By Carlos Miller
I came across this video a few months ago and was meaning to post it, but probably got busy writing about other crap because I never did post it. As you know, it just never stops.
And now it looks as if it is making the rounds again on the internets even though it first occurred in October because on Thursday, six different people emailed me this video for me to post it.
So thanks for keeping me on my toes.
This one comes from Lincoln Park, Michigan where 17-year-old Adrianne Ledesma dials 911 after witnessing her dad collapse of a seizure, three weeks after undergoing brain surgery.
She doesn’t get an immediate answer. So she hangs up and dials again, only to not get an immediate answer.
She blurts out “what the fuck” just as the dispatcher answers on the third ring.
She tells him she needs an ambulance.
But he begins to lecture her about cursing on a 911 call.
She says, “OK, send me a fucking ambulance.”
He slams the phone on her face.
Her father continues having seizures on the floor.
She calls back and asks, “Are you going to send me an ambulance?”
He responds by asking, “Are you going to swear again, you stupid ass?”
She asks, “Are we going to have a fucking problem?”
He says, “No, you’re not going to get one.”
She says, “Do you want to fucking lose your job?”
He slams the phone on her face.
She calls back again and says, “I just want to know your name because you’re getting sued.”
He ends up calling her a baboon and hanging up again.
The last words she says before he hangs up are, “send a fucking ambulance.”
Her father continues having seizures on the floor.
Six minutes later. Six long minutes later. The cops calls rescue and informs them that he’s been getting calls from this filthy mouth girl so he has no idea what her emergency was.
“I never found out what it was and I was never able to transfer her over to you.”
That’s because he kept her hanging up on her. And even denied her an ambulance at one point, which should be a federal crime.
She finally drove the few blocks to the police station in the hopes that maybe somebody would be able to help her.
She ended up getting arrested for disorderly conduct and phone harassment, charges which were later dropped.
And the cop?
His name is Sgt. Robert McFarland and he ended up receiving a two week suspension without pay. And more training. And that’s it.
A slap on the wrist for having purposely put somebody’s life in danger.
What kind of man would deny medical service for the needy unless somebody kisses their ass?
It happened in Oklahoma. It happened in Texas. And it happened here in Michigan.
It can happen to any one of us during our most desperate moments.
Popularity: 1% [?]
101 responses so far ↓
1 genewitch // Jul 17, 2009 at 3:46 AM
this video offended my delicate sensibilities. The fucking police aren’t “curse word police” – i’ll never understand why cussing at a badged member always gets you harassed.
And i figured you’d get around to posting this eventually.
2 Darwin // Jul 17, 2009 at 4:21 AM
Let the dregs of the gene pool die if they can’t communicate without grunting “like” or “fuck” every four words.
Don’t plead for my help while you curse me.
3 genewitch // Jul 17, 2009 at 5:58 AM
darwin: many studies have been done on the use of “four letter words” and they’ve found that the most colorful people who use the language like that can actually communicate more effectively to their audiences than english majors in college.
Language is merely a tool. common human decency, especially from a dispatcher who is TRAINED to handle emotional situations is what is being discussed here.
So she said “fuck” multiple times. the “dregs” of society deserve medical attention the same as idiots who use “Darwin” as their nickname on random blogs on the internet.
For shame, sir. for shame.
4 genewitch // Jul 17, 2009 at 6:00 AM
“The uniquely human facility for swearing evolved and persists because taboo words can communicate emotion information (anger, frustration) more readily than nontaboo words, allowing speakers to achieve a variety of personal and social goals with them (utility).”
HRR DRR EVOLVED!
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122247011/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
I can’t tell if you’re a troll, but if your goal was to seriously aggravate me, you win. nothing pisses me off more than a pseudo-intellectual who posits horseshit and tells you it’s jasmine perfume. Hit the books, “Darwin” – it’s obvious you don’t know the first thing about A) Language B) human nature or C) Stressful situations and responses.
May you be struck mute during your frantic call to 911 in the future.
5 The Lie // Jul 17, 2009 at 7:46 AM
If you were anything other than a hack passing yourself off as a journalist while cannibalizing videos off YouTube, you’d do some actual work and investigate what happened here. Not to mention a matter that is nearly a year old is not news. Not to mention this incident has nothing to do with photography.
Some facts you conveniently overlooked in your rush to cop bash:
The criminal charges against the girl are still open and remain so until 2011.
The girl later admitted lying to the police when she claimed she was home when she found the father on the floor. She was not home and the father was not lying on the floor.
The girl had a history of false 911 calls.
Video from the police station showed she did not mention her father when she came to the police station but instead began screaming and demanding Sgt. McFarland’s termination. She physically assaulted several officers. Why hasn’t that video been posted here since it was made available to the public eight months ago?
And the biggest fact of all you overlooked: Sgt. Robert McFarland was later cleared of the accusations and his pay was restored.
Of course the last laugh is on Carlos Miller. How much have you spent on your pathetic criminal case? How much time do you waste on this website trying to bash cops?
You are a loser tool with an anger management problem who does not respect authority. Rather than admit you were wrong when you were arrested, you disgrace yourself over and over and over in public.
By the way Carlos Miller, you’ll soon be hearing from the IRS about your failure to report “donations” to your “legal defense fund” as income. That shows how stupid you are — you repeatedly insult the police, then openly make money on this website through “donations” without reporting it as income.
6 Rob Molecule // Jul 17, 2009 at 7:59 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUniYFNg4vs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAzdkuZzO0I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMP0toS1ocU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9WiX-Bu5GA
7 Boi Boy // Jul 17, 2009 at 10:50 AM
To Darwin (Post #3)
I don’t think that deciding who should survive and who should be left to die is in the job description of an EMS dispatcher. If I am not mistaken their job is to gather information and to send the appropriate help. While the young lady doesn’t sound very pleasant or polite, even obnoxious teenagers have emergencies too.
