# Detroit 911 operator refuses to send help **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 7, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749 "2006-04-07T17:39:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Fiveroptic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiveroptic/32/8257_2.png) [@Fiveroptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveroptic)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/141 "2008-01-17T19:49:39Z")
[Charges were dismissed](http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080117/NEWS01/80117028) against the second 911 operator, Terri Sutton, who actually sent a patrol car: > [@](#): > > On Thursday, Sutton’s charges were dismissed by Judge Paula Humphries after prosecutors presented their case against her. Her attorney requested the dismissal and it was granted before the case went to a jury. Humphries said Sutton, who was a 19-year veteran, may have been rude to the boy over the phone, but she requested a police car. “Rude” is pretty much defined as “other related duties” for a 911 operator around here. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/142 "2008-01-18T17:21:50Z")
Her trial is on now and her claim is she could not hear him. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/143 "2008-01-18T17:37:23Z")
Well, the 911 tapes should clear that up, I’d think. If he’s clearly audible on the tape, then she’s lying. If he’s not, then she’s be negligent for not sending a unit anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/144 "2008-01-18T17:46:29Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] Oh, and partly thanks to this dispatcher’s inaction, a kid is now without his mom. A large sum of cash would certainly (and deservedly) improve his situation too. So…what was your point? [/QUOTE] Ah, America, where putting an exact dollar value on anything bad that could possibly happen to anyone is becoming a more exact science by the day. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/145 "2008-01-18T17:55:26Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Ah, America, where putting an exact dollar value on anything bad that could possibly happen to anyone is becoming a more exact science by the day. [/QUOTE] Well, let’s think about this, shall we? My lawyer in a personal injury case told me that the point is to try to make someone “whole” from the action. In many cases, that’s not possible. Can’t bring back the dead, can’t make my smashed knee 100% again, and I will suffer the effects to my dying day. The only thing the law can give you in some cases is money. In the case of a child now without a mother, the money can help buy some of the care she would have provided. What would you suggest as an alternative to money? And who says it’s an “exact dollar value?” ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/146 "2008-01-18T18:08:26Z")
never mind ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/147 "2008-01-18T19:58:35Z")
[QUOTE=MLS] Well, let’s think about this, shall we? My lawyer in a personal injury case told me that the point is to try to make someone “whole” from the action. In many cases, that’s not possible. Can’t bring back the dead, can’t make my smashed knee 100% again, and I will suffer the effects to my dying day. The only thing the law can give you in some cases is money. In the case of a child now without a mother, the money can help buy some of the care she would have provided. What would you suggest as an alternative to money? And who says it’s an “exact dollar value?” [/QUOTE] The point of most personal injury suits is to enrich the plaintiff’s attorney, but that’s neither here nor there. I understand that in some cases money is the only available form of redress; I just can’t help feeling that it usually isn’t enough. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/148 "2008-01-18T20:33:51Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] And the [trial has started.](http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080115/METRO/801150320/1361) I’m hoping our Detroit Dopers can keep us up to speed. [/QUOTE] [The second dispatcher was found guilty](http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080118/NEWS01/80118030) > [@](#): > > Emergency operator Sharon Nichols maintained her composure as a jury read a guilty verdict against her today for mishandling a 911 call from a 5-year-old Detroit boy seeking help for his unconscious mother. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/149 "2008-01-18T20:35:08Z")
Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![fatgail](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fatgail/32/7285_2.png) [@fatgail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fatgail)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/150 "2008-01-18T20:41:37Z")
[QUOTE=TroubleAgain] Well, the 911 tapes should clear that up, I’d think. If he’s clearly audible on the tape, then she’s lying. If he’s not, then she’s be negligent for not sending a unit anyway. [/QUOTE] I thought this was standard procedure for all 911 calls. That’s how kids who make accidental 911s get busted, because ten minutes later a cop shows up with a Stern Warning To Youth ™. It’s also procedure in case the person calling 911 is rendered unconcious, speechless or whathaveyou, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/151 "2008-01-18T21:16:12Z")
[QUOTE=St. Urho] [The second dispatcher was found guilty](http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080118/NEWS01/80118030) [/QUOTE] Justice was served. I will agree the second operator, while rude, did do her job in sending the police. The problem was, if Nichols had only been rude, while doing her job, the boy might still have his mother. I hope the judge throws the book at her. I also hope the city does a better job of training its 911 operators. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/152 "2008-01-19T01:04:36Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] The point of most personal injury suits is to enrich the plaintiff’s attorney, but that’s neither here nor there. I understand that in some cases money is the only available form of redress; I just can’t help feeling that it usually isn’t enough. [/QUOTE] You’re right – it usually isn’t enough. I have two examples. First, my father was almost killed in an accident (forced off the road and down an embankment by a bus). He spent literally weeks in a coma – my mother was told by a real jerk in the hospital that he would not live. He did survive, remained hospitalized for about 6 months. The settlement they got was enough to buy a house, which they did. He would rather have gotten the house the old-fashioned way, by working for it. He had lasting effects the entire rest of his life. Second, less serious, was mine. I mentioned earlier getting into a car accident – some dumbass just decided not to wait any longer at a stop sign and pulled out in front of me. The settlement I got was nice to have, but if you’d offered me that money up front in return for a smashed up knee and a cracked vertebra I’d have said “No, thanks. I’ll keep all my parts intact, thank you.” As far as attorneys’ fees: Here in NJ there is a law that limits how much the lawyer gets. The lawyer is free to take on the case or not, his choice. If he loses, he gets nothing at all. If he wins, he gets a set proportion of the settlement, after expenses, I think it’s something like 30%. So if he gets a small settlement he gets a small fee. The risk is all his. He cannot charge a fee up front. So, yeah, sometimes they get a bunch of money, too, but not as much as the plaintiff. And sometimes they get nothing. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/153 "2008-01-19T01:20:08Z")
[QUOTE=fatgail] I thought this was standard procedure for all 911 calls. That’s how kids who make accidental 911s get busted, because ten minutes later a cop shows up with a Stern Warning To Youth ™. It’s also procedure in case the person calling 911 is rendered unconcious, speechless or whathaveyou, isn’t it? [/QUOTE] Yup, 911 hang-ups too. And when ya try to make an international call, 9-11\*\*…, we explained to the 911 operator what happened, and 3 minutes later there was a patrol car in front of our house! CMC +fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/154 "2008-01-19T01:25:49Z")
She burst into tears because she was sentenced to one year in jail. She should have been convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 25. What a cunt. I also hope the family sues the balls off of the emergency service. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/155 "2008-01-19T01:31:24Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] She burst into tears because she was sentenced to one year in jail. [/QUOTE] I think it said she could be sentenced up to one year in jail. Which is true for most misdemeanors, but she has not yet been sentenced. Dollars to donuts she never sees the inside of a jail. She will get community service and probation. I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749/156 "2008-01-20T02:45:55Z")
Sentencing isn’t until March. Detroit Dopers…what’s the sentiment up there? Do you believe the misdemeanor charge was enough? Are there calls to change the laws to make ignoring 911 calls more serious? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-911-operator-refuses-to-send-help/351749.md?page=7)