Video: Lincoln Park’s very, very bad day
posted at 2:35 pm on May 4, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
What happens when you let an F-word fly while calling 911? In a case of a young woman in Lincoln Park, it landed her in jail while her father suffered seizures on her kitchen floor (via Radley Balko at Hit & Run)
I’m in a unique position on this story, since I’ve had to call 911 on several occasions because of the First Mate’s health problems over the years. I’ve also run emergency-response centers and trained the people on the other side of the phone. In times of stress, people use foul language, but call center professionals should be prepared to deal with that situation without making the problem exponentially worse.
First, in training, we emphasized that operators should not take calls personally, and that there is a big difference between using the F-word as an adjective or adverb, or using it to call someone names. We trained people to de-escalate stress situations in order to ensure that we provided the proper level of service and didn’t actively make a bad situation worse. That’s exactly what happened here on this call; the sergeant who handled this three times was more concerned about being personally offended over language not even directed at him than he was in resolving a crisis.
That being said, the Lincoln Park PD took the right course of action. A highly-decorated 20-year veteran can have a bad day, too, and he shouldn’t lose his job over it. If he had worked for me, I’d try to save his job, too. In fact, the community owes him more support than others in that situation, especially considering the dedication he has shown to his community; he doesn’t deserve the perp-chase interview he got from the TV station. The chief may want to consider whether he should get a different assignment, but hopefully retraining will keep the situation from occurring again. However, the sergeant should be joined on his “vacation” by the person who decided to arrest the young woman instead of straightening out the situation when she arrived at the station.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »
Of course not, to a perpetual and ignorant twit like you.
Blake on May 4, 2009 at 4:15 PM
But apparently it’s okay if someone dies over it. He never let her say what the problem was and was more concerned about her manners than the emergency. A “bad day”? As so many others said, nothing excuses screwing around with lectures and hang-ups when someone’s desperately (if indelicately) begging you for medical assistance. He could have died. Since the “veteran” seemed to be refusing help, her taking matters into her own hands could have jeopardized the father out of having no other recourse. Never mind the false arrest; unless this man has a spotless, spotless record with the tapes to back it up (not just the lack of complaints), he should never, ever be allowed to pick up another 911 call again. What he did was more unforgivable than the BART cop who accidentally killed in Oakland; this time, he just got lucky than no one died.
calbear on May 4, 2009 at 4:15 PM
In the Tarantino movie version, the girl brings a shotgun to the police station, and forces the cop to call 911 himself. He freaks out, and screams for help in stopping a “crazy f-ing girl with a gun” and gets hung up on for swearing.
econavenger on May 4, 2009 at 4:16 PM
All I’m saying is this:
If you want to demand help from someone, and you expect that help to arrive as fast as possible, you should do your best as one of the variables in that situation to act in the way that will get that help there as fast as possible.
And I see two variables in this situation that could have done better in that regard. Most people here only want to see one.
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 4:16 PM
She called 911 for help and he never asked WHAT THE EMERGENCY was
He did take time out to curse at her though
Son of Sam Kinison on May 4, 2009 at 4:20 PM
No, I mean screw you. You don’t scream swear words into the operators ear. And over reacting to a situation is not an excuse. Now, piss off.
How the hell do you know what could or could not have happened? It’s bad enough that you think you are blog police, but now you are this guy’s personal physician? Spare us! Go cluck your tongue at some one else.
Blake on May 4, 2009 at 4:20 PM
I’ve re-read your first post and your explanation. I still don’t understand your reason for inserting Ebonics into this thread.
Loxodonta on May 4, 2009 at 4:22 PM
Officer Blake
Why the name calling at those who disagree with you?
Son of Sam Kinison on May 4, 2009 at 4:22 PM
On a side note there seems to be a rise in the use of the F-word in everyday conversation in public. Hey when I was in Nam it was every other word but not in public or with kids and women present. It is especially bothersome when some young, sweet looking girl can cuss worse than a Marine. I know, old school.
Bluehanky on May 4, 2009 at 4:23 PM
Excuse me? I’m offering an opinion here like everyone else. I never claimed to be the blog police or this guy’s doctor. If you disagree that fine, but please, is this necessary?
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 4:25 PM
I feel so ashamed at the scathing attack I levied on our friend from Minneapolis. Calling his remark “inane” really was beyond the pale. (Frankly, had I used that language to a police officer, I probably could have been arrested.)
And, thinking for a moment that he brought up Ebonics as some sort of attempt to introduce a racial angle to this story was so
viciousintolerantliberal of me.In fact, I became so concerned that I went to the Ebonics translator so that I could learn more about this modern day scourge on our society. This is what it gave me when I typed in the 911 caller’s request into the translator:
Obviously, she was speaking Ebonics. Clearly the officer will need to brush up on that language to perform his job.
/sarc
Y-not on May 4, 2009 at 4:25 PM
Or was that directed at Esthier?
In either case, he’s entitled to hhis opinion too.
