17 Year Old Girl Arrested For Cursing At A 911 Operator To Help Dying Father In Detroit! "Are You G

Originally posted by Static Sky
I found a little more information on this by using the officers name to search.

policecrimes.org...

The site linked above gives what looks to be a pretty solid account of the way it all happened and the second entry on the linked page sais that all charges against the girl were dropped. Also, the girl and her father are working on a settlement in regards to their lawsuit. Cheers.

I did not see this reply, I am happy the girl is safe - really content, thanks

Wow, i can relate to the girl in this story.
I have a experience similarish to that where i lost the plot, i didnt get arrested for it, in fact people understood like normal humans,but ill tell you to the best of my recollection what happened and how i reacted anyway.

One night a few years back myself and some friends were walking on a country road and was crossing the road to get to a better walking track when one of my friends was hit by a car at speed, at first we called the emergency line and told what had happened and they said help was on the way. Now i cant say for sure what the time frame was probably not long really but a second more urgent call was placed, and by the third call realising the seriousness that our friend was dying there was plenty of yelling and some cursing. Then eventually help did arrive but it was the local volunteer firefighters who i knew where not going to be able to give the help my friend needed so i went off even more, cursing and screaming and the like, and then eventually the medics arrived which by that time i had calmed down.
So basically i panicked, i was scared and i lost control at the time, i was not the only one but its a normal human reaction. To punish somebody for being scared is awful, just plain wrong. After a couple of days i made my way to the local firehouse to apologise for my behaviour that night, and of course it was fine by the volunteers they perfectly understood. In a small community all the volunteers knew who they were treating that night, they don tdeserve an earfull when they arrive but they understand its just the way things can be in an emergency.

It is amazing what the cops will do these days. Just today in Michigan we had an idiot threaten suicide and it took the cops 8 hours to talk this guy down. These same cops in the same city chased a kid down and taserd him to death for running from a car that he was in. Now, the kid may have been resisting and may have deserved to be hit with the taser. I do not know...

On the other hand we have a guy the cops will allow to shut down an entire freeway for 8 hours for. Look at the picture in the link below. This guy cost the people of South East Michigan millions in lost revenue and time.

I just can't believe it took the cops 8 hours to talk this guy down when they are ready to shoot at the drop of a hat. Not that I think the guy should have died but sheese...

I really think they shut the freeway down just to feel some kind of importance to justify their jobs. As you can tell from the picture it was a real mess. People turning around on the freeway and what not...

The point is there are no standards. You have a cop unwilling to help a 17 year old and puts no value on life but they will give some nut job an outlet to screw up millions of people's day and cost millions of dollars. What a sad society....

Originally posted by loam

I agree with you with respect to the officer, but why did she insist upon going to the police station for help as opposed to a neighbor?

It said right in the video that she went there to file a complaint. I would have too! Any one in there right mind would have filed a complaint about that officers behavior which was completley unacceptable.

yes, she cussed. She did not originally cuss at him She cussed because she could not get throught and was claerly frustrated and scared for her dad. I would have cussed too!

The officer hung up (what is supposed to be a big no no) multiple times, called HER names which prompted her to respond in kind and after she got to the station to file a complain he arrested her on charges that do not even exsist in the legal system!

ALl he got was 2 weeks suspension with no pay? Why would ANY ONE want an employee like that? Why would a sheriff want a police officer on the force who does that?

It is not accpetable. I stand right behind this woman. I would have cussed too. I would have gone even further too. I hope she presses and presses untill this guy either resigns or is fired. This is just completley unacceptable behavior on the part of the one person in the situation who is supposed to remain calm and gather information no matter what the person on the phone is saying!

This was a dispicable act by a dispicable man. This is not acceptable by any means.

out of character...right....sure it is. his "character" showed loud and clear.

this cop is a moron and should be fired. no if's and's or but's about it. none.

9-11 operators, in my experience, are the densest, most base, non-feeling meatsacks I've ever spoken to. They are as unfeeling as a block of ice and just as cold when it comes to people. They have no sense of urgency. They have no empathy.

A little over a year ago a UW student named Brittany was beaten and stabbed to death in her apartment one afternoon after class. It was later released that she had called 911 during the attack but was unable to talk because she was in the middle being murdered. All the operator was able to hear was some noises. The line went dead as the killer was able to snatch the phone away and destroy it (the shattered pieces were recovered from the scene). As there was no direct call for help, only the muffled sounds as she fought the brief and loosing struggle for the phone, the 911 operator failed to dispatch a cop to at least go and check on her welfare. She might very possibly be alive today if he had.

