911 Operater Tells Boy Not to Play With Phone as His Mother Dies Saturday, April 08, 2006 DETROIT — A 5-year-old boy called 911 to report that his mother had collapsed in their apartment, but an operator told him he should not be playing on the phone, and she died before help arrived. The family of Sherrill Turner, 46, does not know whether a swifter response could have saved her life, but relatives want to know why the operator apparently treated the call as if it were a prank. Police said the 911 response was under investigation. Turner's son, Robert, placed two calls to 911 after his mother collapsed Feb. 20 on the kitchen floor. During one of the calls, an operator said: "You shouldn't be playing on the phone." In a tape of the call, parts of which were broadcast by Detroit-area television stations, the operator said: "Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble." In an audio of the tape played on TV, some of what the boy says is unintelligible. Delaina Patterson, the eldest of Turner's 10 children, said police did not arrive until three hours later. She said only Robert and his mother were home at the time. Detroit police spokesman James Tate said it was at least an hour before authorities arrived, but he said he did not have details. By that time, the boy's mother had died, he said. "The operator may have believed he was playing on the phone," Tate said. Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings said it was important not to rush to judgment. "If disciplinary action is recommended following the completion of the investigation, then that is the course that will be taken," she said. The 911 operator remains on the job amid the investigation, Tate said
I know in a lot of places...2 prank calls and they won't send assistance..or they send a letter saying the city charges you the cost of dispatch.. I'll be interested to know the outcome of this one.... Sad story..... from a friend...: I heard the 911 call on the radio this morning. I couldn't believe the tone in the operator's voice. They said the family is suing the city of Detroit. they also said the boy called back....
It dont surprise me any. I know when my buddy died I called 911 and after they got me off hold they asked for a number where they could call back to, after I explained I was on a cell phone with no service and it didnt have a number to call back to and that we needed an ambulance and he had no pulse the operator still wasnt interested in anything other than a phone number to call back, went through it about 4 or 5 times before I repeated the situation, need for an abulance and our location then hung up and tossed the phone to do what I could.
