Mother dies when 911 call goes unanswered

by Melissa Summers (Subscribe to Melissa Summers's posts) Apr 9th 2006 10:23AM

We've brought you stories of young children taking quick action to save the lives of ailing caregivers by calling 911 or performing CPR. Usually their calls for help are answered promptly, but not for Sherrill Turner.

Turner's 5-year-old son called 911 to get help for his mother who had collapsed in their apartment. The operator told him not to play on the phone and help did not arrive for at least an hour, though Turner's family says help did not arrive for 3 hours.

Audio of the call was played on local television news reports and featured the operator scolding the little boy who's mother was collapsed on the kitchen floor. "Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble."

The operator is still working while Detroit police investigate the call and response. [Thanks for the tip Annie!]

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Comments (31)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

April 4-09-2006 @ 11:21AM

This is really sad. Whether it is play or not, ALL CALLS ARE TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!! This dispatcher needs to be fired. Because of her, a child has lost his mom forever. Think of him now. He will probably grow up never trusting 911 again, do to her stupidity and negligence. If someone call and says there is a bomb in the building, its going to be a sad site if she answers the call. I hope the family sues and files charges of negligence

Lisa 4-09-2006 @ 11:35AM

I can't believe this 911 operator is still at work while the investigation is pending. She should be fired. That poor boy will have to live without his Mom forever because this person thought he was playing a prank. Shame on her!

Sheena 4-09-2006 @ 11:42AM

Why is that operator still working? Shouldn't she be put on some sort of administrative leave or something? *smh*

marsha huckleby 4-09-2006 @ 11:45AM

what I fail to understand is why does this 911 operator still have a job? anyone with half a brain knows that in these stiutations one must always err on the side of safety!!!!!

Lia 4-09-2006 @ 11:46AM

I live in a close suburb of Detroit. I can tell you that this kind behavior is consistently tolerated by the City of Detroit. If anyone attempts to complain about it they are accused of racism. Quality work is not expected in Detroit anymore. And, anyone who DOES expect it will be chastised for it.

Laura Arrendell 4-09-2006 @ 11:47AM

Holy lawsuit, Batman! A 911 operator should err on the side of caution. We teach children in preschool how to call 911! This should never have happened! The dispatcher would be looking for a new job and a good lawyer Monday morning if I was in charge.

Berna 4-09-2006 @ 11:50AM

Sadly it seems that there was an intial lack of training here. I'm not surprised, not in the least. This is the direction our country is following....Its hard to get most things done on a phone anymore. We are a country of the under trained, under educated, under paid, and understaffed. Dont look for improvement anytime soon.

Beverly 4-09-2006 @ 11:51AM

This person shold have been fired on the spot and never work for the 911 system anywhere. This child no longer has a mother and I hope she never forgets what she has done.

L.M. B 4-09-2006 @ 12:04PM

I pray for this child, his family and that operator. She will now have that on her head for the rest of her life. Knowing that all she had to do was send help. Even if the child was playing a game, one can not take on the responsibility of assumption. Just do the job you are paid to do.

April 4-09-2006 @ 12:12PM

Hey Lia from Detroit, I agree with you and Detroit really needs to face up. I wanted to ask you a question, if you read this again. What did you mean when you said if someone calls to complain, they holler racism?

Kelly 4-09-2006 @ 12:17PM

This is outrageous. The first few digits to access my voicemail starts 911...and a few times, scatterbrained me has tried to access it without dialing in first. This has happened three times over the years and my local 911 service has ALWAYS called me right back to confirm that there is not an emergency. Thankfully, they accept my apologies, but there is probably a file building on me:) If there is not an adult the 911 operator can speak with, he/she should send out the police regardless. Obviously the child is in danger, or not being supervised which could put him in danger.

Chelle 4-09-2006 @ 12:23PM

Wow. My daughter's father works as a dispatcher for a police department and now he knows better than not to answer a call. A woman called and said her boyfriend was beating her, then she called back saying it was fine, not to send officers out, so my daughter's father told them it was okay. The next day, the woman came into file a complaint, saying that her boyfriend made her call back and tell them that everything was fine, when it wasn't and when she had hung up he had continued to beat her. The next day, my daughter's father was given a lecture and was written up. When I found out about it, I pretty much scolded him and told him that he should have known better. Officers are suppose to be notified and they are suppose to respond... it doesn't matter who calls or from where... Also, I remember a few years back I was trying to dial a friend's number and instead of dialing 971 I dialed 911 when I had realized what I had done I quickly hung up. Not even one second later an operator called back and asked if everything was okay. I told her everything was fine and I had dialed the wrong number. She did not believe me and asked, "Is there someone in the house keeping you from talking?" I answered, "No." She said she was gonna send officers anyway... and she did. They showed up 5 minutes later asking me questions... I just wanted to share that. And I do believe the dispatcher should be fired and made to help take care of that child. Perhaps help pay for his schooling or something.

