Q: When do you stop taking a 911 call seriously?

A: When the 5-year old claiming his mother has passed out refuses to put her on the line to vouch for his allegations (that she’s unconcious.)

I previously blogged about the tragic case of a 5-year old boy, whose pleas for help to a 911 operator were not taken seriously, and consequently ignored. I said before, in that job: You must assume the worst. The operator’s job is not to play God, it is to direct the first responders to potential emergencies. Nevermind the fact that condesension and berating a possibly traumatized infant will necessarily inhibit his ability to properly convey the gravity of the situationWell, here’s the follow up:

“Sharon Nichols, 43, and Terri Sutton, 47, face one count each of willful neglect of duty, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail upon conviction.”

I do not expect them to spend any more than a symbolic minimum amount of time in jail, however. To be honest, I’d much rather see some sort of compensatory punishment. But understanding that they’re probably under some umbrella defense/liability insurance with the city, I suppose a little bit of jail-time won’t hurt.

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The bottom line: Tragic. The fact that two operators handled two different calls in the same manner suggests a deeper-rooted incompetence. There is no penalty that can be imposed which will bring the boy’s mother back to him. The decisions the operators made cannot be un-done – theirs is a job of absolutes: life and death. They made a subjective judgement when objectivity is the only arbiter.

Just curious: What would you like to see happen to the operators in this situation? Should the investigation/criminal charges extend higher up the bureaucratic ladder?