did the Cleveland 911 dispatcher sound uninterested / unsympathetic?

[magical thyme]

68. but what you personally feel and what is the reality of the job are not the same

The dispatcher knew the victim was afraid and *in imminent danger.* The dispatcher's first priority was to get the police there as quickly as possible. She got them there in 2 minutes.

You don't know if staying on the phone talking to the victim would have slowed down the dispatcher's ability to find the closest available cops. It seems likely that trying to multitask like that -- on the phone with victim while simultaneously locating and contacting appropriate police -- would be problematic at the least. It opens the door to massive errors and failure to accomplish the top priority of getting the closest there asap.

There were very possibly other emergencies going on at the same time. If the dispatcher stayed on the phone for 2 minutes while other calls sat holding, somebody's house could have been burning down in the time, somebody getting beaten up could have been beaten for an additional 2 minutes, etc. You just don't know.

Likewise, when I work in the lab, I don't necessarily get a single ED at a time and don't have the luxury of focusing on a single patient at a time. Oftentimes they come in groups. There are times when the ED is filled and they are literally stacking them in the aisles. In front of patients, we are quick and calm. Behind the scenes, we are running and juggling like mad.

It is very easy to second guess other people's actions after the fact. Especially when you don't, you know, actually do the job or have a clue what goes on behind the scenes.