Posted on 04/14/2005 10:32:32 AM PDT by NonValueAdded
WATAUGA, Texas - A 911 dispatcher was reprimanded for responding to a mother's plea for help with an unruly child by saying: "OK. Do you want us to come over to shoot her?"
"I admit what I did. It was stupid, it was inexcusable and I'm sorry," said dispatcher Mike Forbess.
The woman, identified only as Lori in Wednesday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, said she recently phoned authorities after coming home to find her daughters fighting. She told the dispatcher that her 12-year-old had kicked a hole in the door.
After Forbess' comment, the woman fell silent for about five seconds.
"Are you there?" Forbess asked.
"Excuse me?" the woman asked.
Forbess, a dispatcher for five years at the Watauga Department of Public Safety, told her he was joking and apologized. But the woman was offended, and Forbess immediately told his supervisor what happened.
"This type of response cannot be tolerated, and this letter shall serve as notice that any future unprofessional responses while answering the 911 line will be cause for termination," Police Chief David Van Laar wrote to Forbess.
Watauga is a Fort Worth suburb of about 22,100 residents.
"if you were extremely upset"
That's the problem, the woman doesn't sound upset at all until the dispatcher smarts off to her. It says in the newspaper article that the guy has 5 years of service and a couple of commendations from people who have called 911.
Granted, the guy was unprofessional, he apologized as soon as he made the remark, as a matter of fact, if you listen to the tape, the guy is grovelling.
This woman could have been tying up the operator when someone having a heart attack was trying to get through. This reminds me of Paris Hilton getting a ride in a chopper when she got bucked off a horse. I saw the video, beginning of the buck-off to the end, and Paris landed flat on her face but she claims she was kicked in the stomach. I slo-mo'd the video several times and it would seem to me, if she got kicked, it would have to be in the backside, not the frontside. My point is, she tied up the chopper because her ego was injured. Someone could have died because her feelings were hurt.
I think the mom was abusing the system, sort of, "if you girls don't cut it out, I'm calling the cops!" She made the threat and the girls didn't believe her, so she had to make the call. She sure doesn't sound too upset until the dispatcher made her mad.
By the way, I used to be a directory assistance operator, many years ago. Don't get many rocket scientists in the job, either. I use to handle 1200 calls a day and I bet 80% were doofuses. That job was terrible and it makes you mean to people that you don't need to be mean to and short tempered as well. I would pick trash up off the side of the road before I would work with the general public again.
The Mother should be brought up on charges for mis-using the 911 system.... 911 was not created to BABY SIT your poorly raised children....
< Fortunately you all have perfect families. You're lucky. >
I'm not from a perfect family. We had our share of fights and sibling beat 'em ups, but never, ever was it something my parents couldn't stop. We fought like crazy but when Mom or Dad said enough was enough, then enough was enough. You just stopped because you respected what your parents.
Simple as that.
It's called "p a r e n t i n g ".
The dispatcher was punished and will be monitored more closely in the future. The dispatcher knew he was wrong,and everyone that is saying what he did was great and OK is hurting him and probably causing him embarrassment and future problems. Would you say "way to go" to a congressional staffer that was rude to a constituent for complaining about some minor problem? I did not think so. It is your job,and two weeks into it you know it is not without insults,craziness,and hysteria. Do it right or get out and find something that lets you behave less professionally. Just because the woman appears not to be a model citizen to you, the professional has no business thinking that way so he would treat the caller in that manner. Even scumbags deserve service.
I'm with you - I could NOT believe a woman would call 911 to ask help in handling her children. If I had been the dispatcher I would probably have thought it to be a joke - sort of like "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?"
You just stopped because you respected what your parents.
Should be: You just stopped because you respected your parents.
Obviously, this woman needs to take her family on The Jerry Springer Show. They are highly skilled at solving these types of problems.
In Troy, Ohio about twenty years ago, a mother was upset with her son's behavior. He had locked himself in his room after slapping her so she called the Troy police.
When they got there they ordered him out of the room. He started out of the room with a penknife in his hand and they shot him 11 times.
From then on when anyone had a problem with their unruly teen they would ask, "Do you want me to call the police?"
That is true, the dispatcher was wrong. However, if you heard the call, you'd want to wring the woman's neck, as well. If the call was such an EMERGENCY, she would have been more concerned with the orginal purpose of her call, and called the dispatcher's supervisor later. The dispatcher made a quick off the cuff remark and quickly apologized. Instead, she was "highly offended," and more concerned with the dispatcher's poor joke than one of her children getting beat.
I don't know the family situation, but I'd be willing to bet--she was calling 911 as a "threat" to control her kids. In the end, the dispatcher got a reprimand. I hope the police arrested the daughter that was beating the other one up to follow through for this mother. From hearing the call, it did not sound like a true emergency. They shouldn't let the mother or the daughter off the hook without a reprimand either.
Believe it or not one of my first jobs was an answering service and the filthiest mouths I have ever encountered was on the Salvation Army line for Pickup of goods donated. This was in Miami and I was very young and I never look at the Trucks without remembering those perverts.
Why does the dispatcher need support? He made a grossly inappropriate remark, he apologized and received a written reprimand, and faces no further disciplinary action unless he's stupid enough to repeat a stunt like this.
I think the key in what you wrote is "Mom and Dad".
See post #132 on this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1383010/posts?q=1&&page=101
It's not that easy, and CPS WON'T fix it.
Now that's weird. People calling for pickup were ugly to you? I've heard everything now but I shouldn't be surprised. I got cussed out many times because I wouldn't give out an unlisted number. Problem was, I couldn't give it out because the operators don't have it, either! The name was listed along with "np" for nonpublished number in place of the number. If it's a true emergency and not one of our regular callers we transferred the call to a service assistant, the SA would take the callers name and number then call the unlisted party to give them the message. Under no circumstances was an unlisted number given out. You could explain that 10 different ways and the callers would say, "I just got it yesterday!" which was impossible. Besides, if they just got it yesterday, why didn't they write the friggin' number down?
As a former Temple, Texas police officer many years ago, I can recall an instance where I responded to a call and put in jail a "child," a child that was, I think, 14 and was physically violent and the parent (mother, dad working on a oil platform) was unable to control the child, and in fact, suffered bruises herself.
I would not judge the mother too quickly on this one. More facts are needed.
It does not matter what her behavior was. She called for help and if it was an emergency or not the police are there to protect life and property and to keep the peace. No matter how many people think she was wrong to call and it did not seem like an emergency, your job is to get as much info and send the police,and keep your personal opinion out of it unless it makes a difference in the safety of the caller,or the officer or in some cases the emergency team. I have had little inner city kids calling in shootings or stabbings,holdups,fires,etc and they are great little actors you have to err on the side of life,property,and the public safety. This was real neat,but I have to go to a Republican Women's Club meeting.
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