Perhaps the call taker should have sent someone out to the residence to see what was actually going on. If it was unfounded then taken action based on an actual investigation instead of assuming because someone swore the situation was not real or serious.
There are some interesting First Amendment issues in this situation too. Swear in a crisis situation, get arrested. Apparently the police and dispatchers are now the arbiters of appropriate language in an emergency.
8 Michaelk42 // Jul 17, 2009 at 11:42 AM
@The Truth
You have any actual cites on what you claim?
Anything at all?
Nice vague threats from an anonymous clown at the end there, too.
9 Nemo // Jul 17, 2009 at 11:48 AM
George, did you create a new handle? It’s interesting that someone claiming to be “The Truth” would make such assertions without supporting them. Let’s see some evidence there, truthie-boi.
Odd how he/she/it believes that stories about bad cops are representative of all police, isn’t it? Nice threat & ad hominems, though. real creative.
10 Simon Jester // Jul 17, 2009 at 12:00 PM
TheTruth #5
I went searching for the things you mentioned, but can’t find any facts int he case that support you. Can you post some links to back yourself up?
While looking though, I did read several articles stating that Officer MacFarlan was given a two week suspension, with pay, for his actions and also swearing at the girl. While these comments are many, no official websites post this.
Can you erase these accusations that he was punished for his actions?
11 Carlos Miller // Jul 17, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Who is this “Truth” you guys keep referring to?
I don’t see anybody here by that name.
12 MacK // Jul 17, 2009 at 1:14 PM
Carlos I believe they are referring to “The Lie” post #5 (lost sarcasm).
He is the guy shooting his mouth off, but backing nothing up. He is a troll, or cop, probably both because he is obviously an ass.
13 Nemo // Jul 17, 2009 at 2:06 PM
Obviously, somebody’s not above a bit of snark here…
(Not that I blame him)
14 genewitch // Jul 17, 2009 at 2:53 PM
If carlos is using the donations to either support this site or pay court costs directly from the paypal account (which is possible with credit/debit cards) – then there’s no gain of income and he wouldn’t have to claim it.
15 Actually // Jul 17, 2009 at 3:26 PM
Regarding the tax treatment of gifts, no one here has posted anything that resembles how it really works. Typical internet types spouting off like they know something whenthey obviously don’t. Classic.
16 Seriously?!? // Jul 17, 2009 at 3:39 PM
“Who is this “Truth” you guys keep referring to?
I don’t see anybody here by that name.”
You are so clever. It must be nice being able to edit posts you don’t agree with. The Lie is the Truth and you made a mistake when you confronted the cops and now you are still trying to justify you behavior, man up and let it go.
17 Simon Jester // Jul 17, 2009 at 3:42 PM
Speaking of ‘man up’…
I’m still curious to see all those links to the accusations of crimes committed by the girl and the links to the refutation of the officer being punished for his actions…
18 Carlos Miller // Jul 17, 2009 at 3:44 PM
The Truth became The Lie when he was unable to back up any of his statements.
If he does back up his statements, I’d be happy to revert him back to The Truth.
19 jones // Jul 17, 2009 at 4:21 PM
I guess everybody deals with stress differently, at 1:28 of the video when she ask are you going to give me an ambulance you can hear her laugh. I also like how she thinks her dad is going to die but is more concerned about getting his name so she can sue.
Nice job of the reporter talking over the tapes to, don’t know if he didn’t want us to hear everything or if he is just an idiot.
20 Michaelk42 // Jul 17, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Oh boy, jones is back! Mom must have kicked him of off World of Warcraft again.
And imagine that, he thinks the non-cop acted imperfectly and there’s a problem with the recording (it’s a conspiracy!)
Like a broken record there.
(Strangely, I hear no laughing there.)
21 Riddle me this // Jul 17, 2009 at 9:07 PM
If she was known as a chronic 911-baiter, and that is relevant to this story, why did the cop not say when he finally called for the ambulance, “Oh, it was so and so again,” instead of saying “I have some foul-mouthed girl on the phone, I couldn’t tell what she wants.” (paraphrasing)
You’re going to have to try harder than that, officer Pyle. The shit you’re shovelin’, nobody’s buyin’ anymore. The only one who disgraced himself here today is you.
22 Pinandpuller // Jul 18, 2009 at 1:19 AM
Michaelk42
Laughing here!
ROFLMAO!
23 Roger // Jul 18, 2009 at 1:29 AM
What is wrong with the dispatcher? Cant take a little bad language? Is he some sort of a wimp? Or don’t the peasants know there place?
24 Roger // Jul 18, 2009 at 1:36 AM
Why are some of you attacking Carlos here? Is he making you uncomfortable with the truth, hitting a little close to home? I think I detect the oder of jack boots.
25 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 12:18 AM
“genewitch” mused…use of “four letter words” and they’ve found that the most colorful people who use the language like that can actually communicate more effectively to their audiences than english majors in college.
Oh yeah? That really worked for her, didn’t it? LOL
Sure, dispatchers are trained to deal with emotional situations. And one simple way to deal with “in-your-face” OBSCENE telephone harassment is to HANG UP on the offender.
If you want to harass with obscenities the very people of whom you are begging help, then, yes, I’ll label you “shallow end of the gene pool.”
My mom said “please” works.
26 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 12:33 AM
Boi Boy: I don’t think that deciding who should survive and who should be left to die is in the job description of an EMS dispatcher.
One must decide to not commit, repeatedly, obscene telephone harassment when calling another person – especially when one finds himself in charge of a critical situation, such as the life of a father lying on the floor.
And everybody, no matter what the job description, has the duty to hang up on unlawful obscene telephone harassment offenders.
27 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 12:44 AM
Roger: I think I detect the oder [sic] of jack boots.
The only jackbooted thugs here are the whiners who want to force us all to listen to illegal obscene telephone harassment or loose our jobs.
Obscene telephone harassment is:
(1) Against the law
(2) Discourteous
(3) Ineffective communication.
Don’t expect the best of outcomes when you break the law, are discourteous, and can barely communicate anything but your contempt for those of whom you ask help.
28 Nemo // Jul 19, 2009 at 1:11 AM
Darwin:
Are you /really/ asserting that “obscene telephone harassment” applies to an emergency call to a 911 operator? Do you really believe that people calling 911 are /required/ to maintain their bearing sufficiently to avoid any and all obscenities, even /before/ the operator picks up the phone?
It’s an odd planet that you live on. I wonder just how far away from Earth it is. Panicky people on Earth are not on their best behavior. Maybe on Planet Darwin, your limited gene pool never cusses under stress…
29 Michaelk42 // Jul 19, 2009 at 1:23 AM
@Darwin
How are things in your prim and proper (and repressed) little Victorian Era Bubble?
He as a dispatcher gets a pass on calling her a “stupid ass” right back?
I think Nemo more than sufficiently covered the expectation of behavior above.
Way to be a pedantic little ass, Darwin.
30 Boi Boy // Jul 19, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Darwin – Re: #25
I would agree that hanging up would be the thing to do if the girl was calling the pizza joint or her aunt. But, calling 911 is a totally different ball game. The consequences of hanging up on someone are more than just making someone mad, it could involve someone dying.
What if someone’s house was burning down and as the firemen pulled up the homeowner in a panic said “What took you so F-ing long?” Should the firemen then just drive back to their station?
I was a paramedic for many years and have been called every foul name, in multiple languages, by drunks, combative head injured patients, psychiatric patients, criminals, and just plain jerks. You have to look past that and help the person the best way you can. I never took it personally.
The dispatcher should have looked past the four letter words and the attitude to ask “What is your emergency?” and acted on that information. The dispatcher’s job is not to adjust her attitude over the phone. That might take years of maturing, and perhaps even years of therapy. Even hypochondriacs sometimes really get sick, and as I said before, even foul-mouthed obnoxious teenagers sometimes need 911.
31 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 12:37 PM
Nemo asked: Are you /really/ asserting that “obscene telephone harassment” applies to an emergency call to a 911 operator? Do you really believe that people calling 911 are /required/ to maintain their bearing sufficiently to avoid any and all obscenities, even /before/ the operator picks up the phone?
Are you /really/ asserting that unlawful obscene telephone harassment does NOT apply to an emergency call to a 911 operator?
The girl who called maintained her bearings very well – a bearing of pure contempt.
Even if one stipulates that the 911 dispatcher could have handled the situation better (yes, he could have,) the girl’s use of obscene language and open disdain for those from whom she was requesting help was not a very good survival tactic, was it?
Creatures on the shallow end of the gene pool often earn a “Darwin award,” and she got really close to acquiring it for her daddy this time. With your collaboration, maybe she can finally claim the prize.
32 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 12:48 PM
Boi Boy: The dispatcher should have looked past the four letter words and the attitude to ask “What is your emergency?” and acted on that information.
You are correct, and I have never said otherwise.
That still doesn’t let the girl off the hook for almost winning the Darwin Award for her father.
Showing open contempt for those of whom you are asking help is not a good survival strategy.
33 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Michaelk42: How are things in your prim and proper (and repressed) little Victorian Era Bubble?…Way to be a pedantic little ass, Darwin.
Like, whatevaah! LOL
You remind me of a character called “Bud” in The Diamond Age or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer, a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson.
He showed open contempt for the Neo-Victorian characters (and anybody else with some personal standards of behavior,) and had a derisive name for them. He also won a Darwin Award for himself early in the book, so it won’t take too long to read that far if you’re a bit slow in the head.
Research his pejorative term for Victorians and call me that if it makes you feel good.
34 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 1:33 PM
Carlos says: A slap on the wrist for having purposely put somebody’s life in danger.
Carlos, the girl had a large part in putting her father’s life in danger. Should she be punished too? Or should only cops be held to standards of social behavior?
Carlos says: What kind of man would deny medical service for the needy unless somebody kisses their ass?
What kind of girl would put her father’s life in danger by using obscene telephone harassment as a technique for requesting medical help?
Why is courteous behavior while asking for help being equated to “kissing ass?”
35 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 1:58 PM
@The Lie
Could you provide a source for the following?
The criminal charges against the girl are still open and remain so until 2011.
The girl later admitted lying to the police when she claimed she was home when she found the father on the floor. She was not home and the father was not lying on the floor.
The girl had a history of false 911 calls.
Video from the police station showed she did not mention her father when she came to the police station but instead began screaming and demanding Sgt. McFarland’s termination. She physically assaulted several officers.
And the biggest fact of all you overlooked: Sgt. Robert McFarland was later cleared of the accusations and his pay was restored.
36 Nemo // Jul 19, 2009 at 2:44 PM
She cussed at a ring tone, Darwin, not a person. Machines don’t recognize obscenity. If the officer hadn’t escalated, the language issue might have been over.
IANAL, but to swing “harassment”, it seems to me that the pupose of the call must be to harass. The purpose of her call was to get medical help for her father. Hanging up on an emergency client, OTOH, just might qualify as harassment, no matter her language.
As for putting her father’s life in danger, she had no reasonable expectation of an obsessive-compulsive prima donna control freak denying her emergency service for cussing the ring tone. OTOH, there is a reasonble expectation for a highly-stressed teenager to cuss at a 911 operator who denies emergency services by hanging up on her.
Playing the “look what you made me do” on the behalf of the operator doesn’t relieve him of the liability for his denial of service to a third party. His job and his duty was to provide access to emergency services. If “obscene telephone harassment” were really the issue, he would have had to use those words (or indisputable terms along those lines) to her. He didn’t. Nice try, though.
Don’t expect The Lie to support his allegations, since he’s been challeneged repeatedly.
As for your reference to “Bud”, if the people around him were trying to impose their standards upon him, then I wouldn’t be surprised if he treated them with contempt.
Ultimately, what we have here is a cop who did everything he could to escalate a situation that he should have defused. Bad cop! No donut!
37 Michaelk42 // Jul 19, 2009 at 3:17 PM
@Darwin
Sorry, not a character in a Stephenson novel.
The point is, Nemo calls it in his last post – playing “look what you made me do” on the operator’s behalf doesn’t get him off the hook. He has a job to do. Even if you are right about her language, it doesn’t matter. He’s the 911 dispatch, it’s his job to get help out there for the person in need of help, even if the person who is calling, who is a different person, doesn’t meet his standards of “proper behavior.”
Is it smart for her not to be polite and calm as possible when calling? Sure, why not. You’re right about that.
And you’re still a pedantic ass, because that isn’t the point, the cop reacting unprofessionally is. Congratulations, you win!
38 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 9:05 PM
Michaelk42: Even if you are right about her language,
I am.
Michaelk42: it doesn’t matter.
It must matter if your mind is still contemplating it.
Michaelk42: Sure, why not. You’re right about that.
Of course, I am.
Michaelk42: And you’re still a pedantic ass
Oh dear! Meeting a superior mind often evokes such a response from my lessors.
Michaelk42: Congratulations, you win!
Of course, I did. But I have a feeling you are being disingenuous.
But that’s typical of a “Bud.” Did you ever meet Neal Stephenson?
39 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 9:28 PM
Nemo: She cussed at a ring tone
For starters. LOL Do a word count and see what floats to the top.
Nemo: The purpose of her call was to get medical help for her father.
It appears that her purpose was to provoke. She had a chip on her shoulder as big as any short cop’s.
And she discussed the dispatcher getting fired before explaining, even a little, why she desired an ambulance. That reveals her purpose.
Every emergency/hospital staff knows the local families like this that “gather wrongs” over little things and threaten lawsuits. Typically they’re the “shallow end of the gene pool” types, failing at yet another endeavor.
If you want to keep company with “stupid girl,” go ahead. I’ll be on the other end of the bell curve.
http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/bellcurve.shtml
40 Carlos Miller // Jul 19, 2009 at 9:43 PM
Some people just tend to cuss. I’m a cusser. Especially if I’m stressed.
It’s one thing to say send me a fucking ambulance and another thing to say send me a fucking ambulance you fucking prick.
One is just an expression. The other is a personal insult.
Cops, of all people, have probably heard and been called every word in the book. They shouldn’t take it so personal, especially if it’s just a stressed out person expressing themselves as this girl was.
Are we still living in the Victorian Age?
Cussing is actually protected by the First Amendment.
For fucks sake, people. Just because someone cusses when they are under extreme stress doesn’t make them a fucking criminal.
41 Michaelk42 // Jul 19, 2009 at 10:18 PM
@Darwin
So you’re now fully off the subject and into personally attacking anyone that doesn’t agree with you… You realize the more you post, the worse you look, right?
Keep going, we can use the entertainment.
42 Ariel // Jul 19, 2009 at 10:24 PM
Darwin,
You’re an ass. I do agree with you regarding her language, but, how should I put this, when a life is hanging in the balance only an ass would dwell on her language. Notice that his superiors agree with the principle I put forth, just insufficiently.
Oh, and dirtying the “victim” doesn’t fly here.Just to let you know.
Her purpose wasn’t to provoke, it was an emotional response to the stress.
43 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 10:27 PM
Michaelk42 // Jul 19, 2009 at 1:23 AM
@Darwin
How are things in your prim and proper (and repressed) little Victorian Era Bubble?
Michaelk42 // Jul 19, 2009 at 10:18 PM
@Darwin
So you’re now fully off the subject and into personally attacking anyone that doesn’t agree with you… You realize the more you post, the worse you look, right?
LOL! Pot. Kettle. Black.
44 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 10:37 PM
Ariel says: You’re an ass.
Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.
Ariel: I do agree with you regarding her language
But you want to be popular, rather than hold fast to the truth, so the rest of your bleating follows.
45 Michaelk42 // Jul 19, 2009 at 10:40 PM
@Darwin
It must be rough, having all that alleged intelligence, yet no social skills or human empathy.
46 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 10:57 PM
Carlos: Cussing is actually protected by the First Amendment.
Then give it a try next time you request help over the telephone from a stranger. Darwin Award operators are standing by with valuable prizes.
Carlos says: …when they are under extreme stress…
Her attitude was meant to PROVOKE. You’re a reporter. It won’t take long for you to discover that emt/emergency/hospital staff knows the local yahoos like this girl that “GATHER WRONGS” over any perceived mistake and threaten lawsuits. Dime’a'dozen.
The girl has as bad an attitude as any bad cop.
And, don’t forget, the dispatcher got help to her father within minutes after Miss-Chip-On-Her-Shoulder finished her Terrible Telephone Tirade.
47 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 11:02 PM
Michaelk42 // Jul 19, 2009 at 10:40 PM
@Darwin
It must be rough, having all that alleged intelligence, yet no social skills or human empathy.
Cussing at strangers when asking for their help is a social skill? Then threatening that stranger with loosing his job, while your father is allegedly lying on the floor, is human empathy? For whom? The dispatcher, or the father, or both?
Could you elucidate your position?
48 Carlos Miller // Jul 19, 2009 at 11:06 PM
Darwin,
Why don’t you call yourself Freud instead?
Considering you know what this girl’s intention was when she cursed.
Her initial statement was “what the fuck” when nobody was answering. That is meant to provoke?
Where do you live at? Because down here, everybody says that. It’s really a common expression.
But then he laid into her about this. Gave her a lecture. He was the PROVOKER.
And when you say the dispatcher got help “within minutes”, he waited six minutes from the last hangup before he called rescue.
Six minutes could be a difference of life and death.
What was he doing during those six minutes?
Probably fuming until he realized he could be get in trouble for not reporting the call. Then he tried to cover his ass.
49 roger // Jul 19, 2009 at 11:22 PM
Darwin=Troll
Don’t pay attention to him, he is just picking fights.
50 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 11:24 PM
Carlos Miller says: Why don’t you call yourself Freud instead? Considering you know what this girl’s intention was when she cursed.
Oh. But the poor dear was just a little stressed. Is that corrrect, Mr. Carlos “Freud” Miller?
Carlos: Where do you live at? Because down here, everybody says that.
Let’s see…
http://www.bestplaces.net/crime/
Violent crime rate for my locale is 1. The US average is 3. Miami is 7.
It just goes to show: If you Live with Scum, then you Act like Scum.
Carlos: It’s really a common expression.
Would you be willing to give it a try next time you request help over the telephone from a stranger? Darwin Award operators are standing by.
51 Darwin // Jul 19, 2009 at 11:40 PM
roger says: Darwin=Troll. Don’t pay attention to him, he is just picking fights.
It must be that a troll is somebody who argues better than you do.
I do have a question. Was Michaelk42 trolling when he went on about my “Victorian bubble,” or picking a fight, or just the most rational debate technique you’ve ever encountered?
In this instance, the girl is at least as guilty of having a chip on her shoulder as the cop.
But only the poor dear girl felt stress under pressure. The other person at the other end of telephone line – he was just a big meanie!
Perceptions are strange things.
52 Scott Chamness // Jul 19, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Darwin, the whole point was, no matter what the girl said, the operator should have remained professional. You would have thought, being a police officer, he would have encountered bad language before, and would have learned how to appropriately deal with it.
By the way, my town on your bestplaces.net showed a rating of 6, and my town was also just named in Forbes Best Places to Move, at #2.
It’s really the scum capital of the world you know.
53 Michaelk42 // Jul 19, 2009 at 11:56 PM
@Darwin
Calling out your rather absurd sensitivity to harsh language seems pretty valid, yes.
Though I wonder if that sensitivity is clouding your perception to the point of ignoring the real issue (the officer’s bad behavior) or If you’re simply attempting to blame the victim, a la jones.
54 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 12:05 AM
Scott Chamness: …bad language…how to appropriately deal with it.
How do you deal with profanity on the telephone from strangers, in your most professional of behavior you can muster?
Keep in mind the following advice sourced from privacyrights.org:
Q. What makes a phone call harassing?
A. When someone calls and uses obscene or threatening language, you are receiving a harassing call.
Q. What can I do to stop harassing calls?
A. First, simply hang up on the caller. Do not engage in conversation. Typical crank callers are seeking attention. You have “made their day” if you say something to them or express shock or anger.
The conversation shows the girl was more interested in provoking anger from the dispatcher than conveying any useful information about an emergency.
55 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 12:08 AM
Michaelk42: Calling out your rather absurd sensitivity to harsh language seems pretty valid, yes.
What’s your telephone number, Michael? Lets see how sensitive you are to bad language.
Or would you be professional and do the right thing? That is, just HANG UP.
56 Michaelk42 // Jul 20, 2009 at 12:14 AM
@Darwin
Seeing as how I’m not a 911 dispatcher and you wouldn’t be calling me for help…
Care to make a more absurd, nonsensical comparison?
57 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 12:21 AM
Michaelk42: @Darwin Seeing as how I’m not a 911 dispatcher and you wouldn’t be calling me for help…Care to make a more absurd, nonsensical comparison?
Michael, I hope you would hang up if somebody called you spouting profanities.
Why do you hold other people to absurdly different standards?
58 NYCPhotorights // Jul 20, 2009 at 12:30 AM
@Darwin:
It seems to me that professionals like 911 operators should be trained properly to handle irate callers and respond to the emergency at hand not get worked up over the tone of the call.
At one time I worked in the billing department of a hospital – should I tell you how many times I was told to “go F myself” because a patient was frustrated over the size of his/her bill. Do you think we called the cops every time a caller got irate with us? Irate calls were expected and we were trained on how to handle them.
59 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 12:42 AM
NYCPhotorights says: It seems to me that professionals like 911 operators should be trained properly to handle irate callers
Sounds reasonable.
NYCPhotorights continues: and respond to the emergency at hand
What emergency? Tell me, what actual emergency did the girl convey to the dispatcher?
She conveyed, primarily:
1. Hostility
2. Desire to get the dispatcher fired for not kowtowing to her hostility.
Through all that, the dispatcher got help to her dad.
He was punished for not doing the job exactly perfectly.
But you and your ilk are still upset, because, like that girl, you’re out for blood.
60 Carlos Miller // Jul 20, 2009 at 12:42 AM
Carlos: It’s really a common expression.
Would you be willing to give it a try next time you request help over the telephone from a stranger? Darwin Award operators are standing by.
You know, I wouldn’t call 911 unless my life or somebody elses life depended on it. Kind of like it was in this case.
And you’re right, Darwin, I guess I would be expected to kiss their ass and acknowledge their authority or else I would be just told to go fuck myself, despite the fact that I am a tax-paying citizen who funds their salary.
Maybe they’ll hang up on me if I forget to say “please” or call them “sir” or “madam”. I guess I would deserve it for not acknowledging their authority.
I’ve been around the block long enough to understand many people in authoritative positions are insecure little fucks that get off on the power trip.
As I said in this post, it’s been proven over and over again. You might be dying but unless you kiss a little cop ass, you are not going to get the help you need.
That’s the professionalism we pay for with our tax dollars.
And that brings me to today’s article I wrote for NBCMiami.
http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/City-of-Miami-is-Golden-Goose-for-Some-Employees.html
61 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 12:56 AM
Carlos,
It is disingenuous to equate “kissing ass” and playing Simon Says power games with a little common courtesy and refraining from illegal profane telephone harassment.
Then again, maybe you’re so insecure that you think everybody is kissing ass if they’re not tossing F-bombs at other people.
62 Carlos Miller // Jul 20, 2009 at 12:59 AM
Please cite the law that says it is illegal to curse over the phone lines.
63 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 1:19 AM
Carlos,
I suppose you perceive I’m kissing your ass because I’m not tossing an F-bomb at you right now, but…
It’s not illegal to merely curse over the phone.
However, it is illegal in most states, and interstate (on a federal level) to use profanity in a hostile manner, as the girl did, to ANNOY.
Do you want my number? (If your totally clueless, that is, of course, a rhetorical question.) You call and cuss me out. I call the telephone company and the sheriff, and you get arrested. That simple. It’s happened before.
Here’s the beginning of the federal law (not applicable in this case, but states have similar laws): Prohibited acts…Whoever initiates the transmission of, any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication which is obscene…with intent to annoy…
If you want to argue that she wasn’t intentionally annoying, go ahead. I’d beg to differ.
64 Carlos Miller // Jul 20, 2009 at 1:21 AM
Prove she was “intentionally annoying.”
65 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 1:27 AM
It is my opinion that she was intentionally annoying.
If you think she was just a poor little nervous girl only trying to help her daddy, then we have a difference of opinion.
66 Carlos Miller // Jul 20, 2009 at 1:32 AM
Well my opinion is based on the fact that her dad was having an actual seizure and that he had just undergone brain surgery.
What is your opinion based on?
67 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 1:38 AM
1. That she thought it more important to continue in her profanity after being asked not to.
2. That she thought it more important to threaten the job of the dispatcher before mentioning that her father was having an actual seizure and had just undergone brain surgery.
If the information that her father seizing after brain surgery was important, do you think she should have actually stated it?
I briefly re-read the 9-1-1 transcript you’ve provided above, and I don’t think she EVER mentioned the actual emergency. Correct me if I’m wrong.
68 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 1:48 AM
The best thing the dispatcher could have done was to elicit the alleged emergency at her house. An optimal phrase come to mind:
“Why do you want me to send a fucking ambulance?”
But he didn’t ask, and she never said.
The way the story is told, it makes the dispatcher look like he’s ignoring a guy writhing on the floor who had recent brain surgery.
But he didn’t know that, because all he perceived was a profane, annoying telephone call, which is illegal.
Luckily, he gathered his thoughts together, and got a squad car out there, just in case his perception was incorrect, which turned out to be the case.
But you want blood, just because you hate all cops, no matter what they do.
69 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 1:56 AM
And Carlos,
Call up a business. Not the cops, just a private business. Try to act like the girl.
“OK, send me a fucking microwave!”
If you avoid being courteous because you think it is “kissing ass” then you probably don’t get a whole lot of satisfaction in your attempted business transactions.
Might even go hungry.
70 NYCPhotorights // Jul 20, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Darwin:
Call up a business wishing to place an order only to be put into an endless voice mail menu chain and then told to keep holding… See if you don’t blurt out words like “what the f@#$”. I know I do – especially when I hear that stupid “your call is important to us…” crap they don’t really mean because IF my call was really important then they would answer it on the first ring!
However, just like that girl the off-hand remark was not intended for a live person. The 911 operator aggravated the situation by chastising her about her language instead of simply asking “what is the emergency” and ignoring the f-word as if it were never uttered.
71 Rob Molecule // Jul 20, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Swearing in anger does not make it an obscene phone call.
72 xdamousex // Jul 20, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Everyone: Stop feeding the troll. The guy is trying to compare an emergency phone call to ordering a microwave.
73 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 11:50 AM
xdamousex says: Everyone: Stop feeding the troll. The guy is trying to compare an emergency phone call to ordering a microwave.
No, I am not. I am pointing out that Carlos equivocates courteous behavior with “kissing ass.”
To get away from Carlo’s idea that all cops are authority freaks I used the example of a private company.
Why is courteous behavior to anybody, either those with “authority” or those in private, something that must be called “kissing ass?”
74 Ariel // Jul 20, 2009 at 11:51 AM
“But you want to be popular, rather than hold fast to the truth, so the rest of your bleating follows.”
No, Darwin, you neurotic ass, I put things in perspective. Just as his superiors did. Yours is the lesser truth in this situation, to the point of absurdity.
75 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Rob Molecule says: Swearing in anger does not make it an obscene phone call.
That is true.
However, using obscene terms to annoy is indeed illegal.
Furthermore, she prioritized threatening the dispatcher’s job ahead of conveying appropriate information about her father.
In fact, she totally ignored stating any relevant facts about the emergency altogether.
Therefore, it can be deduced, from what she accomplished, that her main purpose was to harass and annoy.
76 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Ariel says: Yours is the lesser truth in this situation, to the point of absurdity.
Did you learn your logic in a public school? Or perhaps college?
When the public is as stupid in promoting militant rudeness as the cops are oppressive in exercising their authoritah, society is doomed.
No wonder cops act like they do: departments hire them from the typical flock of pissant examples bleating in this thread.
77 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 12:18 PM
NYCPhotorights says: However, just like that girl the off-hand remark was not intended for a live person.
When you make a call and intend to get a live person on the other end quickly, don’t be surprised if you do.
The 911 operator aggravated the situation by chastising her about her language instead of simply asking “what is the emergency” and ignoring the f-word as if it were never uttered.
I agree, and have said as much. Scroll up and see.
Then the girl prioritized her rudeness ahead of conveying actual information about the emergency, and continued her obscene telephone harassment, to the point of totally ignoring the emergency.
Everybody here wants to make it 100% dispatcher fault, and 0% girl’s fault. That’s absurd.
78 xdamousex // Jul 20, 2009 at 2:10 PM
Everybody here wants to make it 100% dispatcher fault, and 0% girl’s fault. That’s absurd.
I could give two sh**s about the behavior of the meth heads, drunks, nutjobs and rude girls with fathers having spasms on the kitchen floor who call into 911 on a regular basis. I am far more concerned with the behavior of the professional who should be trained to deal with those kind of calls.
The girl is a little b*tch who I would not want to ever interact with. But trying to distract from his shortcomings by distributing the blame on all the little sh*ts of society that he knew when he signed up he would have to deal with in the first place just shows that he is not a professional and is in the wrong line of work.
79 Ariel // Jul 20, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Darwin, you intransigent, pedantic, neurotic, ass, of course “everybody here wants to make it 100% dispatcher fault, and 0% girl’s fault” is absurd, it’s such an obvious strawman.
You started your posts implicitly justifying his hang up because the call was “illegal obscene telephone harassment”. Here is the point everyone is trying to get through to you: a 911 operator doesn’t hang up for any reason when someone is calling 911 for a medical emergency. Period. End of story. His superiors agree with me.
Now blather on to the hand.
80 Kylie // Jul 20, 2009 at 3:20 PM
Darwin:
First of all, have you actually listened to the tapes that have been released? I have. The first profanity was uttered while the phone was still ringing. The girl most likely had no idea that the cop could hear her while the phone was ringing. So there is no reason to believe that her first utterance was intended to annoy.
Next, he answers “911″ and she says “I need an ambulance at (address).” Does he then ask for details? No. He admonishes her for swearing and tells her to slow down. Now, I don’t know about you, but after already having to call twice (since the first got no answer), that would tend to piss me off and cause me to swear more, and I have quite a few years on her. It should not be surprising to anyone, especially a “trained professional”, that she would respond negatively to that. And then he turns around and swears at her after telling her swearing is a no-no! Talk about hypocritical!
You also seem to think that “I need an ambulance” doesn’t convey an emergency. Usually when someone calls 911 and says they need an ambulance, it is because someone has a medical emergency. You gripe about her putting priority on his attitude, yet in every call she conveys need for an ambulance. True, she did not give details, but she was never asked for details! In every call, the cop either ignores her request for an ambulance or tells her “No! You’re not going to get one!” She is a teenager, relatively inexperienced in the ways of the world, and tries what is probably the only thing she’s ever been taught in order to try to get compliance with her request for an ambulance – she threatens him. Now, you know and I know that there are better ways of getting someone to do what you want, but to assume that this teenager knew those ways is naive.
Basically, Darwin, what I am saying here is that you presume too much about what other people are thinking and feeling, you don’t communicate any better than the girl does (even though you haven’t been using profanity) and you come off as a holier-than-thou troll. And getting whiny and sarcastic and avoiding questions when people call you on your shit only serves to prove their point.
81 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 3:40 PM
Ariel says: Darwin, you intransigent, pedantic, neurotic, ass,
You’re thinking alot about my ass, having mentioned it 3 out of 3 posts, and I’m flattered. Almost blushing.
Ariel: Here is the point everyone is trying to get through to you: a 911 operator doesn’t hang up for any reason
It would be interesting to see their Ops Manual for dealing with obscene telephone harassment. Myself, I just follow the standard advice – hang up.
Ariel: when someone is calling 911 for a medical emergency.
The girl could have stated the nature of the emergency. She did not state any medical emergency. It’s just that simple.
Instead, she chose to be confrontational.
Sure, the dispatcher made a mistake and did not defuse her belligerence and elicit more information like he should have. I’ve said that before, but I’ll say it again, as you apparently missed it.
But if you want to act like her next time you have a medical emergency, then go ahead, attempt to earn yourself a Darwin Award.
82 xdamousex // Jul 20, 2009 at 4:23 PM
It is beyond my understanding why anyone would choose to debate the attitude of some random person who calls 911 in a state of emergency as opposed to the person whose job it is to handle such situations in a professional manner.
83 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 4:37 PM
Kylie says: holier-than-thou
I have standards of behavior, apparently more than thou. Got sour grapes?
Strangely, all the cop-haters here have standards only for those they raise high on a pedestal – cops.
Because, secretly, they worship cops. Adore them. Are devastated when their god-men are not perfect dealing with obscene telephone harassment.
It’s pitiful.
84 Kylie // Jul 20, 2009 at 4:38 PM
Darwin – “It would be interesting to see their Ops Manual for dealing with obscene telephone harassment.”
You seem unable to grasp the concept that using profanity during a phone call does not automatically make that phone call “obscene telephone harassment”. This girl’s phone calls to 911 do NOT constitute “obscene telephone harassment”, hence do NOT excuse the cop for hanging up on the girl. And when you say “Sure, the dispatcher made a mistake and did not defuse her belligerence and elicit more information like he should have,” and in the SAME comment say “Myself, I just follow the standard advice – hang up,” you are then proving yourself to be a hypocrite, since you are basically saying “he was wrong to hang up but he was right to hang up”.
And you are still ignoring the fact that “I need an ambulance” DOES convey a medical emergency.
And you are STILL ACTING LIKE A TROLL!!!
85 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 4:47 PM
Kylie says: You seem unable to grasp the concept that using profanity during a phone call does not automatically make that phone call “obscene telephone harassment”
Call 9-1-1. Give it a try.
Let us know how that theory works out for ya.
(One stupid girl protecting another.)
86 xdamousex // Jul 20, 2009 at 4:49 PM
@Darwin: Okay, maybe it’s about time for you to go play troll elsewhere.
87 Darwin // Jul 20, 2009 at 6:32 PM
I see xdamousex is nearly begging for my attention. Here it is.
xdamousex says: It is beyond my understanding why anyone would choose to debate the attitude of some random person
Do you refer to quotes such as the following examples?
Nemo: Panicky people on Earth are not on their best behavior.
Nemo: an obsessive-compulsive prima donna control freak
Carlos: they are under extreme stress
Ariel: Her purpose wasn’t to provoke, it was an emotional response to the stress.
88 Kylie // Jul 21, 2009 at 12:19 AM
Darwin – “Call 9-1-1. Give it a try.”
Sure, just tell me where you are and I’ll call 911 for you and have them send the nice young men in their clean white coats to come and take you away, since you seem to be in need of some psychiatric help.
89 Nuclear22 // Jul 21, 2009 at 11:36 AM
I don’t know how I stumbled on this site but when I read about Adrianne Ledesma’s problem, all I could think of is cutting the crap and calling it for what IT IS. Adrianne is nothing more than pathetic white trash.
90 Kylie // Jul 21, 2009 at 12:59 PM
Nuclear22 – “Adrianne is nothing more than pathetic white trash.”
That may be true (actually probably is true), but that does not change the fact that the cop answering the 911 call was unprofessional, hostile and rude, and he put his “delicate sensibilities” above his duties, which potentially put a person’s life in danger. For that lack of good judgment he should (at best) be fired and banned from law enforcement or (at least) be banned from any duties that require interaction with the general public. The reality is that a large percentage of the population uses profanity on a regular basis, and if he can’t handle hearing it, he shouldn’t be in a position that has any public interactions.
91 Rob Molecule // Jul 21, 2009 at 1:19 PM
Kylie – “Sure, just tell me where you are and I’ll call 911 for you and have them send the nice young men in their clean white coats to come and take you away.”
Ha, ha!
92 Darwin // Jul 21, 2009 at 5:20 PM
Kylie says: send the nice young men in their clean white coats to come and take you away, since you seem to be in need of some psychiatric help.
Oh yeah, Kylie, pull a Soviet KBG maneuver on those with whom you disagree!
You’re just like any bad cop – power hungry and ready use the power of the state to abuse people.
93 Kylie // Jul 21, 2009 at 5:27 PM
Ok, Darwin, you’re going to have to get your kicks from someone else now. I’m done with trying to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person – and yes, I mean you – thought I better spell that out for you, since you are apparently unable to grasp simple concepts. Wait — is your real name jones? Because you act a lot like him.
94 Darwin // Jul 21, 2009 at 5:33 PM
Kylie: I’m done with trying to have a battle of wits
Later, loser. No donut.
It still stands true that you’re willing to be a thug, using the power of the state to abuse people, by equating dissent with your opinion as a psychiatric disorder.
95 Ariel // Jul 21, 2009 at 7:05 PM
Darwin,
You really do have some personality issues that bore me to tears. A lack of any ability at perspective for one.
Your post #94 was just so over the top stupid that you’re a waste of time, looser. “Using the power of the state to abuse people, by equating dissent..blah blah blah…”.
Like I said before, blather on to the hand.
Kylie, I’m taking your route, ignoring him from now on.
96 Spokker // Jul 31, 2009 at 2:20 AM
Send a fucking whambulance.
97 Aaron // Jul 31, 2009 at 3:37 AM
i believe the dispatcher was in the wrong. it doesn’t matter if she was a habitual 911 abuser. the dispatcher should’ve sent an ambulance along with an officer while trying to calm down the girl telling her help was on the way.
it’s completely understandable for someone to use profane language to express themselves especially in times of extreme stress. he should’ve been reprimanded severely.
now, once the ambulance and police arrived and it was found out that nothing was wrong, then the appropriate steps should’ve been taken to insure it didn’t happen again.
there are certain steps to be taken in a certain order to be able to ascertain the truth. just because she’s called 911 in the past for false things does not give anyone the right to refuse her any help.
a 20 year police veteran with the training and commendations he’s had should’ve handled the situation better.
98 Mathemagician // Jul 31, 2009 at 7:37 AM
Darwin cannot spell. That’s some terrible spelling and grammar for someone so sweetly spoken. We all know Darwin’s type: 12 years old (socially) with aspirations of domination. All the while, the tireless mathematicians, scientists, and journalists born with brains and well-spoken trying to improve quality of life for everyone are allowing the weak and possibly psychologically disturbed people like Darwin to continue their lives without taking any responsibility for the technologies and social advances made my many others.
99 Mathemagician // Jul 31, 2009 at 7:49 AM
Darwin cannot spell. That’s some terrible spelling and grammar for someone so sweetly spoken. We all know Darwin’s type: 12 years old (socially) with aspirations of domination. All the while, the tireless mathematicians, scientists, and journalists born with brains and well-spoken trying to improve quality of life for everyone are allowing the weak and possibly psychologically disturbed people like Darwin to continue their lives without taking any responsibility for the technologies and social advances made my many others.
For every truly intelligent human being, like many who comment here, there are ten ignorant human beings bashing each of them in rootless anger and childishness.
This is how it has always been and how it always will be. Darwin will someday win his namesake.
100 whatever // Aug 3, 2009 at 10:55 AM
What kind of “delicate sensibilities” applauds someone who can’t compose a straight answer without the words “fuck” or “fucking” in it?
As angry as she was, after the first call, she should’ve realised that it wasn’t her situation that caused the officer to refuse assistance, but the abusive language she used.
People who don’t have enough consideration to not pollute conversations with foul language should learn that not everyone appreciates being cussed at. It’s abusive, it’s demeaning and it’s uncalled for in any situation. There are so many other ways to express frustration, desperation and anger without verbally abusing other people.
101 Kylie // Aug 3, 2009 at 12:24 PM
@whatever:
First off, as I’ve pointed out before, when she said “Fuck!” the first time, as far as she was aware, no one could hear her, it was merely an expression of frustration. When the officer answers, she asks for an ambulance in a rather polite and straight-forward way, at which point he tells her off and hangs up on her. Her language before that point was not “abusive”, since it was not intended or expected to be heard by anyone!
Secondly, after telling her not to use foul language, the cop uses foul and DELIBERATELY abusive language toward her. Now who is more in the wrong here, a frustrated teen who is being refused help for her father because she was overheard expressing her frustration through foul language, or the so-called professional who was refusing to do his job, refusing medical attention to someone and verbally abusing a teen girl because he happened to overhear her use a single foul word?
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