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 4:26 PM
Ummm…commentors with NO CLUE…hello?!?!
How many private/commercial EMERGENCY support centers have you called? Comparing this to a Dell, Best Buy, or XYZ Insurance company call center is ludicrous.
I would bet that most PRIVATE company emergency systems, if called in a panic, would be completely unaffected by swearing, other than attempt to get you to stick to the details. In fact, I bet if I called my security center right now and screamed, “There’s a M-F’ing crazy running around with a gun” or “Oh, S##t, XXX just had a heart attack”, then I highly doubt I’d get a “lesson” from them about cussing. They are professionals and know how to deal with an emergency, just as 911 operators are supposed to do.
gregbert on May 4, 2009 at 4:27 PM
This guy needed more then just a two week suspension. I would bet that is the maximum that the chief can do before it has to be mediated.
This guy can’t have a bad day. He is in the wrong line of work if he believes he can have a bad day and just walk away. Just curious to all of you people supporting him if her father had died how would you feel then?
Jdripper on May 4, 2009 at 4:31 PM
:-) Once when recently returned from said place I actually asked my wife to pass me some f**ing pork chops at dinner one evening. She hit me with a spatula. I managed to keep it down around my Mother. Lord only knows what would have happened if I’d uttered a word like that around her. :-)
Oldnuke on May 4, 2009 at 4:31 PM
I dont have any idea how many prank calls they get, In Fairfax County VA they get quite a few, but he may have just been fed up with kids using language unbecoming to a female. Does not excuse his response but I can see where he might have had enough. Had I been the girl and my Dad on the floor he would have kicked my ass after he recovered for speaking to an officer like that. All part of our new bitches and ho’s society
faol on May 4, 2009 at 4:34 PM
It was definitely addressed to me. Blake doesn’t like me and thus thinks it’s OK to talk to me like this but apparently thinks it was wrong for a girl to talk this way when calling 911.
Also, I’m a she, btw.
So mature.
You’re so very much not my type, so no. Maybe you can fix that by yourself.
You first.
I don’t. Neither did the cop. Hence, erring on the side of caution, getting the man an ambulance, just in case.
For someone always so upset at this site and yet who can’t seem to stay away, you sure seem to think you’re capable of giving me advise.
You don’t like what I type, don’t read it. It’s really that simple. Keep responding that way and it’ll just seem as though you have a crush and never got past the pulling pigtails phase.
That’s OK. Some girls like that.
Esthier on May 4, 2009 at 4:37 PM
ummmmmmm,ummmmmmm,ummmmmm, does anyone call 911 because they are having a GOOD day?
If your job is answering 911 calls, you need to be observant of what is going pon on the other end of the phone, not concerned wheather you had to listen to a swear word. what a fuxtard
UNREPENTANT CONSERVATIVE CAPITOLIST on May 4, 2009 at 4:38 PM
Oh no! Apacalyps has some competition for your favor :-).
Oldnuke on May 4, 2009 at 4:40 PM
Haha. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.
Esthier on May 4, 2009 at 4:41 PM
Absolutely one of the worst recorded examples of a public servant in action.
The officer should be fired.
JonPrichard on May 4, 2009 at 4:42 PM
I brought you into this world and I can take you out.
Something like that comes to mind.
Loxodonta on May 4, 2009 at 4:43 PM
When someone is obstructing you getting help for a loved one, they become the enemy, and an attack, whether verbal or physical, is the normal response.
The officer obstructed, and she came back with an attack, in this case the threat of a law suit, which would seem to be the only thing he might listen to.
LibraryGryffon on May 4, 2009 at 4:43 PM
I don’t care how devorated the guy is, his behavior was despicable. Bad or not, She asked for an ambulance and he hung up on her! Had her father been having a heart attack, he would have died. Had he gone into Cardiac Arrest, those extra several minutes the officer cost her would have been his death.
I seriously thought I was watching a dark comedy skit when he hung up on her and she called back and he responded with, “are you going to keep swearing you stupid ***”.
I’m normally a very big supporter of cops, even though I’ve had my run ins with them plenty. This however is right up there with that rookie in Texas who wouldn’t let the football and his family see their dying mother in law because they ran a red light. One is a rookie, one is a decorated veteran, but they both put the public in danger as well as the image and credibility fo the police force.
I don’t know if he should be fired, but 2 weeks without pay is not enough here.
Daemonocracy on May 4, 2009 at 4:45 PM
You are one tough cookie.
The bad boys of this world need to meet women like you.
Yes, dear.
Loxodonta on May 4, 2009 at 4:46 PM
Because that’s what cops do. Kinda ironic given the topic. They want you to “respect” them, as in “kiss their ass”.
Cops; just another gang.
yubley on May 4, 2009 at 4:47 PM
A teenage girl thinks her father is possibly dying, and some people are blaming her for being hysterical on the phone, after she the first time there was no answer and then getting hung up on??
At that point she was hysterical and enraged. She has the right to be that way. The Police Officer does not.
firepilot on May 4, 2009 at 4:49 PM
It looked like she was on the attack right off the bat.
And this goes further to my point. When desperately needing help for a loved one, why would someone see it as a battle and need to attack? If it were my wife or son I’d be groveling on the phone if I thought it would get the ambulance there faster. I doubt that yelling profanities at the operator would help me achieve my goal of getting help faster.
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 4:52 PM
You are off base on this one Ed.
Dad was a cop for 38 years and my sister has worked 911 and police admin for 25 years now. If this officer worked for either of them, he would have been looking for work before the end of the shift.
We all have bad days. Professionals leave that at the door.
Jim708 on May 4, 2009 at 4:52 PM
She was more concerned with being right and getting back at the operator than she was at getting help for her dad.
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 4:55 PM
All I’m saying is this:
911 is not a charity service. That woman pays the sergeant’s salary in order to have ambulance service readily available.
She was not “demand[ing] help;” she was demanding that her clearly incompetent employee do the job she had already paid him to do and send a f#@&!ng ambulance.
He ought to be chucked out on his ear.
Troll Feeder on May 4, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Have you ever been in a situation where another human being’s life depended on your actions? Not someone close just another human.
Oldnuke on May 4, 2009 at 4:56 PM
Scrappy, she didn’t start out attacking. Unless you consider using f*** as an adjective about something that’s not you to be a personal attack. As soon as he hung up twice, from an emotional point of view, the officer DID become a threat to her father, and an attack to remove the threat is the standard response.
An officer handling 911 calls should know that most of the folks calling are going to be pretty close to the edge emotionally anyway, and not do anything to escalate the situation.
As Blake pointed out, just continuing on like nothing had happened, at least until AFTER finding out what the emergency was and sending the appropriate response, would have made all the difference in the world, and possibly gotten an apology from the girl.
LibraryGryffon on May 4, 2009 at 4:56 PM
Yes he should. You’d lose pretty much any other job if you endangered someone else’s life, and so should he. Being highly-decorated isn’t an excuse for this kind of behavior.
Darth Executor on May 4, 2009 at 4:59 PM
Another cop with an attitude. Shocking! This girl did what I would’ve done. Except, after the third time, I would’ve put my Dad in the car and RACED to the nearest hospital, f-ck the cops (and traffic). They need a slick lawyer and I would sue the CRAP outta the police for false arrest and whatever liability the 911 operator aborgated.
Andy in Agoura Hills on May 4, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Heh. Thanks. I was a huge tomboy growing up and tended to play football rather than play with dolls (which I thought were stupid). Boys play rough, even with a girl when they know she won’t cry and get them in trouble. That doesn’t so much change when we get older, but I wouldn’t want it to. I’d rather not be treated differently.
Blake hates me because though we agreed politically, I stood up for Allah against him. There was a lot of animosity towards AP during the election but much of it from people who seemingly hated being here and stayed anyway. For suggesting he find a place he enjoyed, I earned his eternal wrath.
Esthier on May 4, 2009 at 5:01 PM
He has a much right as you to be here and post his opinion. Now don’t confuse that with posting his own facts.
Andy in Agoura Hills on May 4, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke
kingsjester on May 4, 2009 at 5:03 PM
If the dad actually died while the cop wasted time on lecturing the daugher on foul language, he should be fired. His 20 years of commendable service becomes a MOOT POINT.
The police are easy target for the Al Sharpton crowd. It’s a shame that a real case of police misconduct like this gets buried under baseless accusation of racism and brutality leveled against the police.
Mad Kimchi on May 4, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Scrappy, I agree with you about the girl. I think her language is vulgar and her behavior is irrational, self-centered, entitled and vindictive. And for all I know, that might be her standard operating procedure. Under normal circumstances, I would be on her case. However, she’s a common, perhaps all too common, citizen.
However, I am most concerned here with the government’s response to her call. The sergeant is a public employee who betrayed his duty to the public, endangering a human life. His superior’s response seems to show more loyalty to his officer, than to the public. Such attitudes threaten public trust in public servants. The public employees’ responses so far have not been good.
Loxodonta on May 4, 2009 at 5:09 PM
That cop is another bad example of a testosterone-fueled asshole with a badge. Too many of them are attracted to the business.
keep the change on May 4, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Last December I got separated from my daughter at a local hospital when the elevator door shut with her inside and me outside. Some admin employee wouldn’t tell me where the stairs were, and asured me that I should just wait till it came back up the one floor. I did, and my daughter had already gotten off. I was not going to wait for the elevator to return from the 7th floor so I could go from 2nd to 1st to get her, so I asked again for the stair. I was asking nicely, but this b*t*h refused to tell me where the hidden stairs were. By the fourth time, my request had become a shrieked demand. Some nice soul from housekeeping showed me the unmarked door (it had a sign on it saying “this is not an exit”?!?). Otherwise I probably would have escalated to curses with some verbal or even physical assault attached. And I’m normally a very nice, well mannered, fairly unassertive type.
LibraryGryffon on May 4, 2009 at 5:13 PM
Always with the “bad day”. That is a lousy excuse for a what is a firing offense. A bad day is when you lose your keys.
keep the change on May 4, 2009 at 5:14 PM
Well, I’m an old man who is often old-fashioned. So, I may disagree with you on policies, but I do know that I respect you, and will always attempt to demonstrate that in my posts.
However, I confess that I enjoy teasing Allahpundit once in a while, so please don’t hit me!
Loxodonta on May 4, 2009 at 5:15 PM
You are absolutely correct on what their job is. In so far as the operator failed to remain professional they should be held to account. I never at any time addressed the operators failure. My comments were limited to the conversation by the caller. Please be aware that right or wrong they can hang up, refuse service, be belligerent or generally act like a jerk. (of course there will be consequences to doing that) What do you think the odds are of getting those kinds of responses if the caller is swearing? The caller faced the consequences of swearing on the phone. (hang ups etc.) The operator is facing the consequences of their actions too. (potential lawsuits, lost job, etc.)
What remains my main point is that swearing is NEVER appropriate on the phone when you are trying to get assistance for anything, be it MC nuggets or life saving medical assistance.
bigskinny on May 4, 2009 at 5:19 PM
Seems I need to preface every post with the “I agree that the operator was a complete jerk in the situation and should be severely reprimanded” as I’ve stated in several past posts.
I’ve conceeded that point. So please, you don’t need to respond again to me about how I’m not getting how awful he is….. I get it.
I think it’s a shame that so few people think that a person who is asking for help has any responsibility to also act civily and help in the process too. I guess I expect too much that we treat our civil servants with respect rather than blaring obscenities at them before they even have the chance to ask what your emergency is. Yes I understand that is is a moment of stress and that blurting things out can happen., But rather than adjust her approach for the benefit of her father she also (just like the operator) decides to escalate rather than do what would be better to help her father get attention quicker.
There were two variables in this situation and neither of them handled it well.
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 5:21 PM
The b—h probably thought that by divulging where the stairs were, she was giving away security to a potential terrorist. You know the kind: anyone who doesn’t look like a middle eastern type. Their very dangerous. Now, if you were wearing a burqha or a Ghutra then she would of ESCORTED you there. Go figure!
Andy in Agoura Hills on May 4, 2009 at 5:22 PM
Teasing is to be expected, but that’s not what this was.
And I’m not even saying I railed on him for it. I simply couldn’t understand why he’d stay somewhere he hated. Still don’t.
Of course, which is to say we’re both here so long as we don’t earn the wrath of Ed, Allah or Michelle.
That said, I only made a suggestion. He seemed very unhappy with this site and never had a positive thing to say about it. So I suggested he find a place he could actually enjoy.
I say the same to Americans who treat America the way Blake treated Hot Air. I would never want either forced out. I just don’t understand why people stay in places they seem to hate.
That’s all. No more, no less.
Esthier on May 4, 2009 at 5:26 PM
I would if the 911 operators weren’t our paid employees.
If your boss asks for something, does he have to ask nicely?
Now, as to the question of should she have asked nicely, that should go without saying. Of course that should have been her goal, but I disagree wholeheartedly that she should have been required to ask nicely.
Esthier on May 4, 2009 at 5:29 PM
She never was allowed to get to the point of the call. And if my father were on the floor convulsing, my outrage level would go from 0 to 1000 in a half a second after that first hang up (actually it would be at the 500 level after the no-answer–which is what caused the problem in the first place). I don’t know why you are expecting perfect rationality in such a situation from a teenager–or from anyone for that matter.
Also, people are acting as if the girl and the policeman had equal situations and equal responsibilities. They did not. This was probably her first such emergency and she’s only seventeen. Conversely the policeman presumably has had training and has experienced countless such emergencies in the span of 20 years–both in person and on the phone. Therefore his responsibilities in such matters are far and away greater. And he shirked them, endangering the life of a man in order to assert his authority over a teenage girl, not to mention massage his ego by arresting her.
Fired.
baldilocks on May 4, 2009 at 5:29 PM
I apologize if it seemed I was criticizing you. I wasn’t.
Sometimes, communication is difficult for me.
In my previous post to you, I was addressing your concern about the girl’s language and behavior, which I had not previously done. Then, explaining my reason for focusing on the police.
Loxodonta on May 4, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Whether anyone likes it or not … if they fire that cop … he has a law suit. Moreover, the cop will win.
All of the “public servants” across the fruited plain are protected by no duty clauses in their respective state statutes.
That “Protect and Serve” sticker on the side of the car means nothing (effective disingenious marketing though). The firearm … isn’t to protect you, it is a means to protect themselves.
The nanny state didn’t start in January of this year, it’s been going on for about 100 years. Get over it or change it.
AZ_Redneck on May 4, 2009 at 5:34 PM
I know that the world has gone crazy when some people care more about the virgin ears of a 20-year police officer than they care about the life of another man.
baldilocks on May 4, 2009 at 5:36 PM
I understand where you are coming from, but to be honest I’ve always had trouble with the “we pay taxes so every public official our our own personal employee” approach. It’s not really apples to apples. and no single public official can be held to the every whim of every taxpayer – it’s impossible.
I don’t say that she should be required to ask nicely, but I’m making the point that if she really wants help for her father quickly she might have realized after a short bit of this route that being nice might have gotten her further. Would you not agree?
Yes, there is absolutely no grounds for the girl to have been arrested, and it was completely ridiculous. And yes the officer’s responsibilities are far greater. It had been covered by so many others that I didn’t want to repeat it, so I took on the angle of this story that I thought wasn’t getting much attention.
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 5:37 PM
No offense taken. Likewise I am mearly trying to make another point of view clear to people. I do not mean to be negative to other posters.
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Ed. Please.
Mechanics have “bad days”. Bank tellers have “bad days”. Bloggers have “bad days”. But, once you accept the responsibility that comes along with being a 911 operator, you also accept the fact that your “bad day” must not interfere with the performance of your job. The job of 911 operator is certainly stressful – but so is the job of calling 911 during an emergency. Most people have had no training in dealing with a medical emergency, except to call 911. The operator, however, most certainly has had that training. He blew it. I doubt he’ll be fired, but I also doubt he’ll be working the call center again, either.
uncivilized on May 4, 2009 at 5:39 PM
I don’t know about lawsuits but a quick web search will show that 911 operators do get fired for similar events in more than one state.
Oldnuke on May 4, 2009 at 5:41 PM
Thanks. Most eople are expecting the one adult in the situation to have behaved like one.
baldilocks on May 4, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Er..people
baldilocks on May 4, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Sure, in a perfect world, everyone is always respectful and polite, even teenagers who think they have a parent dying and whose first call was not answered and next calls were hung up on.
I am pretty sure teenage girls are known for being hysterical and easily upset anyways, especially in this situation.
Emergency personnel know this is always a possibility when someone is highly upset or in a stressful situation, and they also go through training in how to calm people down and defuse such situations, because they are Emergency Responders. This guy forgot about the Response part of that, and just antagonized her and increased the level of stress and hostility.
Sorry if I do not have expectations of a 17 year old girl who thinks her dad is dying, is going to be clear thinking and logical.
firepilot on May 4, 2009 at 5:47 PM
Of course it’s impossible to cater to every whim. But that’s why we have laws, regulations and rules of conduct. I’m betting that this officer violated at least one rule that carries a termination penalty. As far as the 20 years of exemplary service with multiple commendations. My chosen profession had an axiom about that. “One Aww Sh*t trumps every attaboy that came before it.”
Oldnuke on May 4, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Fire him.
Officers are trained to deal with people who are in a panic. He wasn’t having a bad day. He was having a big bad case of entitlement and control issues.
herrevery on May 4, 2009 at 5:50 PM
I agree, but at 17 I’d hope that she ould start acting like and adult too :)
It’s a good thing that he finally did get the medical attention he needed, even if it was inspite of an obnoxious and unprofessional 911 operator and a hysterical 17 daughter.
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 5:52 PM
I refuse to feel empathy for an abusive and spoiled, foul-mouthed brat. I don’t feel sorry for the officer either. Neither behaved like a human.
Immolate on May 4, 2009 at 5:53 PM
Held to every whim? No, that would be ridiculous and businesses don’t even do that with customers. Expected to treat citizens as customers who deserve more respect than they give? Yes, I think so.
In this situation, sure, it likely would have helped her, but, as many have already pointed out, most people have problems being nice when something tragic has happened.
Esthier on May 4, 2009 at 5:53 PM
I don’t like you because you follow me around making your snarky clueless comments.
As if anyone is interested? Ha!
Obviously, it was too mature for you.
If I’m ever in the market for an obnoxious, self righteous biddy, I’ll remember that.
Stop right there. It never stops you from passing judgment, now does it.
Clueless one: again you pretend you read minds. You don’t. You are the one following me around with your tongue clicking, you biddy.
Same to you. It was you who started crap with me, not the other way around. Don’t read and respond to my posts if you don’t like what I type. I can’t stand you. I avoid you because you never shut up and you’re an idiot. You must be a nightmare in real life. Only a total narcissist would imply anyone has a crush on them. I don’t your own parents like you much.
Blake on May 4, 2009 at 5:53 PM
There you are in all your glory: Miss Bossy. Telling people what they can and cannot post; pretending to know what they do or not feel; pretending the reason people are repulsed by you is because they have a crush on you. Jeesh!
Blake on May 4, 2009 at 5:57 PM
I guess it’s the pragmatist in me that comes out when I have a problem. I probably shouldn’t expect her to do the same, just thought it might have helped her father (in the end that’s what this hubub is all about right – helping her father?)
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Actually, the perp chase interview probably taught him more about humility than being chewed out in private by the police chief. I’m glad people can see him forced to flee from a reporter.
piraticalbob on May 4, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Follow you? That’s more than a little paranoid. I was posting in this thread long before you were.
Ha! That’s so funny. Cause you’re pretending I’m offering rather than correcting someone who thought I was a he.
Take that Pee Wee Herman!
You’ll remember to take care of yourself first? No need to wait. There’s no time like the present. It may even make you feel better.
In believing a 911 operator should send an ambulance first and then ask those questions later? No, that doesn’t stop me. But then I suppose you want all 911 operators to ask those questions before deciding whether or not it’s a prank call?
So I’m reading minds by stating that you’re unhappy here, even though the vast majority of your posts indicate that to be truth, but you’re not when you state that I follow you around even though I haven’t posted on Hot Air in days and haven’t talked to you in months (and preceded you in this thread).
I love your logic. It’s fun.
Started crap = responding to you on a topic, just like any other poster without resorting to insults, something you can’t seem to keep yourself from doing.
Then actually avoid me. It’s very easy. You just don’t respond. There really is nothing easier in the world.
But here again, you keep doing something you claim to hate, so either you’re a liar who is secretly in love with me, or you’re a masochist.
Either way, it makes no difference to me.
Esthier on May 4, 2009 at 6:08 PM
Blake I’ve never in my life told anyone what they can and cannot post. Surely that’s not what you actually got out of what I just said. Surely you know the difference between a suggestion and a command.
I’ve also never pretended to know what anyone feels but instead respond to what people claim they feel. If they lie, that’s really not my problem.
As to your infatuation with me, it is what it is.
Esthier on May 4, 2009 at 6:11 PM
Forget about how the cop treated the girl.
The real problem is how the cop treated the unconscious man.
sandberg on May 4, 2009 at 6:11 PM
If I saw my father dying on he floor I’d probably be using some choice words too…. especially if the dispatcher hung up on me.
Yakko77 on May 4, 2009 at 6:12 PM
Sure, it likely would have, but there’s no guarantee. We do know though for a fact that had the cop been professional, her father would have gotten help sooner.
As I said, we agree that she should have been more polite, but person most responsible for getting her father help was the cop, not her.
Had she been talking to a stranger who had no obligation to help, I would agree with you completely, and if she takes away from this incident the idea that it’s OK to talk to people like that, then she will have problems in her life.
Esthier on May 4, 2009 at 6:17 PM
She should have said something like, “They don’t have any Go-Dam- chicken nuggets.
Then the 9-1-1 Operator would have known that it was an emergency and would have taken care of it expediantly.
PappaMac on May 4, 2009 at 6:18 PM
I’ll allow that maybe he shouldn’t lose his job for frackin’ up the call.
He should lose his job for committing a false arrest. Imagine if the cops could just arrest you for complaining about their behviour.
I R A Darth Aggie on May 4, 2009 at 6:29 PM
Fire him.
A “bad day” would excuse the fact that he swore back at the girl, but hanging up on a request for an ambulance in a potentially life-threatening situation and then having her arrested on a trumped-up charge? An abuse of power that only by luck didn’t cause someone to die.
If in 20 years he hasn’t learned that his job is to protect and serve the public rather than his own ego, he doesn’t belong on the job- if he can’t handle a mundane task like answering 911 calls, how can he be trusted with a badge and gun?
Public servants exist to perform the vital role of serving the public. The public does not exist to serve the whims of public servants with a badge.
Hollowpoint on May 4, 2009 at 6:37 PM
I guess I just don’t see it as an issue of being polite. I see it an issue of pragmatics – getting help for her father. Both party should have focused on results rather than on language or posturing. Name calling (on both sides) and threats of law suits do not do anything to get to that goal.
She came at the guy with obscenity and right away it sent him in a bad direction (his fault, not hers) but if she really wanted it to be about helping her father then it’s clear that by just pushing with more of the same wasn’t going to help her (or her father). It should have been up to the operator to calm the situation rather than escalate it, but it’s not impossible for her to have done ther either.
Being a 911 operator must suck if her behaviour is what you should expect as “normal” for your daily interactions. I know I wouldn’t want to do it. (and no, I wouldn’t want to be a 911 caller either)
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 6:39 PM
This guy should work for the Post Office. You get that kind of attitude all the time.
This lady will be owning the Police station when she’s done.
RobCon on May 4, 2009 at 6:45 PM
The officer was definitely wrong, but if you need help, who are you going to call, a gang member or a cop?
Johan Klaus on May 4, 2009 at 7:06 PM
I guarantee that I would have had the same panicked, frustrated and angry reaction when I was a 17-year old girl.
Teenagers generally have not had enough experience dealing customer service type situations to understand that unleashing their emotions on the faceless person trying to help them often does more harm that good.
Being condescended to only exacerbates the situation.
Several members of my family have worked in law enforcement (my 87-year old grandmother only retired recently and still carries her badge :) ) and I grew up believing that even though I might not like them when they were arresting my friends for underage drinking I could rely on their assistance in an emergency.
Unfortunately people tend to take that standard upheld by the majority for granted when they only hear about the situations which deviate from it.
Or until they have had a truly negative experience.
When I was living in San Francisco several years ago my roommate who was about twice my size assaulted me. He first pinned me against a wall and I managed to free myself by biting his arm. I made it about 5 feet before he grabbed me and literally put me through a door. The force was so strong that, besides denting the door and pulling out the hinges, it destroyed the frame leaving it broken and splintered.
I called 911, calmly explained the situation and was told to immediately leave the building and wait outside for help to arrive. I sat outside in the cold and waited. After about an hour I called again and was told to be patient because the police in my area were very busy and dealing with “more important emergencies.” I decided to take the risk and go back to my warm room.
Three hours later an officer arrives and tells us to make it quick because his shift just ended and his wife would be mad at him if he was late for dinner.
My roommate showed him the obviously enhanced bruise on his arm and it was determined that I was equally at fault because, regardless of the circumstances, I too “caused injury.”
They laughed about how irrational and whiney women were the entire time and the officer stated that he intended to return the next morning and fix the door when he was on the clock again in lieu of spending his now off-duty time writing out a report.
The SFPD went out of it’s way to make sure I would not be able to make a complaint (no report, off-duty, not our precinct and so on).
A year and a half later my therapist introduced me to the clinic’s police liaison
who filed a complaint against the responding officer and he was officially reprimanded for his negligence.
I can’t help but wonder if the lack of response by emergency personnel was at all influenced by the fact that I lived across the street from a nice government subsidized housing area…
racecar05 on May 4, 2009 at 7:08 PM
Okay I work in a call center that does not depend on life and death. We advise people nicely that we can not continue the phone call if they keep swearing. I gove one swear word warn on the 2nd and rarely hang up.
If I swore back I would be fired….
Bad day maybe the first call. When you swear back you are an jerk and should be fired through.
Sorry it sounds like a police officer on a power trip. He started off the conversation like an a**hole and continued.The next conversations he opened the call like a jerk too. Bet he knew the number that was calling. If what he did was okay then why lie and say I never got a chance to transfer her and add because I hung up on her.
Since he tried to cover his butt he knew he was wrong. At least he forwarded to the fire department. but too little too late
Gracelynn on May 4, 2009 at 7:09 PM
Seriously? A bad day consisting of threatening to let an innocent man die because he overheard a cuss word? He needs to be in a different line of work.
brobin on May 4, 2009 at 7:25 PM
Sorry Ed you are dead wrong here. I’ve been a cop for 22 years, including time spent as a 911 operator when I was pregnant. If we hung up on, or refused to serve to everyone who mf’d us, no one would ever get any service. Your job is to calm the person down long enough to figure out what kind of help they need, period. We neither expect, nor require anyone to be calm or polite when they’re calling. You assume that people are going to be panicked, because most people are when they call 911. He needs to go.
Believe me, we give many more passes than we recieve. What’s your home address again? :-)
LOL!
macblanegirl on May 4, 2009 at 7:34 PM
@bigskinny:
I just called the Dell support line and told them “My F***ing computer is dead. Fix it!”. And you know what happend?….
The guy on the other end said, “I am sorry to hear that, What can I do to help?”
So, I guess your WRONG about calling ANY one of the support lines…
And to add insult to injury… I know two of the county 911 dispatch operators for Waukesha County in WI. I told them about this little story, and they laughed at the sgt. But they also got upset that the sgt hung up on the girl. No matter the language. They had literally 100′s of stories of calls that every other word was the F-bomb, and they just ignored it and took it in stride. They even told me of stories of being threatend with death for not getting police faster to a robbery in progress or stop-n-rob convience store. So, yea, I think your full of yourself. If you think for a second that everyone is supposed to be all calm and cool while they watch someone getting shot or their father on the floor ‘dying’ (as she didnt know it was a seisure)…
Personally, as a person that is SWORN to protect the public he should lose his job. Period. He failed in upholding that statement that he swore to uphold. This isnt a case of him being told to do something that he felt wasnt legal, or moral or ethical. He hung up on a 911 call. Let alone the false arrest and imprisonment of the girl.
@faol:
Your Dad wouldnt have kicked your ass if he died because the ambulance was 3 minutes too late because of the sgt’s actions. In this case, he was ok, but there was no way of knowing that at the time.
B3 on May 4, 2009 at 8:02 PM
911 workers who do not take calls seriously should be fired. Even if they are cops. People have died because 911 workers assumed children were playing with the phone. This is a similar situation. A man doesn’t deserve to die because his daughter used a bad word in a stressful moment.
Plus cops who have a tendency to take power trips are bad news. Fortunately, most of them are not like this.
telemwill on May 4, 2009 at 8:10 PM
Fired
- The Cat
P.S. I bet there are things hidden away in his record. I wonder if he’s stepped on any RC cars lately.
MirCat on May 4, 2009 at 8:43 PM
I’m sorry but this cop needs to be taken out back and shot.
What a disgusting piece of sh*t. This is a sore point with me because I live in NYC and have had to dial 911 on many occasions in emergency situations and every time, without fail, I get a tetchy, nasty b*tch with a stinking ghetto attitude who threatens to hang up on you if you sound in the slightest bit agitated or anxious. “I don’t have to listen to this sh*t” was one response I got when I demanded she send an ambulance to the scene of a car crash.
On another time, the operator asked me for the cross street I was on and I told her, “47th and 9th” and she says “oh, are you standing in the middle of the intersection or su’im?” and I says “please, you have the address, just hurry” and she says “now you listen up, I do not have to put up with any of this sh*t, I do this sh*t all day and you have no right to tell me to hurry up, to tell me how to do my job, and if I….”
At that point I hung up and dialed 911 again. Anyone in New York will tell you, when you dial 911 in an emergency, it doesn’t matter how serious it is, there is a good chance you are going to have to abort the call halfway through and try dialing again because some sassy ghetto b*tch decides to take a strop with you for some petty, trivial reason.
Anyone who gets caught behaving in such a fashion should certainly be fired immediately but should also in my opinion go to jail, no questions.
Sharke on May 4, 2009 at 8:48 PM
OK, I’ve now watched the video and can better comment. She did not come straight at him with cursing. She cursed before he answered, and that’s when he started in with the lecture.
Yes, at that point she shouldn’t have responded with “Can you send the fing ambulance” but that’s her only “offense” here.
She then calls back, more calm, seemingly just trying to get her father help, and he’s the one who calls her a c*nt before she can even say anything and then hangs up on her again.
I’m actually much less sympathetic to the office now after listening to the video. I was imagining that she went straight to threatening him in the second call and set him off, but he set himself off, calling her names when she’d only cursed in his hearing but not at him.
It isn’t until the third time that she says anything about reciprocation, and then he arrests her.
As far as I can see, she did try to back off as soon as she realized it would hurt her father in that second call, but then he was the one who escalated things.
Her “bad behavior” was saying the f-word without realizing the cop was listening. A mature adult responding to a crisis would just ignore that and move on.
If he’s what I can expect in a 911 operator, then maybe I need to learn how to practice medicine.
Now, I do believe many people call and actually berate 911 operators, something this girl did not do. Certainly that’s a problem, but most jobs have negative set backs. People choose those positions for their rewarding aspects. If you see nothing rewarding about answering 911 calls, then of course you’ll never pick that profession.
Esthier on May 4, 2009 at 8:53 PM
Y’know…
Earlier, I posted that the guy should be out of a job. After seeing some posters defend him, I’d like to revise my opinion.
He should be court-ordered to be that family’s dog for a month. During that time, he should eat and drink from a bowl, communicate only by barking, and the girl and her Dad should feel free to swear a blue streak at him and beat him with a rolled up newspaper whenever they feel like it.
That would be justice.
ElectricPhase on May 4, 2009 at 9:18 PM
No doubt. It’s a fend for yourself world out there. :(
Listen more closely to the tone of the first “send the F***ing ambulance” during the first call. It doesn’t sound so panic induced as it does just spiteful. And then on the call back she again doesn’t sound like she’s in a panic as much as she sounds condecending when she says “Ummm, are you going to send an ambulance or are we going to have a fucking problem”.
That kind of tone gives me the idea that she’s not as interested in getting help for her father as she is interested in fighting with the operator. Of course it’s totally inappropriate for the operator to engage in that arguement, but again she seems all too willing to take it down that road too.
I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree about her roll in the mess. We already agree on the fact that the bulk of the blame lies with the operator.
Goodnight. :)
Scrappy on May 4, 2009 at 9:30 PM
Except she didn’t add the curse word there and, to me, seemed to genuinely be asking the question.
It’s likely we’re both coming into this video with biases and are seeing the girl in that light. But I’ll just say that I really thought she’d come off far worse in the video and was genuinely surprised that she seemed so sympathetic.
Goodnight. Sleep well.
Esthier on May 4, 2009 at 9:50 PM
You and the cop in question are both scum.
The only difference is that the cop has done some good with his life.
MadisonConservative on May 4, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Just remember, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
infidel4life on May 4, 2009 at 10:25 PM
After reading Mr. Blake’s oh-so-compassionate posts in this thread, I totally agree.
infidel4life on May 4, 2009 at 10:37 PM
Yeah, he did. I don’t care how many years he’s been on the force; he needs a reminder who he’s serving and how to handle stressful situations.
amkun on May 4, 2009 at 11:21 PM
She’s a bitch. She needs to have her mouth washed out with soap.
Tim Burton on May 5, 2009 at 2:09 AM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »