5-Year-Old Boy's 911 Call Ignored; Mother Dies

[Mimi]

Full story here: http://articles.news.aol.com/news/artic ... 0000000001

This makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. It's ridiculous, it really is.

Don't they train operators to take every call seriously? Not to jump to conclusions that it's a prank, and to berate the little boy by saying, "Now, put your mother on the phone or you'll get in trouble with the police"?

Especially with a call from a five-year old... voices of young children are distinctive, so it's obvious she had to know he was little. Yet, she had the nerve to suggest that a five-year old was playing a prank, about his mother dying. Five-year-olds do not call 911 to joke that mommy is sick.

This just... oh, man. I can't even describe this feeling. I am disgusted, angered, and saddened by the entire happening. What a complicated feeling.

[Jasujo]

That really is horrible. I know around here, at least the police come by to check things out even if someone calls and just hangs up. They used to come by our high school on occasion when some moron pranked them on the pay phone.

As horrible as the situation is, I think that little boy is marvelously brave. Poor little guy. To think he called twice as well! At least he knew what to do. It's too bad he didn't call any relatives in addition to 911.

[Paul]

It's not really the operator's fault, though. Though they'll likely be dimissed. It really is down to the organisation that trained the operator.

[Asthaloth]

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

[ria]

That poor kid!
This is just... beyond horrible!
If I called 000 because of some emergency I'd expect my call to be taken seriously no matter what!

Mind you... operator is probably completely wracked with guilt... and if she isn't that just makes it even sadder!

[Chipper]

I think they should take every call serious my friends 6 year old called they still sent police over to verify everything was ok. I've even of herd on the news where a 3 year old preschooler learned in head start to call 911 and a few weeks later rememberd what they had learned the terrified little girl called 911 and said her mom was sleeping and wouldn't wake up. in that case they did send the perimetics over. It was a good thing the mom had passed out and was able to save her life.

[alien]

The family of Sherrill Turner, 46, does not know whether a swifter response could have saved her life, but relatives want to know why the operator apparently treated the call as if it were a prank

pretty much any response would have at least made a difference?

its horrible how some people think that kind of stuff is a prank...such poor luck for the family having that moment be chosen to have collapsed and called. But it says she remains on the job? why would anyone keep someone who technicly assissited in her passing..

[o_0]

I blame it on those stupid teenagers who make prank calls. ._.

[TDG]

I blame it on those stupid teenagers who make prank calls. ._.

Gotta agree with o_0 there.

A similar thing happened here in New Zealand a while back. (Going from memory only, so some info is bound to be slightly off) A drunk teenage girl called the police claiming that somebody was following her and she felt unsafe. The police just told her to stay where she was, not to drink anymore and to wait. They sent a taxi. The taxi wound up going to the wrong town. The girl called again and they simply told her the taxi was on the way.

The girl was found dead three days later.

Everybody makes mistakes, but still, idiots that think its funny to prank call the cops etc are the reason things like this happens. <_<

[Mimi]

Paul ~ I don't believe it's "down to the organization" in who is to blame here. The operator is the one who is answering the phones and is the one expected to use her best judgment for situations. Here, she obviously did not use proper judgment in the least, by ignoring the commonly accepted idea that every call should be taken seriously, whether or not it is a prank.

What really is sad is there was no mention of a father and the woman was the mother of 10 children. That family must be hurting alot right now...

[843]

Anyone would hate it when they are not taken seriously even though it's something serious...

Here, a prank call to the police will cost a fine of S$500, so not many are stupid enought o pull such a prank

[Paul]

Paul ~ I don't believe it's "down to the organization" in who is to blame here. The operator is the one who is answering the phones and is the one expected to use her best judgment for situations. Here, she obviously did not use proper judgment in the least, by ignoring the commonly accepted idea that every call should be taken seriously, whether or not it is a prank.

Better training and a formal protocal for all phone calls would've stopped this from happening. Do you know how much training she recieved? No, the organisation could've hired and not trained her at all. If that is the scenario, then the organisation is at fault partly.

[zorg]

Whilst thats really bad, a couple of girls at my school were down by the beach in a parky bit, and 2 cars rolled across the grassy area nearly htiting people, and a third car stopped at the road. Out of these three cars, men with guns got out and actually started shooting eachother. So, totally terrified, they called the cops on their mobile phones and because they were kids they thought they were making it up. It took a adult grabbing their phone from them and yelling down the line to get the *!"$ down here.

Stuff like this happens all the time!

[Darika]

That's ridiculous! What kind of person would believe that a five year old was faking his own mother's death? Ughhhh...

[Hyperion]

It's either the kid's playing a prank and there's some trouble but we all move on with our lives, or it's real and someone's life is the cost. Very difficult decision to make.