Refugee's Murder May Leave 911 Operator Liable
Refugee's Murder May Leave 911 Operator Liable
DENVER (CN) - A family of Sudanese refugees can pursue claims that their loved one was gunned down because of bad advice from a 911 operator, a federal judge ruled.
Jimma Pal Reat had moved to Colorado with his family after escaping from Sudan and spending time in an Ethiopian refugee camp, according to the complaint.
The 25-year-old was in a car with his brothers, Changkuoth Pal and Ran Pal, and another Sudenese friend, Joseph Kolong, in the early morning hours of April 1, 2012, when a group of Hispanic men allegedly pulled up along side, shouted racial slurs and shattered their windshield with beer bottles and "bottle rockets."
Ran Pal allegedly called 911 during the attack while his group fled to suburban Denver.
He said their safety was short-lived because the emergency operator, Juan Jesus Rodriguez, instructed the terrified group to drive back downtown and wait for police at the scene of the crime with their hazard lights on.
With Rodriguez still on the line, the assailants allegedly pulled up again and opened fire, killing Jimma Pal Reat at the scene. The operator meanwhile had allegedly not even yet sent police to the scene.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/06/19/58661.htm