'Deal with it yourself': Dispatcher hung up on woman giving first aid to shooting victim
 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –  A dispatcher for the Albuquerque Fire Department has resigned after a transcript from a 911 call showed him hanging up on a caller who was giving first aid to a 17-year-old shooting victim who later died.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/07/29/dea...tcmp=hpbt3

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Wants to join the "cereal box" dating service. I've dated enough flakes and nuts...all I want is the prize now.

He was probably too busy cooking meth to pay attention to the phones.

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I always thought it was some kind of crime for the emergency personnel to refuse to help callers? I'm not sure where I got that from?

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I always thought it was some kind of crime for the emergency personnel to refuse to help callers? I'm not sure where I got that from?

It might not be a crime, but it's certainly not good for job security.

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The job of dispatchers and/or 911 operators is not an easy one.  I can understand the operator getting frustrated and ending the call.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

The job of dispatchers and/or 911 operators is not an easy one.  I can understand the operator getting frustrated and ending the call.

Did you see what the guy said, though? I understand being annoyed after she smart-mouthed off to him, but that's no excuse for hanging up on someone who claims to (and in this case, actually was) be fighting a life-or-death battle. I know dispatchers get a lot of junk and prank calls, but there was no excusing or justifying this guy's behavior. Stay on the line until the police and paramedics get there, then let those parties sort it out.

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IMO, the dispatcher was a complete idiot.


And the woman is right, how many times does she have to [BLEEP] tell him?

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Did you see what the guy said, though? I understand being annoyed after she smart-mouthed off to him, but that's no excuse for hanging up on someone who claims to (and in this case, actually was) be fighting a life-or-death battle. I know dispatchers get a lot of junk and prank calls, but there was no excusing or justifying this guy's behavior. Stay on the line until the police and paramedics get there, then let those parties sort it out.

 

It's not just being "annoyed" that makes the job hard.  When you deal with tragedy on a daily basis, it can get to you.  I'm not justifying the guy's actions, I'm merely pointing out that I identify with what he was probably dealing with.  When you deal with high stress situations on a daily basis, it can really get to you.  Every human has a "breaking point".

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

IMO, the dispatcher was a complete idiot.


And the woman is right, how many times does she have to [BAD WORD REMOVED] tell him?

Impossible to say without hearing the audio, but the woman was probably frantic, hyperventilating and talking extremely quickly. Whether or not the victim is breathing is a very important question that the dispatcher absolutely has to be 100% clear on, which is probably why he asked again.

 

It's not just being "annoyed" that makes the job hard.  When you deal with tragedy on a daily basis, it can get to you.  I'm not justifying the guy's actions, I'm merely pointing out that I identify with what he was probably dealing with.  When you deal with high stress situations on a daily basis, it can really get to you.  Every human has a "breaking point".

If you're in a position where someone's life could depend upon your actions, the concept of a "breaking point" goes out the window. If you can't shrug off a snide remark from a woman who's probably got zero emotional control at that point in time, then you should be sweeping the floors of the 911 call center, not working the phones.

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Dispatchers are trained to handle such difficult calls.  The caller, who was a 17 year old girl, was understandably frustrated when asked if her friend was breathing a second time.  Every human has a breaking point, and for that 17 year old girl it was her friend getting shot, and not knowing what to do, and the 911 operator not giving her any instructions.  


The dispatcher did at least send an ambulance, but he should have stayed on the line and given her instructions and helped keep her calm rather than being "I'm not going to deal with this"  Really?  That's your job.  

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I was wrong about Trent Baalke. 

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If you're in a position where someone's life could depend upon your actions, the concept of a "breaking point" goes out the window. If you can't shrug off a snide remark from a woman who's probably got zero emotional control at that point in time, then you should be sweeping the floors of the 911 call center, not working the phones.

 

Not really.  A person can only handle so much.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

Dispatchers are trained to handle such difficult calls.  The caller, who was a 17 year old girl, was understandably frustrated when asked if her friend was breathing a second time.  Every human has a breaking point, and for that 17 year old girl it was her friend getting shot, and not knowing what to do, and the 911 operator not giving her any instructions.  


The dispatcher did at least send an ambulance, but he should have stayed on the line and given her instructions and helped keep her calm rather than being "I'm not going to deal with this"  Really?  That's your job.  

 

How many calls similar to this has the dispatcher been on?  As you stated, every human has a breaking point, is it not possible that the dispatcher reached his?

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

Not really.  A person can only handle so much.

If a 911 dispatcher can't handle taking 911 calls, they should not be a dispatcher. The correct course of action for this dispatcher would have been to complete the call, then tender his resignation. You don't hang up on someone who is trying to save someone else's life.

 

The last sentence is not one I wrote myself. It comes from the Facebook status of a good friend of mine who happens to be a 911 dispatcher in Denver.

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The dispatcher resigned, which is good. He was not qualified.

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If something can corrupt you, you're corrupted already.
- Bob Marley


 

How many calls similar to this has the dispatcher been on?  As you stated, every human has a breaking point, is it not possible that the dispatcher reached his?

I'm sure you'd be just as totally understanding if it was you on the line dealing with a life and death matter of your loved one when a dispatcher decided that they've had enough...

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What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is agoin' on here???

A lot of us want to say that to someone at work. He actually ended up saying it.

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I'm sure you'd be just as totally understanding if it was you on the line dealing with a life and death matter of your loved one when a dispatcher decided that they've had enough...

 

I would be if I had used that kind of language directed at the dispatcher.

 

Again, I don't think that he did the right thing, but I can also understand why he did it.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

I would think the girl dealing with the dying kid and trying to give CPR was ALSO a pretty stressful situation. Maybe, MAYBE even more stressful than the person receiving the phone call. Perhaps he should have been slightly more understanding of her stress level than the fact that she dropped an f bomb on him. \

 

911 Dispatching is difficult and stressful. My father did this for a very short time after military retirement. He hated it, but what that dispatcher did was kind of deplorable, especially given the severe nature of the call.

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It would be interesting to hear the whole call rather than just a snippet of it.  I'm guessing that there is more to the story.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

Impossible to say without hearing the audio, but the woman was probably frantic, hyperventilating and talking extremely quickly. Whether or not the victim is breathing is a very important question that the dispatcher absolutely has to be 100% clear on, which is probably why he asked again.

 


If you're in a position where someone's life could depend upon your actions, the concept of a "breaking point" goes out the window. If you can't shrug off a snide remark from a woman who's probably got zero emotional control at that point in time, then you should be sweeping the floors of the 911 call center, not working the phones.

Oh I see. I didn't click on the OPs link as I'd already heard the story elsewhere, with more audio from the call. She had very clearly stated that the victim was barely breathing the first time he asked.


Totally agree on your second point. If you accept the responsibility of that position you have to also accept that you might deal with things like this and need to be able to shrug it off a lot better than that.

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