FOAD -- 9-1-1 version

[Hawkmoon]

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/former-texas-emergency-operator-jailed-hanging-thousands-calls-151446574.html

Houston 9-1-1 operator jailed for hanging up on thousands of emergency calls over a period of 18 months. At trial she said she didn't feel like talking to anybody on those days.

Well, excuuuuuuse me for having an emergency on one of your bad hair days.

[Doggy Daddy]

Hello, this is Crenshanda.  I'm not available to answer the phone right now, but.......

[Andiron]

Creshanda dindu nuffin'!   

[Doggy Daddy]

Creshanda dindu nuffin'!   

You missspelld Crenshanda name.

[just Warren]

[K Frame]

10 days?

That's it? Seems to me that they could have very likely made the case for a LOT stiffer charges, upto depraved indifference to human life if someone actually died as the result of her not wanting to do her job.

[Andiron]

You missspelld Crenshanda name.

Can you really misspell a BS alphabet soup name?

[Angel Eyes]

You missspelld Crenshanda name.

She probably misspells her own name most of the time.

[Hawkmoon]

It's her name -- she can spell it any way she wants.

[MechAg94]

I was just surprised it got to "thousands" of calls before they found out.

[KD5NRH]

I was just surprised it got to "thousands" of calls before they found out.

Cell phones drop calls a lot on some areas, and likely account for the vast majority of 911 calls; unless they had something that would show she initiated the disconnect, it might not have been that obvious.

[Hawkmoon]

One of the articles I read reported that their system does show who initiated a disconnect. But I didn't get the impression they monitor that in real time. What caught her was someone noticing that she had a LOT of calls under 20 seconds. That's barely enough time to say "Nine one one, what is the nature of your emerge ..."

[AmbulanceDriver]

We had an operator at the 911 center I worked at who did this.  She (thankfully) didn't hit the "thousands" level of hangups, but it was a significant number.  I don't think she was charged criminally, but she was fired, and had her dispatcher certification revoked by the state (surrounding states licensing agencies are also notified when someone has their certification revoked).  Basically she can't work anywhere in the western United States as a 911 dispatcher. 

[KD5NRH]

One of the articles I read reported that their system does show who initiated a disconnect. But I didn't get the impression they monitor that in real time.

It does seem like something you'd check on the daily/weekly stats, though, especially with the large discrepancy between calls taken and actions initiated (police/fire/EMS/whatever notified, misdial confirmed, etc.) that would have to be somehow traceable; doesn't something keep track of what's done for each incoming call?

[MechAg94]

We had an operator at the 911 center I worked at who did this.  She (thankfully) didn't hit the "thousands" level of hangups, but it was a significant number.  I don't think she was charged criminally, but she was fired, and had her dispatcher certification revoked by the state (surrounding states licensing agencies are also notified when someone has their certification revoked).  Basically she can't work anywhere in the western United States as a 911 dispatcher. 

I am sure she could get a job answering calls for the Harris County Toll Road Authority or maybe a cable TV outfit.  I don't think they would mind the hang ups; might even prefer it.

[zxcvbob]

I am sure she could get a job answering calls for the Harris County Toll Road Authority or maybe a cable TV outfit.  I don't think they would mind the hang ups; might even prefer it.

That is what I was thinking about the 911 call center.  They probably looked the other way for months because it made their stats look better or kept their costs down or something.  But at some point it got too big to contain and made the boss look bad, and that's when they fired her.