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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhen a 911 dispatcher tells you to do something, you should listen to them
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20311925/denver-911-operator-mishandled-road-rage-call-afterA Denver 911 operator was mistaken when he told a motorist to return to the area where he and his companions had been threatened in a road-rage incident moments before a fatal shooting, the head of the city's emergency phone system acknowledged Monday.
Jimma Reat, a 24-year-old Sudanese refugee, died in the incident.
The incident began after Reat, two of his brothers and a friend got into an altercation with a group of men in a red Jeep about 4 a.m. Sunday at Sheridan Boulevard and West 10th Avenue.
Reat's brother, Gatwec Dengpathot, said the group had returned to the parking lot at Reat's apartment in Wheat Ridge after the altercation, during which someone threatened them with a gun. "That is what really got me mad," Dengpathot said. "If they actually knew that there was a threat starting from 10th, why would they send the boys back to the other side of Denver. This is something that could have been avoided. "My brother was a good, loving guy and he had no problem with anybody and he shouldn't have died that way."
The operator told them to return to Denver, find a safe spot to park and wait for police. One of Reat's brothers, who was driving the Dodge Charger, was on a cellphone talking to the operator. "He told the dispatcher that it isn't safe there," Dengpathot said. "We don't want to go there, that is where the problem happened, they were threatening us with a gun." But after a few moments, "they finally submitted to the (operator's) authority" and returned to West 29th Avenue, just east of Sheridan Boulevard, within Denver's border, Dengpathot said.
They got out of the car and waited and then saw the red Jeep coming toward them. "Jimma yelled out, 'Here comes those guys and they've got a gun,' " Dengpathot said. "Then four of them got out and one of them started firing."
The dispatcher in question was fired this week:
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_20641032/fired-denver-911-operator-feels-horrible-that-man
A Denver 911 operator fired for sending Jimma Reat to the spot where he was murdered said he feels horrible about his death but was so focused on Reat's location he failed to get help to him, according to a transcript of a meeting between him and his boss.
According to an account of a pre-disciplinary hearing with Simpson that was included in the letter, the operator said "I feel horrible for what happened. But yeah, I can't blame it on anyone else."
At least he feels bad
RKP5637
(67,032 posts)MicaelS
(8,747 posts)When Josh Powell killed his two sons and himself comes to mind. The social worker drops the kids off, and the father takes them inside and locks her out. She calls 911 to get help and the operator starts giving HER twenty questions, instead of ordering immediate help. The 911 operator David Lovrak, was later reprimanded.
ScreamingMeemie
(68,918 posts)I would not say a lot of 911 operators, we're seeing them here and there on the news. Thousands of calls are handled across the country every minute.
Life Long Dem
(8,582 posts)Who else are the cops going to arrest if there's no one at the scene?
virgogal
(10,178 posts)didn't,these guys did.
Both had unhappy endings.
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)Most of the time.
dpibel
(2,803 posts)So, let's see.
Air traffic controllers have made errors.
So pilots should ignore air traffic controllers.
Actual policemen have made mistakes (we all know that a 911 dispatcher is not an official cop).
So we should ignore cops if we like.
Generals have erred.
So soldiers should ignore generals.
You get the idea.
Well...actually you probably don't.
Neue Regel
(221 posts)But there have been more than a few posts appealing to the authority (and near infallibility) of a 911 operator telling George Zimmerman, "You don't need to do that." I'm simply pointing out that a call center employee suggesting a course of action does not necessarily make it a good idea.
None of your comparisons are valid - it is against the law to not follow orders given by air traffic controllers, police officers, and generals.
dpibel
(2,803 posts)Please give me links to a person invoking the infallibilty of a 911 "operator." (Your word. You might be interested to know what they're really called.)
Try this: All self-defense claims are adjudged on a reasonable man standard. That includes the totality of the circumstances.
Truth is, the "it ain't illegal to disobey a 911 dispatcher" argument is a total red herring.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)jp11
(2,104 posts)Go back to where people were threatening you? Yeah you know what I'm not doing that.
Don't follow that person. Yeah you know what I'm going to follow him. Cause I got a gun and SYG will let me kill him if he makes a move cause I'm a man with a gun roaming the night, not just watching the neighborhood, but getting involved like Charles Bronson from Death Wish.
Those situations are exactly the same, thanks a bunch.
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)Quality will vary.