Needless to say this caused an explosive uproar around town. There aren't to many murder in Madison, mabey 7-8 a year, and a pretty young student with her whole life ahead of her being killed this way is really unheard of. The point is that the oversight of simply not knowing for sure that there was an emergency caused firings, resignation of the 911 center head, our county executive was nearly removed and has since completely overhauled and upgraded the Dane county 911 center and equipment, including better tracing and sound technology and headsets as well as the hiring of a dozen or so more operators to ensure a faster responce. My point is that the incident created a massive upgrade to our emergency services, and sever repercutions for those deemed irresponsible as well as for their bosses.

In this case the 911 operator is completely in the wrong, and its lucky for him that he doesn't live here. The first and foremost job of the 911 operator is to assess what type of emergency there is and to dispatch assistance. this is the FIRST THING, always, period!

He happened to answer to the F-word. What he should have done is pressed for the situation, NOT admonish her for swearing. Mabey "Theres no need to swear what type of emergency" or something, but a HANG UP is unacceptable and doing so endanged a life. I would never feel safe knowing that if I had to call 911 I might end up with this guy to help me.

A 911 operator is a special job. It is not telemarketing a cheaper car insurance, peoples lives depend on that service and that is it's only purpose for existing. If you will be so offended that you will disconnect at the sound of a scared teenager dropping the F-bomb, then do not apply. if you are caught disconnecting you have voluntarily resigned.
My opinion.

reply to post by AlienChaser


--and a very eloquently stated opinion at that. Good post!

I wholeheartedly agree that a 911 operator is a special service job, and they should really do some sort of screening to sort out the people who aren't any smarter than a bag of hammers. Its a job that requires patience and sensitivity, and above all else professionalism.

I saw this on the news and could not believe what I was seeing.

First of all, its a cuss word, if those operates can not handle a curse word comming from someone under distress and panic, they do not belong behind the phone. The guy hung up on her two or three times, and the manner in which he did so was just as childish as the panicked girl, except only the girl had a REAL reason to be in the state of mind she was.

I also noticed when she said it, she wasnt talking to the operator, she was waiting for the operator to pick up, she cursed, she told him what the problem was, and instead of addressing the problem at hand, he had to go and worry about her cursing, I mean come on its an EMERGENCY PHONE CALL, where is the professionalism on behalf of the operator? I didnt see it, all i saw was childish behaviour on his part by hanging up on the girl those couple times.

If you ask me, I think that operator should have lost his job, and I do not believe that girl should have gotten arrested.
Thats another thing...how could they arresther for cursing? thats not against the law. Seems to me that the police are protecting their own yet again, and underming people in need of services.

reply to post by loam

I think you are completely missing the point. This incident comes down to one simple fact. The sociopathic ego tripping cop is paid and trained, using American taxpayers hard earned dollars, to perform his duty in a professional manner whilst on duty. The daughters reaction should not be in question as her role was not to be the trained, paid professional.

Also, her attitude and language and how she reacted to the percieved threat to her fathers life is none of your business!

The level of professionalism from your police, and other emergency service staff should be.

Maybe you just can't help identifying with bullies. You come across as an enabler.

I wonder if you would feel the same way if you, or a loved one, had a very serious injury while out alone and some teenage kid is trying to help. However, they don't have any medical training and their means of articulating themselves is, to say the least, a bit loose.

By your judgement of the girls behaviour, you are justifying a system that would withhold vital lifesaving services, JUST because the operator is an ego tripping control freak.

SHAME ON YOU!

reply to post by maya27

Originally posted by maya27
...The sociopathic ego tripping cop is paid and trained, using American taxpayers hard earned dollars, to perform his duty in a professional manner whilst on duty. The daughters reaction should not be in question...

Where his conduct is concerned, I agree. Her behavior did not entitle him to withdraw the possibility of aid.

Did you think I had a different view?

Originally posted by maya27
Also, her attitude and language and how she reacted to the percieved threat to her fathers life is none of your business!

Well, this does happen to be a discussion board.

Originally posted by maya27
Maybe you just can't help identifying with bullies. You come across as an enabler.

I realize you are new here... If you knew my post history, I think you'd quickly share in the humor of your assertion.

Originally posted by maya27
By your judgement of the girls behaviour, you are justifying a system that would withhold vital lifesaving services, JUST because the operator is an ego tripping control freak.

SHAME ON YOU!

Nonsense.

I neither justify the system, nor the extremely poor judgment exhibited by both of these actors.

He was wrong. She was stupid.

He should lose his job. She should learn something from this experience.

Like I said previously, I could see doing exactly what she did the first and even possibly the second time. BUT once I realized what kind of power-trip-nutcase I was dealing with, I would not have wasted time proving I was right, but instead done whatever it took to get the moron on the other end to help me and my loved one.

