911 operator suspected of hanging up on non-English callers

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

911 operator suspected of hanging up on non-English callers

Updated 12:27 pm, Wednesday, August 5, 2015

LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) — Officials say a Massachusetts 911 dispatcher is under investigation for hanging up on several callers who did not speak English.

WBZ-TV reports (http://cbsloc.al/1IjPhWU ) the Lawrence dispatcher, whose name has not been released, has been placed on paid leave and could lose her job.

Police Chief James Fitzpatrick says dispatchers are supposed to get a translator on the line if they're having difficulty understanding a caller. He says residents should not hesitate to call 911 even if there is a language barrier.

Fitzpatrick says one caller who may have been in need of help and was hung up on never called back.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/911-dispatcher-probed-for-handling-of-non-English-6426555.php

[Person 2713]

1. Maybe the caller never called back after they thought twice about what kind of help

this kind of dispatching center would send.
Terrible

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

3. Or they could be dead.

[Person 2713]

6. Just Terrible. A dispatcher knows what kind of calls come in .that yes life or death

Is depending on their dispatch

[leftynyc]

2. I can only wonder how that

dispatcher would feel if they or someone in their family called 999 while they were vacationing in France (I think it's 999) and were hung up on for not speaking French.

[SwankyXomb]

4. The least she could have done was transferred the call

to 0118 999 881 999 119 725 ... 3

[DustyJoe]

5. Simple Answer

Require all 911 dispatchers to be bi-lingual.
If 75% of the populace is hispanic, the hiring pool
is adequately large.

[Archae]

7. Here in Sheboygan...

We have a number of Hispanics, AND Hmongs.

They do have bilingual dispatchers, though.

[Corgigal]

8. don't need that

We had a transfer phone number for ALL languages. We always had bi-lingual Spanish available in house, but that is not always the language being spoken when they contact you for 911.

That dispatcher had no excuse, and the supervisor should have figured it out after the first hang-up.