Nicole 4-09-2006 @ 12:48PM

THAT DISPATCHER SHOULD BE FIRED!!!!! HOW COULD SHE DO THAT!!! AND I AGREE WITH CHELLE!!! SHE SHOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR HIS SCHOOLING OR SOMETHING!!!!

THAT POOR BOY NO LONGER HAS A MOTHER!!!!
WHY DOES THAT DISPATCHER STILL HAVE A JOB????!!!!

Mike 4-09-2006 @ 12:57PM

This creates a very disturbing presence with me.
I work in communications for a carrier to remain unmentioned. They require us to dial 911 when we arrive to a site just to find out if they can locate us in a actual emergency. We are tying up lines and 911 operators for no reason except to make sure the system works in my opinion. These are not emergencies.
Someone need to take a extreme look at 911 and it functions. Not to mention the actions that should be taken on all phone calls.This service was put into service to save lives not to check operations.It seems to me that there should be other ways to due this without wasting valued operators time. I agree that the operator should be reprimanded and retrained in their duties. This poor operator made a horrible mistake that they will live with for the rest of their life. However our persicution will not bring back this poor childs mother back and that is a shame. What we need to due is learn from their mistake and make sure that it doesn't happen again.

Tamyu 4-09-2006 @ 1:01PM

Just reading this made me sick. That is so horrible. I just can`t imagine the emotions that little boy was going through during the call... This really hit a nerve for me. When I was little, I almost lost my toddler cousin because no one would believe me that she had climbed into the pool. I tried to tell everyone that she woke up, went outside, and was drowning. It took 20 minutes before someone realized I wasn`t playing around. Then they scolded me for hours for not telling them earlier, or in a more "serious" way. I was 6.
It has left a horrible, lasting mark on me, and she ended up okay. This little boy will NEVER EVER be able to forget this, and he will NEVER be able to trust the people he should.

That woman should not only be fired, but never be put in a position with any responsibility again. There is simply no excuse.

Andrew 4-09-2006 @ 1:07PM

Firing is not enough punishment for this operator. Paying for the child's education or even taking care of him for life, while a start, is not enough punishment for this operator either.

It is tragic that the criminal justice system has no crime for this operator to face... I hope the operator's name becomes a matter of public record, and while I do not personally advocate violence as a solution to problems, I would not shed tear one if something awful happened to this 911 operator.

April 4-09-2006 @ 1:25PM

Mike...why are you saying poor operator? did you hear the 911 call. I did and she told the boy to quit playing on the phone and that she wasn't going to send anyone out. You stated she needs to be retrained. Was she not trained before getting the job!!! I work for Law Enforcement and I will never say she is right and needs to be retrained. She needs to be fired and charges of negligence need to be filed, along with a wrongful death suit. That boy's mother could have been saved. You say we should feel sorry for the dispatchers. I will for the ones that deserve it, but not her!!!!!!

Sharon 4-09-2006 @ 1:28PM

This can't ever be a case of crying wolf. It is their job to respond to every call. Even if it is a false alarm they are getting paid not to take any chances. Or are they? This just breaks my heart. God bless that poor child.

Amy 4-09-2006 @ 1:32PM

That woman should be fired for not dispatching someone to help that little boy's mother. Now I hope she will always remember that someone died because of her negligence and a child is motherless because of her lack of caring, wheather it have been a prank call or not.

If it would have been me the one who was her supervisor I would have fired her and made her pay for the woman's funeral and other expenses the family had.

R 4-09-2006 @ 2:20PM

"Officials said the 911 operator will be disciplined, but because of her years of service she will not be fired."

Can you believe that?

Here's what her Union Representative has to say:

"I know that operator. I know that she is a very good operator," said Harris. "She is very thorough."

Yeah she's very thorough alright. The Union representative should be fired too for sticking up for her! Her tenure is more important than someones life??