it is real until they prove that it is not. When you don't do that, people end up dying.

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SaraFR

· #3 · Apr 9, 2006

My experience has also been that they always check it out, no matter what.

What a shame that so much work goes into making sure children know to dial 911 and then they aren't taken seriously.

I still think this little boy can be considered a hero.

rmzbm

· #4 · Apr 10, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaraFR
What a shame that so much work goes into making sure children know to dial 911 and then they aren't taken seriously.

I still think this little boy can be considered a hero.

EXACTLY!!!!!

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2happymamas

· #5 · Apr 10, 2006

This is horrible. I ahve to wonder why the employee is still on the job. Is the operator's job to take all calls eriously and to make sure a situation is okay? I almost think the city holds some liability in the death of the mama.

chersolly

· #6 · Apr 10, 2006

Is this a case of classism? The little boy called from the "bad" side of town.

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swimswamswum

· #7 · Apr 10, 2006

I think it is a case of Detroit being absolutely strapped for resources. Because of suburban white flight most of the city is considered "the bad part of town".

I almost cried when I read this. Poor baby. Poor woman. Now the city is going to have to pay a huge settlement with money it doesn't have because they didn't have the resources or staff to deal with this the way they should have in the first place.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

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RachelGS

· #8 · Apr 10, 2006

I saw that on the news the other day. The little boy said, "I just want my mom."

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Ms. Mom

· #9 · Apr 10, 2006

I live in the Detroit area, so this story is very near to me. My heart is breaking in a 100 pieces for this poor child. His mother had a heart condition and she taught him to call 911.

They interviewed the 911 operators co-workers on the local news the other night and they were all supporting her

Chances are VERY high that this mother would be here for her son had this woman done her job.

We hear about children calling 911 ALL the time and saving someone's life. How sad that this little boy is now without a mother and that he had to sit in the house for hours watching her die.

I'm outraged that this woman is still on the job and being talk about by her co-workers as a caring and competent 911 operators.

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DreamsInDigital

· #10 · Apr 10, 2006

That dispatcher needs to be fired. And the city needs to be held accountable.

tboroson

· #11 · Apr 10, 2006

That operator should be in jail. That is just criminal.

DebraBaker

· #12 · Apr 10, 2006

My 5yo called 911 and the police and ambulance showed up (I'm not sure how long it took but was less than 10 minutes, likely 2 minutes.)

I asked him why he called 911 and he said, "The car parked there (point to the neighbor's car parked in the street.) had an accident, look at the dent, and you said if there was an accident, you should call 911."

The police were sort of stern and sort of laughing and sort of understanding.

There is no excuse for ignoring a 911 call, in our area, even if someone accidentially calls 911 and tells the opertor it was accidentially dialed, the police still come over just in case there was an abuser or stalker person, etc. They always must follow up personally.

DB

Ms. Mom

· #13 · Apr 10, 2006

kids are wonderful aren't they?

I do understand that in the city of Detroit, they could NEVER follow up on all the accidental calls to 911, but when a child calls and says his mommy is sick - they darn well better go!

Jeffrey Fieger is representing the boy and his family. They're filing charges against the city for wrongful death. I'm glad that the family is taking action, I just wish it were a more honerable lawyer.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...D=200660409001

The city of Detroit has a HUGE problem in there response time to 911 calls. I hope this opens some eyes to this issue. I'm just so sorry that a 5 year old boy lost his mother

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pumpkinsmama

· #14 · Apr 10, 2006

Quote:

"Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12208992/

What a heartless thing to say to a boy whose mother is dying. She had NO RIGHT to play God with her job. She has no right to continue living an ordinary life when her failure to do the job she was entrusted with, that she knew meant lives hanging in the balance on her, when a family was ripped apart and a little boy and his sister will never, NEVER see their mother again.

I can't believe she is getting support after saying things like that. Not only did she fail to do her job, but she used her positition to threaten a little boy who she thought was "playing" on the phone.

ETA: I think I will teach my children to ask to speak to a supervisor and/or the names of the person they talk to. Not that that woman would have put him through, but some people may take them more seriously then.

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CaliMommie

· #15 · Apr 10, 2006

: Absolutely unacceptable. That woman needs to be held accountable. That poor precious boy!

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MamaChel

· #16 · Apr 11, 2006

This happens *all the time* in the city of Detroit. My husband called one night b/c the neighbors were shooting at each other outside our bedroom window, an hour later he called again after another hour he called to tell them the shooting had stopped and we were all luckily unharmed. A few months later there were several people beating our neighbor with a metal bat and we called again, several times. No response then either. Both times we basically got, "What do you want me to do about it?" from the 911 operator. WE lived 2 blocks from the police station. No excuse for this at all.

That child did what he thought was the proper thing and may now think that he didn't do enough to save his mom.

This isn't about a cash-strapped city this is about gross incompetence on the part of that 911 operator.

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Ms. Mom

· #17 · Apr 11, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by MamaChel
This happens *all the time* in the city of Detroit. My husband called one night b/c the neighbors were shooting at each other outside our bedroom window, an hour later he called again after another hour he called to tell them the shooting had stopped and we were all luckily unharmed. A few months later there were several people beating our neighbor with a metal bat and we called again, several times. No response then either. Both times we basically got, "What do you want me to do about it?" from the 911 operator. WE lived 2 blocks from the police station. No excuse for this at all.

That child did what he thought was the proper thing and may now think that he didn't do enough to save his mom.

This isn't about a cash-strapped city this is about gross incompetence on the part of that 911 operator.

I've heard similar stores so many times before. I remember the week of the Super Bowl a house burned to the ground because nobody was dispatched. I think the 911 system in the city needs to be looked at VERY seriously.

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Greensleeves

· #18 · Apr 11, 2006

Poor little guy. How many times do you hear in the news about a little kid hailed as a hero for knowing how to dial 911 and saving someone, then this little boy does the absolute right thing and it gets him nothing.

: He must have been so scared...............

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