Posted on 04/14/2005 5:39:53 AM PDT by WestTexasWend
WATAUGA (AP) - A 911 dispatcher has apologized after responding to a mother's plea for help with an unruly child by saying: "OK. Do you want us to come over to shoot her?"
The woman, identified only as Lori in Wednesday's editions of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, said she recently phoned authorities after coming home to find her daughters fighting. She told the call-taker her 12-year-old, who had kicked a hole in the door, was out of control.
After dispatcher Mike Forbess' comment, the line went dead for 5 seconds.
"Are you there?" Forbess asked.
"Excuse me?" Lori said.
Forbess, a dispatcher for five years at the Watauga Department of Public Safety, told her he was joking and apologized.
The woman was not amused.
"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. The newspaper withheld the woman's complete identity to protect her daughters.
Forbess immediately told his supervisor about the call and received a letter of reprimand two days later. He received a second written reprimand from Chief David Van Laar on Monday, the same day the Star-Telegram obtained a transcript of the 911 call.
"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," Van Laar wrote to Forbess.
The woman said she wants more done than what she termed just an "interoffice disciplinary action."
"I admit what I did. It was stupid, it was inexcusable and I'm sorry," Forbess told the newspaper. "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."
Van Laar said he didn't issue a harsher penalty because Forbess immediately told his supervisor and admits making a mistake.
"He's a good employee. He just made a severe mistake which is inexcusable," Van Laar said. "This is not something you should hear on the other end of a 911 call."
Watauga is a Fort Worth suburb of about 22,100 residents.
...my dad wouldn't have called "911" he would have called "leather belt"
DOn't shoot the 12 year old.
Shoot the mother for calling 911 on her daughter's unruly behavior.
911 operators should never joke on the job.
Mothers should not call 911 when their pre-teen children fight.
Oh, shutup you whiny excuse of a parent!
"He's a good employee. He just made a severe mistake which is inexcusable," Van Laar said.
Good grief! Lapse in judgment? Yes. Severe mistake? Gimme a break! A severe mistake is rerouting a company of fire trucks to the wrong neighborhood while a senior citizens center burns to the ground.
Maybe she wants someone to go over and shoot him? /sarcasm
ROFL! God love him- the dispatcher was honest- fessed up right away- was apologetic and respectful. In the meantime- shame on the mom for calling 911 for frivilous reasons.
Yeah, yeah...he shouldn't have said it...but imagine being a 911 dispatcher listening to non-emergency complaints all day and night...
The Dispatcher made a grave mistake by speaking the truth.
Parents, remember. If you call 911 because of an argument between your children, there is a real possibility that the police will show up and shoot them.
Calling 911 for the police is a request for emergency armed response by a law officer. Sometimes that response can take an unexpected turn. If a parent is not prepared to see somebody get shot, they he should probably not be dialing 911.
"Oh, shutup you whiny excuse of a parent!"
Right! Reckon her kid is out of control because, instead of busting the kid, mom is always blaming someone else and making her kid a victim? It takes a village idiot to raise a liberal's child...
"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,"
Guess what lady, it wasn't!
Wanna bet she sues them before the end of next week.
Those are the 2 lines that struck me also.
sheeeesh
Humor is a good thing, even when introduced at times one would least expect it. This whiner needs to get a life. Some people take themselves and life so seriously they need some sleep, or an enema, or both.
"Hello this is 911, Emergency Response and Parenting Tips. How can we help you?"
That mother (I am using this title loosely) should have her butt spanked for letting a twelve year old get out of hand and bothering a 911 phone center.
Hah! Mine would have called "willow switch."
The good ole days before 'the state' began stealing the souls out of families.
This is classic case of "displaced anger". The mother is mad at her daughter and about her failure as a parent.
So she directs that anger and self-loathing toward someone who slipped up due to the frustration of dealing with Jerry Springer show rejects.
The 911 operator should not lose his job but receive some retraining regarding sensitivity. The end.
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