911 Operator with a sense of humor!

[XRQTOR]

911 Operator with a sense of humor!
I have to admit I would probably say the same thing as the 911 operator.

http://www.dfw.com/multimedia/dfw/n.../911/shoot.html






Just thought you would like to know the outcome of all of this.......
--------------------------------

Joking response by 911 dispatcher draws reprimand

By Leila Fadel

Star-Telegram Staff Writer


WATAUGA _ Lori came home to find her daughters fighting that Monday evening. Her 12-year-old had kicked a hole in the door, and the girls were hitting and throwing things at each other. She feared one or both would be seriously hurt.

She called 911 and asked for help. Her 12-year-old daughter was out of control, she told the call-taker.

"OK. Do you want us to come over to shoot her?" the dispatcher asked, according to a recording released this week. For five seconds, the line went dead.

"Are you there?" the call-taker asked.

"Excuse me?" Lori said.

Mike Forbess, a dispatcher of five years for the Watauga Department of Public Safety, then told her he was joking and apologized. But Lori cannot get his comment out of her head.

"This is a slap in the face that my child was not important enough, my call for help, my 911 call was not important enough that he had to make a joke about it," Lori said Monday. She asked that her last name not be used to avoid identifying her daughters, one of whom has emotional problems.

Forbess immediately told his supervisor about the call. He received a letter of reprimand two days later. Forbess received a second letter of reprimand from Chief David Van Laar on Monday, the same day the Star-Telegram obtained a copy of the 911 call recording, and of Forbess' disciplinary records. Forbess has apologized repeatedly for the incident.

The mother, however, said her faith in the 911 system remains shaken. She said she plans to file a formal complaint.

"I do not have words to tell you how shocked I am that someone is allowed to do this," she said. "You don't do people like this, and then get a slap on the wrist."

In his letter to Forbess, Van Laar wrote: "This type of response cannot be tolerated, and this letter shall serve as notice that any future unprofessional responses while answering the 911 line will be cause for termination."

But the reprimand is not enough, the mother said.

The next time she has an emergency, she said, she won't feel safe calling 911.

"This man does need to be disciplined," Lori said. "How can a person in this line of work be so unfeeling that he asked a person who needed help, `Would you like us to come over and shoot your child?'

"That's an interoffice disciplinary action," she said of the reprimands. "That doesn't do anything.

Van Laar made no excuses for the dispatcher.

"The reason I didn't take tougher action is, he immediately owned up to his supervisor and said he made a mistake," Van Laar said. "He's a good employee. He just made a severe mistake which is inexcusable ... this is not something you should hear on the other end of a 911 call."

In an interview Monday, Forbess said he is sorry for his comment to the woman. In five years with the department, the dispatcher has never been disciplined for his handling of 911 calls.

Forbess has received two commendations from community members for his work. He was disciplined once with a written warning for working an unauthorized shift for a co-worker.

"I am so sorry for what I said to that lady, and I can never make it up to her," Forbess said. "I'm ashamed of my actions, what I said and what I did. I would take it back if I could, but I can't. I'm just very sorry that I did it. It was a poor choice of things to say."

Forbess said that he sometimes tells jokes or changes his tone of voice to ease the stress of a caller. In this case, he said, his words made the situation worse.

"I admit what I did. It was stupid, it was inexcusable and I'm sorry," Forbess said. "I know it's not enough for her or for the papers or for the rest of the world. I've taken the punishment that they gave."

[Kryton]

oh that is so funny!!!
what the hell would have he done if she had have said YES?

[Franky]

Boy did she take it to heart lol

He should have followed up with...
"Do you know that 911 is to be used for emergencies only"

[needfordspeed]

She took that WAYY to seriously! She just wanted to make a big deal out of it. Anyways it was pretty friggen funny!

[Kryton]

Originally Posted by needfordspeed

She took that WAYY to seriously! She just wanted to make a big deal out of it.

shes American. say no more.
at least his boss didnt over react and seemed to see the funny side of it!

[fordel]

haha what a sooky woman... god get over it lady

damn that was funny tho !

Chris

[pauljh74]

she's probably talking to her lawyer to sue for damages - being America

[XA-Coupe]

What sort of tool needs police help to sort out her 12 year old daughter?? Peopel expect the police to bring up their kids for them.
Having done police call taking and dispatch when I left the force I can tell you that these sorts of things ( people wanting the cops to sort out their kids ) happens way too often.
Anyway, this makes me think of Police Academy when Tackleberry gets the cat out of the tree

[LuvinmyEB]

Bahahahahahahaha!!

I would have asked them if they could come over and intimidate them a bit with a gun. :hihi:

I had a funny dispatcher once on 000, Kyle decided to sneak out while I was in the shower (he was already grounded), he decided that he'd stay out all day and as it got dark around 9.30pm I started getting really worried. I called the police and reported him as missing after I had driven around looking for him in all his usual haunts. They took the call seriously, put a look out for him and I went back out looking for him also. At 10.30pm I still couldn't find him and and at 10.45pm he walked in the front door like nothing had happened. I called the police immediately and told them that he had turned up and to thank them for their time etc.

The dispatcher asked me if I needed further assistance at home, I told them that if they recieved any calls from anyone in the same court that I lived in about a lady that sounded like she was going psycho, a kid screaming for mercy to just ignore them. He just laughed his @rse off and said "Will do!"

He then proceeded to ask me if Kyle was going to need an ambulance. :

He did try and lighten things up and calm me down a little, which was much appreciated and probably aided Kyle a little, although I still kicked his backside. :nutsycuck

Some people, *cough* Yanks *cough* need to lighten the hell up!

[kiwikid]

some people are so stupid.....

wasnt much of an emergancy in the first place...... she must be a great mother.....

[JAJH]

Originally Posted by XA Coupe

What sort of tool needs police help to sort out her 12 year old daughter?? Peopel expect the police to bring up their kids for them.
Having done police call taking and dispatch when I left the force I can tell you that these sorts of things ( people wanting the cops to sort out their kids ) happens way too often.
Anyway, this makes me think of Police Academy when Tackleberry gets the cat out of the tree

Spot on Jeff, my thoughts exactly, people need to take responsibility for their own lives before blaming everyone else for their problems.

[Dodge]

stupid bitch cant controll her kids, she wastes peoples time with small domestic stuff when injured people are on hold, i would have shot her fo wasting the valuable air time and for being a bad parent who cant controll her own 2 girls..

[b2tf]

Agree with all has been said - first of all, raise your own damn kids, then wake up to yourself and accept a joke. Americans, what more needs to be said.

I will not be at all surprised if i see the silly bitch on Dr. Phil in the coming weeks. :

[Dodge]

i made them jump when i told them i was a australian food cridict, u shold have seen how they treat u then. Some yanks live by the legal book. i think i could have sued half of LA for not smiling

[Dez]

lol, thats a ****er...that guy is a champion....quick witted under an "emergency" situation

raise your own kids, beyatch!

[Angry Beaver]

ok what is she doing in the first place ringing the an emergency only number to sort out a childs paddy? As far as i am concerned she shouldnt have children if she has to resort to ringing 911 when the children start fighting. She needs to get a life....

[Dez]

i just listened to it again, and still laughed....but for someone that is in desperate need of police to control a massive emergency, she is awful calm, the backround is dead quiet, and she seems to forget all about her quote, un-quote emergency, very very quickly. :lookedat: