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911 Operator: ' I Don't Give A S**t What Happens To You' »

Posted By TimALoftis 5 months ago in News
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As we first revealed, when Sheila Jones needed help, help never came. That despite repeated calls to Metro Nashville's 911 over a three-hour stretch about an ex-boyfriend who'd assaulted her and was threatening to come back. (via rawstory)

Read Full Story at newschannel5.com »

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Comments So Far: 72
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    BronxBomber5 months ago

    That's incredible! That NOBODY came to her rescue, and the reason for that is because the police were involved in some routine traffic stop. What a warped sense of priorities!

    Plus, to have a 911 operator call after call from this distraught lady who had an ex bf who wanted to shish-ke-bob her with a knife. After she hung up in frustration to have this jagoff operator to say afterwards: "I really don't give a **** about what happens to you." Is as repulsive as one can get. Don't they actually screen these folks very carefully before they hire them?

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      slate4 months, 4 weeks ago

      WOW! I thought 911 was supposed to mean, we care and we are sending help your way, no matter who you are, the color of your skin or where you are when you need the help?

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      nostalgia4 months, 4 weeks ago

      Looks like the 911 operator didn't even code the call correctly:

      "For example, police say it wasn't coded as a domestic violence incident. So, with other calls coming in, the officer initially assigned the call decided it wasn't his highest priority."

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      mark-stevens4 months, 4 weeks ago

      It's a crap shot. I've called 911 on a dog beating and got six lit up patrol cars in seconds. I called on three kids having their dog kill a cat no response.

      My girl friend was illegally arrested by counties and 911 kept telling me she was somewhere where she wasn't for 45 minutes..

      The 911 operations are contracted out, the companies pay MacDonald wages and I'm sure they have less training than MacDonalds

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      mackiemesser4 months, 4 weeks ago

      OMG, that blows my mind that a 911 operator would make a comment like that. The vast majority of 911 operators perform with admirable professionalism to serve their communities but it's the occasional jerk like this one that makes the headlines and gives the public a false impression of the cadre of good, caring folk who man those phones. The part that puzzles me is why he didn't get fired because of this incident as I thought that all these calls are monitored or at least reviewed by supervisory personnel?

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        BronxBomber4 months, 4 weeks ago

        Afterwards, he did get fired mackimesser from a supervisor from that video. But much afterwards when this got into the news.

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      nostalgia4 months, 4 weeks ago

      This is what I don't understand:

      "Then, at shift change, the 911 computers deleted records about Sheila's call."

      Shouldn't the records only be deleted once an officer responds to a call?

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        abntv4 months, 4 weeks ago

        The records should never be deleted..they should be logged and then archived.

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        kboy4 months, 4 weeks ago

        This is what you get when a program is funded with no oversight. The fees for 911 service are added to every telephone bill without clear responsibility as to how they are spent. Too often, the money goes to other uses than the call center. 911 offices are staffed with less than trained people in too many instances. Some are really good. Some are not.

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          Lurch4 months, 4 weeks ago

          Interesting point. Is there a `911 super fund`? I assume that 911 is paid for differently by community, but now that you mention it, I do not know how the money is managed.

          Our community is growing, even now. Where is the extra money going?

          Phone bills go up and down. Where does the extra money go when there is extra? What happens when/if revenues are short?

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          Justice4All4 months, 4 weeks ago

          I'm not surprised.

          A couple years ago I called in a roadside accident in Houston and was told by the 911 operator that I needed to talk to another office so she patched me to another operator. The second operator also told me I had the wrong office and passed me back to the first operator. The first operator insisted that it was outside their jurisdiction and hung up on me.

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            jumpmaster4 months, 4 weeks ago

            I don't know what everyone is upset about. (sarcasm)

            The government and the police know what is best for us and with those guardian angels, we do not need to think for ourselves or worry about protecting ourselves. The government has that covered, right?

            The caller did part one correctly. She called the police. Part 2 would have been to be armed and ready to shoot the guy who was threatening to kill her.

