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Detroit 911 under fire for handling of child callers
9-1-1 in the News, Trends | Greg | April 26, 2010 at 8:20 am
Jayla Barford’s Thanksgiving was interrupted last year when a relative collapsed and appeared to stop breathing. The 13-year-old’s mother gave first aid, screaming at Jayla to phone for help.
“I called 911, but the operator thought I was playing on the phone,” Jayla said. “She kept telling me I’d get in trouble if I didn’t stop playing. She told me to put an adult on the phone.”
Emergency operators in some cases have disregarded children’s calls, experts said, because operators aren’t properly trained on dealing with children. A March case in which a Detroit dispatcher was disciplined for the way she talked to an 8-year-old girl whose mother lay dying of gunshot wounds may highlight what some say is inadequate education.
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