Cop Arrests Girl for Swearing During 911 Call

YouTube ^ | 07 May 2009 | Steve Wilson

[Vigilantcitizen]

Lemme ask you a question?

The next time I get pulled over and get a gun throwed in my face, with a screaming idiot yelling "Get you f&$#ckin hands on the wheel, now!", should I ignore him because he used profanity?

[SealSeven]

Sorry about that, didnt mean to send it to you. Meant for it to go to all.
Yes, sometimes telco info can be wrong but regardless, we still must respond. Luckily, telco info is updated more often than it used to be. The real problem is with cell phones since it only shows the cell tower closest to the call.
If I receive a call for fire, I transfer the call to fire and stay on the line while they verify to save time. Callers having to repeat everything they just told me could be the difference between life and death, especially where fire calls are concerned.
Also, returning a hang-up calls is a no-no. There could be a domestic in progress of which one party doesn’t want the other party to know they have called the police. If the wrong party answers when you call back, problems can escalate quickly.
All 911 hang-ups are treated the same. The worst case scenario is assumed and the call is approached with extreme caution with no less than 2 units responding.
Liability is clear cut. If you receive a call and fail to render aid, you screwed up. If I receive a call from someone who uses expletives and do nothing because i’m offended by their language and someone gets hurt, killed, dies, whatever. Its my butt.(and rightly so)

[Filo]

Gov't bureacy both protects the workers, as well as makes their lives a soul-sucking drudgery. But, the way these departments are funded, it's almost impossible to hire someone, it's almost impossible to fire someone. Don't hire a minority, file paperwork. You end up with tons of employees, some are driftwood who know that they are 'safe'. Others are really great people, but they can't get promoted because of seniority, or Gov't guidelines - so they are stuck and eventually lose their motivation.

Exactly.

So, if they are incapable of doing their job - a job which my taxes pay for - then why bother?

There are far better alternatives out there including doing without "services" like the IRS and DMV.

Then there is the unending drudgery of the job itself. I pity the Post Office clerk, who faces endless lines of people. Selling stamps, weighing boxes, fetching the boxes that someone has to pick up.

What about the retail clerk or the bagger or the janitor?

Crappy, soul-sucking jobs aren't the sole purview of the government. The government, however, promotes them as a lifestyle.

And in the government you can get away with doing a crappy job at a crappy job.

A grocery bagger who sucks will soon be unemployed. A retail clerk with a bad attitude will be right behind.

A government worker with the same characteristics is employed for life.

This is where industry was supposed to shine. Good people got promoted, bad people got fired. Bonus's provided incentive where merit raises failed. Then the bean counters decided that bonus's was wasted money; that everyone is replaceable, loyality was for fools, and it's easier to layoff the plant and move the factory out of the country.

The private sector still shines at this even with a bit of luster gone.

Sure it could be better, but it is far better than the public sector no matter what.

[ArmstedFragg]

By “hang-up call”, I meant an equivalent of the situation here, except the caller says “send me an ambulance”, then starts cussing at you and hangs up. Our guys will call back on those and try to get more info. With just a “breather”, or a dial followed by a hang-up, PD gets dispatched without a callback.

[Oztrich Boy]

Does profanity help, in any way? Does it convey anything at all that expresses urgency, severity, or a special need?

In the appropriate circumstances, yes.

[Uncle Meat]

Say “officer down!”.

How 'bout"FREE DONUTS!GET YOUR FREE DONUTS!"[Sorry,couldn't help myself.]

[Swordmaker]

...and if that was your conclusion from the transcript, you'd be wrong. What he began trying to do, which is what you always do with an upset caller, is to get her to slow down and give you the information you need.

No, I don't think so. Listen to the recording. She gave immediate information including the address: "I need an ambulance at (address)." Except for her original comment which was a frustrated, interjectional aside not intended for him, she was on task. His reply was "Well, OK, first of all you don't need to swear over 911 ("OK") and slow down."

He could have easily, calmly said, "Please tell me why you need an ambulance."

Instead when she, more panicked escalated the demand for help, he hung upon her.

HE wanted to change to subject to proper 911 etiquette, which was not responsive to her emergency, which escalated the issue. Once she repeated the dirty word while asking for an ambulance, he did not attempt to calm her or get more information, he just hung up. That'll sure show her the error of her ways.

When she called back to find out if an ambulance was being sent or not, his response was to make the sending of emergency help conditional on her behavior and then escalated the issue by insulting her: "Are you going to swear again, you stupid ass?"

By calling her "a stupid ass," he intended to insult and belittle her, again escalating the situation, not calm her down or get useful information. When she getting even more upset, asked "Are we going to have a f**king problem?" He raised the bar even farther by telling her "No you are not going to get one!"

Never did he attempt to find out the extent of the problem. He was much more interested in his power trip of making her toe the line he wanted.

When she responded hotly, "Do you want to f**king lose your job?" he again hung up on her. This is NOT attempting to learn more information, it is getting on a high horse and pushing her buttons.

Six minutes before actually sending help because he didn't like the callers language is unconscionable.

[Marie2]

Oh yeah, I think the daughter should be in major trouble.

I just don’t want her dad left in convulsions because of her misbehavior.

[KrisKrinkle]

“...act like an abusive idiot; you should get treated like an abusive idiot (ie. ignored).”

Your position on abuse is worth nothing.

I had planned on ignoring you as you suggest but I went to your homepage thinking there might be something there and sure enough you send abuse to the world at large when you write “...you are a either simply stupid or gullible...” if Hodar’s special criteria aren't met. (And you obviously don't see the flaw in logic of what you wrote.)

You get a freebie response now since I'm going to go back to ignoring you.

[scripter]

I believe you're right. I waited for the officers to arrive and described myself and what I was wearing to the 911 operator, and then unloaded the gun and walked outside with only the bullets in my pocket and the .357 by the open front door. The male officers said not to worry about the operator and said they would have done the same thing.

I certainly didn't want to walk outside with a loaded gun with 5 or 6 units on the scene with too many unknowns...

Last week we had some census workers walking around our backyard wondering if my unattached office was a second residence. No matter how many times I tell them, they always return with the same questions. If they do that one or more times I'll greet them very differently, and maybe they'll learn to stay off private property.

[brytlea]

I’m sure that’s why she was upset. On the other hand, (and I don’t know how long she let it ring, I don’t think it said, but when you are in a panic any time at all seems like a lifetime) it may not have rung very many times and if she called 3 times in succession, (which I think they would know on the other end—perhaps I’m wrong?) and then the first thing the guy heard from her mouth was foul language, I can see where his initial reaction may have been that it was a prank call.
That’s all I’m saying. That may have been why he initially started out handling the call badly.

[fellowpatriot]

Actions have consequences, act like an abusive idiot; you should get treated like an abusive idiot (ie. ignored).

Not when someone's life is at stake. This cop has an emotional problem, he acted like a typical liberal - he responded with emotion instead of logic.

[Steve Van Doorn]

how would you call an ambulance?

[b359]

I agree with you. Cop was wrong, reprimand him.

Anyone note that in her panic she still had the presence of mind to demand his name in preparation for upcoming litigation and all the while her pop is flopping around on the floor.

Two idiots from Michigan.