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              Will13134 months, 4 weeks ago

              Part 2 would have been to be armed and ready to shoot the guy who was threatening to kill her.

              ------------

              absolutely...

              shoot him FIRST .. THEN CALL 911. that'll get you a response..

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            newbie04204 months, 4 weeks ago

            This operator should serve some time with this abusvie boyfriend.

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              lvrofwolves4 months, 4 weeks ago

              Unbelievable, that poor woman. For whatever reason thankfully that operator was fired, I hope someday he needs serious help, he reaches out and gets that help and realizes what a POS he was to that woman and most likely others.

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              liberal-with-a-gun4 months, 4 weeks ago

              yea, I got an email about something like this, an old man calls 911 and says there are some thugs in his backyard stealing from his shed, they respond with, "lock yourself in the house, and we'll be there in a minute" Frustrated the old man waits ten minutes while watching the thugs clean out his shed, calls back and tells them, "no big hurry, I shot them"

              One minute later 3 police cars show up guns drawn and catch the thieves. the officers that show up say "thought you reported you shot them" the old man responded "thought you said you'd be here in a minute"

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                DropkickaLib4 months, 4 weeks ago

                Wasn't there a story in the news recently about a guy who was prosecuted for shooting someone breaking into his neighbor's home?

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              joeblowe4 months, 4 weeks ago

              This is what would commonly be referred to as a clusterf*ck. An unsupervised trainee, who screwed up, error not caught, supervisor not consulted, untoward comments made into a live mike.

              I can just about GUARANTEE you that if EVERYTHING that was said by the operators at a 911 call center (or ANY call center for that matter) was recorded and played back, you would hear PLENTY of seemingly unprofessional remarks. People ALWAYS talk differently when they KNOW someone is listening. Seen the story about the newswoman who said "f*ck" when she THOUGHT the mike was dead? Not at all uncommon.

              I will say, in THIS case, the knucklehead working that 911 call SHOULD have been fired on the spot. That's just one more error - it wasn't caught immediately by a supervisor and fixed.

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                lvrofwolves4 months, 4 weeks ago

                I agree, there's so much crap said about others, comments made when they think they are out of ear shot, probably a lot worse then this too. What is disturbing tho is he sounded like he really meant it and it's possible her life could have depended on that call. no doubt about it, regardless if anyone else heard it or not, I would have fired him on the spot.

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                sue20084 months, 4 weeks ago

                he was training!!! shouldn't be somebody with him to see he is trained properly!!!what a poor excuse!!!blame it on the new person... very classic

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                  TheRealizer4 months, 4 weeks ago

                  It would seem that in public service being incompetent is the norm rather than the exception.

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                    FIREJEEP4 months, 4 weeks ago

                    WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING???

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                    walden34 months, 4 weeks ago

                    The same thing has happened a few times in Boston recently.

                    "911 call taker's mistake delays police response"

                    http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/...

                    The real issue though is that you can't depend on the police.

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                      BronxBomber4 months, 4 weeks ago

                      "The real issue though is that you can't depend on the police."

                      Who in they're right mind really does? Let's just arm ourselves and give the perps something to think long, and hard about BEFORE they try to break into your house and to do harm to you, and your loved ones.

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                    raats66624 months, 4 weeks ago

                    Although it does seem to be the EXCEPTION rather then the rule these kind of things happen all the time.

                    There are a lot of reasons NONE of which excuses this type of treatment.

                    FORTUNATELY, this woman didn't end up dead because of this error. Too many times, they do.

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                      jordan114 months, 4 weeks ago

                      Had she ended up dead, we wouldn't know anything about this. She needs to get a gun, and learn how to use it. The system does a poor job of protecting women from abusive partners. Here's some statistics just for one county in N.C., where abusers get "days" in jail. Not weeks or months or years. Days.

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                      amandasmother4 months, 4 weeks ago

                      that is so true about hiriing civilians to do a police job,a few years ago i was attacked on my front porch by the time i got in the house i was a wreck..the man was pounding on all my windows and doors i called 911 and then waited over 1 hr for them to arrive..needless to say the man left and was never found...i just told the police i would take care of business myself from now on and i have..

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                        susjeffrey4 months, 4 weeks ago

                        THIS IS IGNORANCE AT ITS BEST. IM GLAD THE PERSON WAS FIRED....UNFORTUNATLY HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED FOR THIS INSTEAD OF FLUNKING A TEST!

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                          SRRummell4 months, 4 weeks ago

                          Alomost two years ago, my sister called me saying my mom had locked herself in her bedroom and took a bunch of prescription pills. I immediately called 911. I gave the guy all the information, but as soon as I said she was in the adjoining county, not the one I was calling from, he said that it wasn't their jurisdiction and that I would have to call the 911 for service for the county SHE lived in. He didn't even patch me through to another station, he just hung up.

                          Wha wha WHAT?? How do I call the 911 service for HER county when every time I dial 911 it takes me back to the one for MY county? Finally, I had to forego calling 911 completely, get out my phonebook and look up the number for the city police where she lived. Thankfully when they arrived she had NOT taken a bunch of pills, but lord only knows what would have happened if she had, and it took that long to get help to her.

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                            Lilyles4 months, 4 weeks ago

                            The guy who said this was at the end of a long line of mistakes. The BIG question is 'Are there enough police in Nashville to cover all the calls?" Sounds like they don't have a sufficient police force. She was not in immediate danger. The guy had left. I live in Florida and we just voted to cut our property taxes because it sounds like a great idea. Guess what gets cut?? Services, like police and fire fighters and school improvements. People need to look deeper into these things. Bet the police force is under financed.

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                              amandasmother4 months, 4 weeks ago

                              i will say one thing in regards to police forces being under financed, no way... just under trained

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                                mark-stevens4 months, 4 weeks ago

                                Depends on regions The Snohomish County Sheriffs are completely out of control always have always will be.

                                The main sheriff is elected, one was busted for running prostitution, another was found shot to death out in the middle of no where in Mexico.

                                The deputy sheriff make up the rules as they go along. I had a car impounded by a county cause he wanted the street cleared for a friends wedding. I have had my girl friend arrested by a crank phone call, I've been assaulted on my property.

                                According to a county council report half of the county sheriff job applicants fail the drug test!!

                                Washington State Patrol is a class act, even when giving a ticket they act respectful.

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                              ICEONFIRE18784 months, 4 weeks ago

                              On July 3 of 2007 in Columbus, Ohio 4 kids kicked my front door in, grabbedme, took me to the basement, gagged me, tied me up and while one of them held a gun to my head, the others took things out of my home. When they left and I managed to get my feet untied, I ran to a neighbors house and called 911 and told them what happened. They said they were sending help. 45 minutes later I called and asked where they were. The 911 operator told me they dont consider what happened an emergency and as soon as an officer was free he would be there, 1 hour and 10 mintes later one officer showed up. Three weeks before that happened another neighbor's son called 911 when a friend of his that was at his house tried to take the stereo out of his car. 7 police cars and the helicopter responded in 6 minutes. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE!!!!!

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                                wvirginia4 months, 4 weeks ago

                                This is a very sad story,this woman could have been killed.I lived in Tennessee and moved recently.The crime rate is very bad.The reason for this happening to this

                                woman is because they will hire any one off the street.Some of them have no education and can hardly read or write.

                                Example,while living in Memphis a lot of police officer were never given a back ground check.Some had been on the force for years with criminal records.Some one found this out and department got rid of them.Should not have happened

                                in the first place.We all shoul have guns.PROTECT YOURSELF

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                                  monty2934 months, 4 weeks ago

                                  Sometimes 911 can be a bitch, I was in a car accident, a lady ran a stop side and hit me in my drivers side door. It was a good thing I was in my 77 solid steel trans am, but I still cut my head and was bleeding badly, and the first car there, a wrecker...

