Mom Dies After Boy's 911 Call Considered Prank

[HotCorner]

Absolutely indefensible!

http://www.channelcincinnati.com/family/8529743/detail.html



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.

Robert Turner called 911 to get help for his mother, Sherel Turner, 46, whom he found lying unconscious on the kitchen floor of their Detroit apartment in February, the station reported.

"Then I had felt her tummy. She wasn't breathing. Then I had called 911," said Robert. "I told them to send an emergency truck right now."

911 Operator: "911. What's the problem?"

Robert: "My mom has passed out."

The 911 operator, however, did not take him seriously and told him to stop playing on the phone, the station reported.

911 Operator: "Where's the grownups at?"

Robert: (Inaudible)

911 Operator: "Let me speak to her before I send the police over there."

"I tried to tell them she wouldn't talk," said Robert.

Robert: (Inaudible)

911 Operator: "I don't care. You shouldn't be playing on the phone. Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble."

Robert: "Ugh!" (Hangs up.)

Kimberly Harris, the union president of AFSCME Local 1023, said more than a quarter of phone calls received by 911 operators are prank calls. She also said that everybody does not express their pain or emergencies the same way.

"That operator could have had five prank calls. Kids calling in prior to that call. And please, don't think that I am trying to make an excuse. That was a tragedy," said Harris.

Officials said the 911 operator will be disciplined, but because of her years of service she will not be fired.

"I know that operator. I know that she is a very good operator," said Harris. "She is very thorough."

Robert said every time someone talks about his mother, he starts crying.

Police continue to investigate.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Sad. This why each 911 prank call needs to be punished. If it is a child, then punish the parents for lack-of-control or bad parenting (say a $1,000 fine after one warning). If the child is not old enough to know any better, then that child is not old enough to be left alone. Therefore, it is the fault of the parent. No other way about it.

Don't know about all of you... if my parents were notified that their child (me!) had made a prank to the 911 service, I would not have "risked my life" by doing it a 2nd time. That is b/c my parnets taught me the diff. between right and wrong. And they punished me when I violated their rules or did something wrong.

[bucksfan]

I don't see how you can make a judgement not to respond when it is a kid that young calling. Fines for prank calls should be set at levels sufficient to reimburse for expenses incurred so there are no misgivings about dispatching help immediately. We have just started teaching our daughter this skill with as much direction as we possibly can about only using it if the grownup in charge is really hurt and tells you to or you cannot get them to talk or wake up. It is disheartening that she might be able to do that and not be taken seriously.

[Johnny Footstool]

All 911 calls should be taken seriously. The dispatcher has the phone number and (in most cases) address the instant the call connects. Even if they suspect the call is a prank, they should send the nearest car to investigate.

[Dom Heffner]

You send the poilce for every call and you publicly prosecute those which are pranks. They have millions of public service commercials about epople with different skin types, smoking, diversity....geesh, make one about how you'll be prosecuted for making prank 911 calls.

Funny thing is, I can't see anything in the transcript that indicates this was a prank.

[RFS62]

I was in an apartment in Florida about ten years ago, and I started to dial long distance back home to North Carolina, which has a 910 area code.

I mis-dialed and hit 911, realized it, and hung up and dialed again.

About five minutes later, a Sheriff's cruiser showed up knocking on the door. I had no idea why, and he said someone dialed 911. He insisted on coming in and looking around, which I was fine with. He even looked in the shower, everywhere, making sure someone wasn't there who needed help.

[vaticanplum]

I was in an apartment in Florida about ten years ago, and I started to dial long distance back home to North Carolina, which has a 910 area code.

I mis-dialed and hit 911, realized it, and hung up and dialed again.

About five minutes later, a Sheriff's cruiser showed up knocking on the door. I had no idea why, and he said someone dialed 911. He insisted on coming in and looking around, which I was fine with. He even looked in the shower, everywhere, making sure someone wasn't there who needed help.

I had to read this twice before I realized it said "looked in the shower" rather than "took a shower". Which would have been quite odd.

[pedro]

I was in an apartment in Florida about ten years ago, and I started to dial long distance back home to North Carolina, which has a 910 area code.

I mis-dialed and hit 911, realized it, and hung up and dialed again.

About five minutes later, a Sheriff's cruiser showed up knocking on the door. I had no idea why, and he said someone dialed 911. He insisted on coming in and looking around, which I was fine with. He even looked in the shower, everywhere, making sure someone wasn't there who needed help.

Did he ask you if Spirit was ever going to get back together?

[M2]

Did he ask you if Spirit was ever going to get back together?

Did he find Randy California hiding under the bed?

[westofyou]

Did he find Randy California hiding under the bed?
No but Rfs looked ALOT like Jay Ferguson.

Caught by the rain and blinded by the lightnin'
We rode the storm out there on Thunder Island

[RBA]

Not that it really matters, but did they determine that the Mom died after the call was placed? She may of been dead before the call.

[MWM]

"I know that operator. I know that she is a very good operator," said Harris. "She is very thorough."

Clearly she's not a very good operator and isn't very thorough. This quote made me laugh a little.

[Dom Heffner]

Clearly she's not a very good operator and isn't very thorough. This quote made me laugh a little.


I thought the same thing when reading that. Apparently what happened here is she just got caught for the first time being not thorough.

[savafan]

Funny thing is, I can't see anything in the transcript that indicates this was a prank.

When I read this quote:

"She also said that everybody does not express their pain or emergencies the same way."

I thought perhaps there was something in the boy's tone of voice that made her think he wasn't being serious. Dunno...

[remdog]

Many municipalities (at least here in California) charge homeowners for responding to false burgler alarms. I believe they get one 'freebie'. Couldn't the same be done for 911 calls? Someone's life shouldn't be at stake because an operator makes a bad judgement call.

Rem

[Larkin411]

I can't believe they didn't fire her. Usually I'm pretty merciful about on the job mistakes but that is ridiculous. The only way she shouldn't be fired is if her supervisor had been advising people to treat calls that way.

That union head should be voted out as well. I'm a big believer in unions(at least since the government isn't interested in protecting workers) but her approach to the situation was not right, IMO.

Wow, I'm so mean today:) .

[cincinnati chili]

I was in an apartment in Florida about ten years ago, and I started to dial long distance back home to North Carolina, which has a 910 area code.

I mis-dialed and hit 911, realized it, and hung up and dialed again.

About five minutes later, a Sheriff's cruiser showed up knocking on the door. I had no idea why, and he said someone dialed 911. He insisted on coming in and looking around, which I was fine with. He even looked in the shower, everywhere, making sure someone wasn't there who needed help.

The exact same thing happened to me about ten years ago when I tried to call Poughkeepsie, New York (919) from my own apartment. I was living in a sketchy neighborhood outside of Denver at the time, and it kinda freaked me out when the cop pounded on my door. I thought I was gang initiation bait or something.

The officer did the exact same search of all 400 square feet of my palatial apartment.

[HotCorner]

The city of Detroit is so screwed. Watch the video to listen to the 911 call from the 2005 call. It's unfamothable and disgusting!

http://www.channelcincinnati.com/news/8592836/detail.html



DETROIT -- A prominent lawyer filed a multimillion-dollar, wrongful-death lawsuit on behalf of the family of a Detroit boy who called 911 to get help for his mother, but was denied because the operator thought the call was a prank.

The woman's young son was unable to convince a 911 operator his mother needed help.

Geoffrey Fieger said 46-year-old Sherrill Turner, who had an enlarged heart, would have survived if help had been sent immediately.

In the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Turner family Monday, Robert and his sister -- and now guardian -- Delaina Patterson, were present. Fieger said that Robert, 6, "did exactly what he had been taught to do by his mother."

After Turner collapsed, Robert placed two calls to 911. In the first call, Robert said his mother had passed out, but an operator asked to speak with an adult.

Robert Turner called 911 to get help for his mother, whom he found lying unconscious on the kitchen floor of their Detroit apartment in February, the station reported.

"Then I had felt her tummy. She wasn't breathing. Then I had called 911," said Robert. "I told them to send an emergency truck right now."

