911: What Is The Nature of your Zzzzzzzzzz?
by Jeff Davis
WMC-TV in Memphis reports: “When you call 911, you expect help immediately. Lisa, a Memphis resident, got anything but. ‘Our lives were in danger,’ she said. ‘Our lives were at stake, and our lifeline was severed.’ Severed, she said, because during a recent call to 911, the operator fell asleep while she was on the line.”
The news article goes on: “Action News 5 obtained a copy of the call through an open records request. It begins as Lisa calls 911 and a Memphis operator comes on the line. Lisa tells the operator she was robbed at gunpoint earlier in the evening, and that she now hears someone trying to break into her home. ‘I just heard tapping on my window,’ she tells the operator. ‘I need somebody over here.’ The line goes silent. As Lisa continues to explain her situation, the dispatcher does not respond - not for just 15 or 30 seconds, but for one full minute. Then, sounds of snoring can be heard on the line… ‘Are you there?’ Lisa asks. ‘Yes ma’am,’ the operator replies. ‘What is the, um, what’s your address?’ Lisa can then be heard hanging up the phone.”
Didn’t this happen on an episode of Reno 911?
Either the caller was so disgusted, she hung up or perhaps the guy, who was trying to break in, strangled her and hung up the phone as a courtesy. I wonder how many of that dispatcher’s calls wound up that way!! (more…)