                                  And a comment for Will. That doesn't make sense there can be many interpretations, like if I knew somebody was coming over to beat the ****** out of me, but not really break anything or cause some great bodily harm, but it still wouldn't be pleasant, I'd shoot, not fatally. And if someone broke into my house, I'd shoot and not wait to find out if they intended to inflict bodily harm. I'm not too sure, but I live in Texas, and I think its a little more like if they intend to hurt you at all, you're free to defend yourself with any force. My dad, at his house, keeps a .45 with hollow tipped, and a .22. If the house is broken into, the .45, if there is trespassing, the .22, and if they don't leave, the .45. We have never used them.

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                                    celticlady4 months, 4 weeks ago

                                    This tragic situation occurs more than many realize. When cities and states do not have clear and concise and agressively monitored screening of applicants to work as 911 operators and dispatchers of any first responder agency-events such as this take place. These jobs are stressful, pressure laden and crucical to public safety. It's possible that the officers dispatched and diverted to a traffic incident were sent there by a dispatcher who lacked the skills to triage properly. There are some professions that never should be compromised by improper training, guidance, accountability and oversight. I worked 36 years in the medical field- the bulk of it in acute care. Yes- there are times when you might have to vent your frustrations or mediate your stress- but ethics and professionalism dictate how you do it. Never at the expense of a victim or patient. Hence the slightly off kilter sense of humor those in first responder jobs develop. I would hope the entire department is investigated.

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                                      monohn4 months, 4 weeks ago

                                      I saw her story on CNN, she was totally distraught. It shouldn't matter what race someone is, she should have had help. I really hope she decides to take legal action. Also, she really should keep a gun for her own protection.

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                                        Trowgo4 months, 4 weeks ago

                                        Thank God this guy got fired, but the first 911 call she made the operator was kind stayed on the line with her and even called her back to check on her. That 911 operator needs to be given the kudos in this article.

                                        But if your not from Nashville, you need to know this department had had more than its share of blunders like this one over the last few years. The director had been in hot water over complaints and she is no longer working there either.

                                        Metro Nashville is working on getting new better people hired and trained, but at the cost of Nashvillians paying for the blunders like the one that has gotten national coverage.

                                        Think about the ones you haven't heard about.

                                        Stayed tuned to

                                        www.Newschannel5.com for more on this and other 911 stories in the upcoming News Channel 5 investagation.

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                                          FIREJEEP4 months, 4 weeks ago

                                          WHY DON'T ALL OF YOU WALK A MILE IN THE SHOES OF A 911 OPERATOR BEFORE PASSING JUDGEMENT. I HAVE BEEN A 911 FIRE/POLICE DISPATCHER FOR 10 YEARS NOW AND YOU WOULD NEVER BELIEVE THE AMOUNT OF ****** CALLS DISPATCH CENTERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY RECEIVE ON A DAILY BASIS. YES IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT THE COMPLAINANT DID NOT GET THE HELP SHE NEEDED AND DESERVED. WITH HAT SAID THE COMMENT THE DISPATCHER MADE WAS NOT DIRECTED AT HER AS SHE HAD ALREADY DISCONNECTED THE LINE. KEEP IN MIND HOW MANY RUDE,DISRESPECTFUL,AND ABUSIVE PEOPLE THAT CALL DEMANDING THE DISPATCHER TO FIX ALL THEIR PROBLEMS RIGHT THEN AND THERE!!! I HAVE MADE PLENTY OF COMMENTS AS HAVE ALL MY CO WORKERS ABOUT THE PROBLEMS PEOPLE CALL IN ABOUT TO HELP REDUCE THE STRESS PLACED ON US EACH AND EVERY DAY BY ******S WHO THINK THE WORLD REVOVLES AROUND THEM.

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                                            lvrofwolves4 months, 4 weeks ago

                                            If you can't handle your job, you should find something else less important then helping and saving peoples lives.

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