5-year old boy's 911 call marked as 'Prank'

[Janice]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080116/NEWS01/801160333/1003


]
Robert Turner, now 7, called 911 in February 2006 as his
mother lay unconscious. She died of an enlarged heart.


Boy's 911 call marked as prank

'She hung up on me,' he testifies at dispatchers' trial

The first 911 call was coded by operators as "pk" for prank.

The second call, three hours later, was coded "family trouble."

On both occasions, a 46-year-old woman lay unconscious in her nightgown on the floor of her Detroit apartment as her 5-year-old son tried to get help. And on neither call did dispatchers request EMS.

On the first call, 911 dispatcher Sharon Nichols, 45, told the boy, Robert Turner, "I'm gonna send the police to your house and find out what's going on with you." Then she hung up, according to transcripts. She never requested any action.

Only after the second call and a scolding did 911 operator Terri Sutton, 48, request a police response. Police arrived and found Sherrill Turner dead. They then called for EMS assistance. It was later learned that Turner died of an enlarged heart.

But before calling police, Sutton told Robert: "You shouldn't be playing on the phone," and "Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on your door and you're going to be in trouble."

Both operators are on trial in Detroit's 36th District Court, charged with misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty in connection with the Feb. 20, 2006, phone calls at 5:59 p.m. and 9:02 p.m. They face up to a year in jail if convicted.

Robert, now 7, dressed in a Spider-Man T-shirt, testified Tuesday that he put his hands on his mother's chest and didn't feel a heartbeat. He said he called 911.

"She hung up on me," Robert said. "She said, 'Stop playing on the phone.' "

When Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Lora Weingarden asked him how the operator treated him, the boy replied, "Not good."

E.J. Reeves, who supervises the 911 call center in Detroit, testified that if a child calls in and says his or her mother has passed out, then EMS should be requested before police.

She also testified operators are trained to "assume any call that comes in is an emergency."

Sutton's lawyer, David Lee, contended in his opening statement that his client called police, proving she did not ignore the boy.

Nichols' lawyer, Cornelius Pitts, told jurors that Robert's mother already was dead when the call came in. He said the trial will expose flaws in Detroit's 911 system and that the city is trying to scapegoat the dispatchers.

"It was a rush to judgment based on this city administration's cowardice, ineptness, their interest in saving their own hides, to blame the operators," Pitts said.

[catlover79]

That's terrible!!!

[Scoobiedoo30]

what is going to happen to the boy who called 911

[LuLu Rogers]

Idiots, they should have checked on him!

[Hollow]

i remember when that happened. hope those idiots rot.

[Stormtracker TF]

I remember this, it was a huge story around here. Both sad and disgusting, and stuff like this goes on far too often around here.

[junecleaver]

they're supposed to respond regardless. Even if kids are prank calling 911, they still have to respond because it'll scare the crap out of them when cops show up to arrest them.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by junecleaver

they're supposed to respond regardless. Even if kids are prank calling 911, they still have to respond because it'll scare the crap out of them when cops show up to arrest them.

I agree 100%. They'll REALLY learn a lesson then!!

[Lee]

Originally Posted by Janice

Sutton's lawyer, David Lee, contended in his opening statement that his client called police, proving she did not ignore the boy.

Nichols' lawyer, Cornelius Pitts, told jurors that Robert's mother already was dead when the call came in. He said the trial will expose flaws in Detroit's 911 system and that the city is trying to scapegoat the dispatchers
"It was a rush to judgment based on this city administration's cowardice, ineptness, their interest in saving their own hides, to blame the operators," Pitts said.

Those 911 dispatchers were idiots and their lawyers are even bigger idiots-
how anyone could even think that those dispatchers responded in an
appropriate manner is beyond me. The City Of Detroit and Wayne County is
taking the right steps in my opinion because what those two 911 dispatchers
did was wrong, there is no doubt whatsoever about that. I just hope that
the boy is not castigated and humiliated because of this. I hope those two
911 dispatchers(if you can call them that) serve time in prison for this utter
injustice.

[Hollow]

Originally Posted by junecleaver

they're supposed to respond regardless. Even if kids are prank calling 911, they still have to respond because it'll scare the crap out of them when cops show up to arrest them.

hah....excellent point.

[Pus$y Galore]

Yes, I thought 911 HAD to dispatch no matter what and if it turned out to be a true prank then they deal with it legally after the fact.

That poor sweet looking kid - now motherless. You CAN'T compensate that.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by Lee

Those 911 dispatchers were idiots and their lawyers are even bigger idiots-
how anyone could even think that those dispatchers responded in an
appropriate manner is beyond me. The City Of Detroit and Wayne County is
taking the right steps in my opinion because what those two 911 dispatchers
did was wrong, there is no doubt whatsoever about that. I just hope that
the boy is not castigated and humiliated because of this. I hope those two
911 dispatchers(if you can call them that) serve time in prison for this utter
injustice.

I heard today that both of them won't face any charges of any kind. Most likely, they will both be fired. I hope the family sues those b*tches civilly.

[Janice]

I think of that poor little boy, Robert, only five years old, feeling for his mother's pulse, by putting his hands on her chest. How scared he must have been. I could cry my heart out, with that image in my mind. He did what he was taught to do, like a good little boy, and instead of getting the help he needed, he gets hung up on and scolded by two bitches, who I would personally like to smack them in the face.

There were three hours between Robert's calls to those two ass. Imagine how frightened and confused he must have felt. They never sent medical help. They finally sent the cops to have him busted. A five-year old, trying to save his mother's life, and getting yelled at and threatened. I hope they go to prison. I hope his family sues and he ends up getting ALL those own and half of Detroit.

[Pus$y Galore]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

I heard today that both of them won't face any charges of any kind. Most likely, they will both be fired. I hope the family sues those b*tches civilly.

I cannot believe that. Why is it public servants seem to be protected more. That is a major breach of protacall. Meanwhile, they'll lose their jobs, but their pensions will be left intact and they'll like be given good references or some sort of severence. Ridiculous.

[Janice]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

I heard today that both of them won't face any charges of any kind. Most likely, they will both be fired. I hope the family sues those b*tches civilly.

The article here states that they've been charged with misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty . Sounds like the trial is underway now.