*sigh*

Take a deep breath and actually think about what I am saying. You might find you actually completely agree.

[edit on 7-5-2009 by loam]

reply to post by loam


Loam, it's a tough position to defend, but I see what you are saying. Every situation can be evaluated that way. I am sure she learned something from the experience, and luckily for both parties her father is ok.

Sadly, because of the cops actions, she probably learned a lot more than how to behave during an emergency. At 17, that lesson would have been hard enough, and we have all over-reacted and regretted it later with a cooler head.

But, she also learned:
1. Don't trust the authorities, they might be pin-head power trippers.
2. Don't cross TPTB, because they can arrest, punish, belittle, and harm you in many creative ways for the smallest reasons.
3. Don't feel safe at home, because the world is not the way it looks in those OnStar commercials, and help is not always easy to get.

and worst: Whenever you are wronged by someone, sue them, they will still be pinheads, you won't regain what was lost, but at least you'll have some of my tax-payer or insurance premium money in your pocket to make you feel better.

Not faulting them for suing, it was their only recourse (other than hiding in his bushes one night a couple years later and getting real justice), but the situation illuminates a seriously flawed system on all levels (now we get to pay for that cops mistake)!

reply to post by getreadyalready

Originally posted by getreadyalready
1. Don't trust the authorities, they might be pin-head power trippers.

Check.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
2. Don't cross TPTB, because they can arrest, punish, belittle, and harm you in many creative ways for the smallest reasons.

Double check.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
3. Don't feel safe at home, because the world is not the way it looks in those OnStar commercials, and help is not always easy to get.

TRIFECTA!!!!

Originally posted by getreadyalready
Whenever you are wronged by someone, sue them, they will still be pinheads, you won't regain what was lost, but at least you'll have some of my tax-payer or insurance premium money in your pocket to make you feel better.

It's the golden-plaintiff dream of every American.

Someone find me a place to slip and fall!!! Or where's a good unjustified tasering when you need one?

Originally posted by getreadyalready
(now we get to pay for that cops mistake)!

Welcome to the club...

It's the American way.



[edit on 7-5-2009 by loam]

whats the guys name again, whats his address? does it look like he live in a trailer park... haha and driver a soccer mom van.... i always thought being a cop was a cool job... and then they turned into little piggies

There was an inquest in Australia recently of a 17 y o who got lost and died of thirst after ringing emergency very politely 7 times on his mobile in the preceding 48 hours.

The calls are all on record and show the woman at the other end ridiculing him for not being able to give a street address.
She never passed on the fact that he'd rung to any authority, even though a well publicised search was on looking for him.

It turned out the same woman had been "counselled" a few years earlier for a similar incident. She will probably be counselled again.

Sometimes these operators need a good dose of a great Kevin Bloody Wilson song which I probably shouldn't link to here.

If you are a public official, there is no room to have a big ego or be power hungry. He is there to serve her, not the other way around! Man, I hope he understands how wrong that was.

Although this isn't the case in this instance, what if this girl had've been suffering from Tourettes Syndrome? They can swear a LOT under duress and stress and a situation like this would set off their condition.

The reason I bring this up is in the past I have worked with people who have this condition.
And this is being diagnosed a lot more.

My point is, emergency workers should concentrate on getting help to the INJURED PERSON and not make judgements on the personality of the person making the call. They could be drunk, they could be on drugs, they could be mentally ill. None of this should be of consequence , if there focus is on the injured party and not the caller.

It seems to be a more recurring problem with emergency lines these days.

I remember up till about a decade ago, they would TRACE CALLS that dropped out and send an ambulance, the Police or firefighters.

I guess those days are long gone.

You'd be better off calling an ambulance from your local station yourself , than go through an emergency number these days.

Detroit cops are some of the worst cops I have ever encountered.

Further, Detroit is a rather large city dense with crime of all kinds; all kinds which the police are of little or no help. They show up to a crime scene -or any place requested- when they feel like it.

detroitnews.com.../20090129/METRO08/901290400

The above link concerns a man who'd died in a building, and police eventually got around to recovering the body, frozen in ice. Even after a reporter called 911. It was Firemen who responded to the calls, more than a day later.

So a 17 yr. old girl swore. BFD. Detroit police just look for excuses not to do their jobs; unless their duty is pimping for the mayor, they can't be bothered.

I am glad her dad is ok but that cop is a moron! I know the one time I had to call 911 I was NOT calm! I dont know anyone really who would remain calm in a life or death situation really. She is only 17 for heavens sake! She was probably scared her dad was going to die and this cop should be fired!