Detroit- Boy's 911 Call Considered Prank; Mother Dies

[FIREFLY2420]

Detroit police are investigating a 911 call that hurt rather than benefited a mother and her child.

Robert Turner, 5, called 911 when his mother, Sherill Turner, who suffered from a heart condition, collapsed in their Detroit home.

When a 911 operator answered the call, she didn't take Robert's claims seriously, and told him he was going to get in trouble if he didn't put his mother on the phone.

Operator: "Where's the grown-ups at?"

Robert: Inaudible

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

A friend of that 911 operator offered her apology to Robert and his family.

"I'd like to express our condolences to Robert's family," said Kimberly Harris, a 911 operator. "I think he did what he was supposed to do. I know he did what he was supposed to do."

Police are investigating the response to Robert's call.

Operators told Local 4 they take nearly 2 million 911 calls every year, and nearly 40 percent of them are not emergencies.

[KEEPBACK200FEET]

http://forums.firehouse.com/showthread.php?t=80518



We're all over here... :)

[NYSmokey]

Beat me to it! :D

[FIREFLY2420]

Growing up and now being a firefighter, I remember being taught early to dial 911 in an emergency. I teach kids to dial 911 if they have an emergency. Who is this dispatcher to judge if its a prank call or not? She needed to do her job and send emergency workers. I think its sad that this little boy has to grow up now thinking that 911 failed him. His mother is DEAD because he called 911. I am not a big fan of Jeffrey Feiger, but I sure hope he gets this little boy a large chunk of The City of Detroit. Not only should this dispatcher lose her job immediatly, Feiger needs to file a lawsuit against her also.

This makes me so sick to my stomach. I just hope and pray that this little boy gets through this very tough time.

[lutan1]

Calltakeres and dispatchers should do exactly that. At no stage should they question the authenticity of the call...

[upstater]

At our dispatch center (where I used to work) a hangup call got a PD response. A suspected false fire call (well-known phone location, kids laughing in the background, etc) gets 1 company (responding emergency) to investigate instead of a full assignment. That's dispatcher's discretion though - they can send a full assignment if they feel it's appropriate, but they have to send someone. False calls for medical issues are pretty rare around here - the occasional false report of a shooting is pretty much it. They get a full response.

There used to be a sign on the wall of primary operations up there that said "JUST SEND SOMEBODY" If you're in doubt as to what to do, read the sign.

[Weruj1]

it is getting impressive media coverage here ...........they were ar our center twice today ........how sad for that whole city and especially that little boy.