911 Operator: "911. What's the problem?"

Robert: "My mom has passed out."

The 911 operator, however, did not take him seriously and told him to stop playing on the phone, the station reported.

911 Operator: "Where's the grownups at?"

Robert: (Inaudible)

911 Operator: "Let me speak to her before I send the police over there."

"I tried to tell them she wouldn't talk," said Robert.

Robert: (Inaudible)

911 Operator: "I don't care. You shouldn't be playing on the phone. Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble."

Robert: "Ugh!" (Hangs up.)

Robert told the operator that his mother could not talk. He was scared by what the operator told him, so he hung up the telephone, unaware that his mother died. Police arrived after the second call. But Sherrill Turner was dead.

Fieger said Sherrill Lynn Turner died as a result of the actions of a 911 operator in Detroit, and the attorney said the incident was not an isolated occurrence in the city of Detroit.

"Had they responded immediately at that first call, just before 6 p.m., she certainly would have survived," said Fieger.

An audio tape was played during a news conference at Fieger's Southfield office Monday morning of another 911 caller who was denied help, according to the attorney.

Lorraine Hayes called 911 on Jan. 12, 2005, to report that she was shot in her head and back by her husband, Fieger said.

"I'm on the floor. My body is numb. I am getting ready to die," said Hayes.

The 911 operator accused Hayes of having a mental problem and refused to provide help, according to Fieger. Hayes told the operator, "I am not crazy," according to the audio recording.

Hayes called a short time later, and the operator falsely told Hayes that an ambulance was being sent to her home, Fieger said. As a result of the incident, Hayes was paralyzed, according to Fieger.

Fieger said the city of Detroit has denied the incident with Hayes. A lawsuit was filed several months ago.

Fieger, best known for defending assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian, appeared on morning talk shows with the boy, Robert Turner, who turned 6 last month.

A friend of the 911 operator who answered the call offered her apology to Robert and his family.

Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully Cummings promised a thorough investigation of the operator's response.

[RedFanAlways1966]

A prominent lawyer...Geoffrey Fieger.

Isn't this the same "prominent lawyer" that defended Dr. Death (aka Jack Kevorkian)?!?!

Nice to see that he has decided that saving peoples lives is worth his time and effort instead of killing them! Or perhaps making money is his primary concern... nah, not a lawyer! Me so confused... :devil:

[Ravenlord]

when i was 5, one of my second (or third, not sure how the cousin grouping is divided) cousins passed out in the bathroom of my Uncle's house and was turning blue. i called 911 and they thought it was a prank. then i called again, but left the phone off the hook. few minutes later a cop showed up, and then they called the paramedics.

everything was fine, til i was about 14 and found out he had passed out from overdosing on cocaine...

[savafan]

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/09/D8I4QLI00.html

Two 911 operators who authorities say did not believe a 5-year-old boy who called to say his mother had collapsed were arraigned Friday on willful neglect of duty charges.

Judge Jimmylee Gray entered not guilty pleas for Sharon Nichols 43, and Terri Sutton, 47. If convicted of the misdemeanor, they could get a year in jail.

The women declined to comment afterward, but their lawyers said the operators intend to fight the charges.

"We look forward to coming to court and defending this case in the proper forum," said Sutton's lawyer, David Lee.

No police car was sent after Nichols took the first call on Feb. 20. The boy then called again three hours later, and Sutton sent police out to discipline the child and inform the parent that the youngster was dialing 911, prosecutors said.

When police finally arrived, 46-year-old Sherrill Turner was dead.

Disciplinary action against the operators was pending and could range from suspension without pay to dismissal, police said.

[saboforthird]

This just burns me up, and I have no real reason to feel that way. Nothing like that ever happened to me or my family or friends. I can't BELIEVE that the 911 operator isn't going to be fired, because of her "years of public service". She sounded like a complete ***** in that call transcript, in my opinion. Anybody that treats callers like that ought to be prosecuted. :bang:

[saboforthird]

Sorry about the cussing. I should have just done this :eek: :eek: :eek: three times, and been this :cool: ....instead of doing this :bang: :bang: :bang: and being this :evil: