Uploaded on May 7, 2009
Whichever way you look at it, the operator’s (cop’s) behavior was completely out of order and a disgrace!
Emergency operators and cops are, after all, supposed to be professional and trained to handle (not to mention, sympathize with) stressed out callers – who in many cases, are calling for HELP due to a life or death situation!
That officers actions are completely unacceptable, but it just goes to show that police officers are humans too. I believe the punishment fits the crime.
UO,
I concur, in one part. This officer’s actions are completely unacceptable. I’m glad to see the PC state it’s not their finest hour. However, I don’t see a two week suspension + training as acceptable consequences for his egregious actions and false arrest.
911 operator hangs up on a caller multiple times, verbally berates her for her language in the middle of an emergency call, and openly states that he never got to the issue of the call. Once she arrives at PD Headquarters, without even ascertaining the issue she called 911 for, arrests her for Disorderly conduct and then cites her falsely for “abusing 911″ which doesn’t even exist.
Talk about your “Respect my Authority” issues. 2 weeks unpaid suspension and additional training doesn’t even seem to equate to a punishment for his actions. Hell, he’s been on the force for 20 years. What other “training” does he need?
This was a potential life and death situation. 2 weeks Unpaid Suspension and training, for someone who decided to hold the moral high ground on a 911 caller doesn’t seem apropos.
Unfortunately nothing more will come of this, and realistically this is just a slap on the wrist for this Sgt..
May 28, 2009
Since this fiasco, all charges have been dropped against the girl, and the cop received two weeks suspension without pay, as well as sensitivity training. The family hired a lawyer and, as of this publication, is prepared to settle out of court.
‘To protect and serve’. Yep. Riiiight.
“To protect and serve” means to protect and serve themselves.
Nothing a good attorney cant get sorted out.
WOW. Obviously her language was of absolute importance. And I love how he swears after ‘chastising’ her for swearing. What gives with cops who think they were empowered to lecture others? Just do your job and shut the hell up with your opinions. I’m as interested in a cop’s opinion about me as he is in my opinion of him.
“…it just goes to show that police officers are humans too.”
Spoken from the ranks of the Thin Blue Line, no doubt.
Its an old story.
Incompetent crooked cop working for a incompetent crooked PD that are a danger to the community they hold hostage and prey upon.
Those crooked cops have contempt for anyone not a leo.
I remember hearing about this just after it happened. Her dad was having a medical emergency, so she called 9-11 for an ambulance. What most folks don’t know, is that if you call 9-11, while you the caller hears the phone ringing, the dispatcher (or cop) on the other end can hear YOU. This is because sometimes there is pertinent evidence to be had in a possible court case, when the caller doesn’t know they can be heard BEFORE the call is answered. While you’re hearing the phone ringing, you think you can’t be heard, but you can and you’re being recorded. You can’t hear the answering party until they connect the call.
Even on a busy night, a call should never ring more than twice before being answered. This young lady began to cuss while hearing the phone ringing, because no one was answering the phone! That stupid cop could hear her cussing, and took offense. He was looking for an argument, and she just happened to be the next person that appeared in his sights, so to speak. Maybe he was pissed off because he didn’t want to be assigned to 9-11 duty, or having a pissing contest with another person at the dispatch center, or maybe he didn’t understand that she didn’t know she could be heard. His recorded explanation was that “she was a filthy-mouthed girl”, as though she had called simply to shout obscenities at him! How could he have believed that, and did he actually believe that? No matter what his excuse, none of them are good enough for not finding out what she wanted right away.
This cop had some ego issues that needed addressing, because it was affecting his ability to do his job properly. I hope that retraining included a psych evaluation.
This reporter rules! Sounds like he’s really trying to get to the bottom of things.
Nice observation Stan! One gold star for you!
She just got her college education paid for.
@underoath
The problem is that the rest of us pay for our merely human errors. While cops insist we need to understand their difficulties and give them a break.
Oh, look. The officer LIED about the girl and charged her, but the sheriff says he’ll get to keep his job.
Now that is accountability police style!
Yeah, Mister Underoath, it’s amazing how often some of you close ranks behind some LEO who has done something so obviously wrong. There are plenty others of us out here who have sworn that same oath (either as LEO’s, soldiers, firefighters) who do not see ourselves as some superior class of citizen, with extra rights not afforded to others.
If I had been that girl, I would’ve bitten my tongue to not swear the second time I called 911 then taken care of business i.e. reported his butt after I got the help my father needed. She lost sight of the big picture too, but she’s young and must’ve been beside herself worrying about her father. At least after the second time the cop hung up on me, I would’ve done what I needed to do to help my father, even if I meant kowtowing to this colossal jerk.
Using profanity is “protected” speech under the 1st Amendment. While not advisable to use these types of adjectives and adverbs, this is settled case law and cannot be used by leos to arrest people for obstruction, harassment, or disorderly conduct in any of the 50 states, if these words alone are the basis for the charge.
A very Sad story. There is enough evidence that has been made public that the officer has indeed clearly made a false arrest and illegal imprisonment of a citizen and is apparently guilty of abuse of authority not to mention reckless endangerment of a human life. He should be arrested and charged with these crimes. He is not above the law and if the Chief of Police ignores this he should be fired too. The FBI should investigate this case. It was a federal crime. He should be treated as any suspected criminal and given his day in court. Let a jury decide.
This is a perfect example of the importance of the first link in the chain of help, the 9-1-1 call taker. If this link fails, people can die. Yet the position is not looked at as a profession in many agencies around the country. Police are often chosen to fill in to these important positions as a means of punishment or filling human resource gaps. There are absolutely no mandatory, standardized training requirements in many states for 9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers either but most states require training and certification to cut your hair. This doesn’t make sense and needs to change for the betterment of public safety and customer service.
@Bray Exactly…do to them what they do to us all the time….Pile up a string of charges (real or made up) and let the jury decide….Good Point!
If you or I were to hang up on an emergency 911 call like that cop did, we’d be arrested and facing up to two years in jail in certain parts of the country, if not more. It is a class A misdemeanor. I know this because I sat in jail with a guy that was arrested for just that – I was in jail for a class A misdemeanor as well, without bail for fibbing to a police officer.
If the claim the 911 officer made is provably false as it is shown in the report then isn’t this pretty much a kidnapping case and endangering the life of the person lying on the floor? Beyond firing, shouldn’t this 20 year veteran police officer do some time in jail?
Everyone forgets we pay financially for the bad behavior of law enforcement. Our tax dollars at work, paying for the many lawsuits by the police officers unable to control their anger….we see verbal abuse, physical abuse and even murder daily on the news. I understand they are human and we all have emotions but that is why not everyone is cut out for law enforcement. When unemploment is so high they need to appreciate the position that has been afforded to them via our tax dollars and a simple repremand is not the answer. When an officer is found guilty he should have to pay for all lawsuit winnings and serve jail time, then he may learn respect for the law and the power that was graciously given to him with trust.