911 Operator Fired For Swearing

[DLuccia327]

Operator Was In Training When Comments Made

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A Nashville 911 operator has been fired after he was recorded saying that he didn't "give a s---" about what happened to a woman who had just called to report her ex-boyfriend was threatening her.

Emergency Communications Center spokeswoman Amanda Sluss said Wednesday that Frank Roth was in training during the February incident and was fired a month later.

Roth made the comments after promising police would arrive soon for a woman who called saying her ex-boyfriend held her at knifepoint and later was threatening her.


After hanging up with her but while still being recorded, he said, "I really don't give a s--- what happens to you."

Sluss said the incident is not reflective of how 911 operators treat callers and that "a series of errors" led to the three-hour delay in response to the emergency call.

"Certainly this particular caller didn't receive the service she deserved," Sluss said. "This is not indicative of how our employees treat citizens. It's not something that should have been said. It's not what we train our employees to do."

A local TV station first reported the story after one of its reporters obtained the 911 recording.

[fireball]

operator swore when he was in training!!unbelievable!!!

[94onair]

He must not have valued his job too much. especially since he was only in training.

[DragonSlayerEMS]

Id say apparently not!!

[Lucky 13]

There's a line between professional and unprofessional. He hopped, skipped and jumped right over it.

[DragonSlayerEMS]

Then turned around and pissed all over it...

[LdrClmr]

What I would like to know is, if this guy said it AFTER the call had been completed, who heard it BESIDES the training personnel and the people listening to the recordings...because if he did his job while this woman was on the line, what he says afterwards in a moment of frustration prehaps over how the direction of the call went, and the height of stress he was exposed to DURING the call, prehaps this is an instance of him having a stress induced moment of low impulse control.

Either way I am not saying the guy was cut out to be an operator if that was his reaction after a few days of training for the job, or that he deserved to be ferreted out and have it publicized by the media IF the caller was not told this DIRECTLY, sounds more like it should have been dealt with in a calm quiet and PRIVATE fashion rather than having the news crews brought in to cover it.

Hell you wanna hear casutic remarks, ride a rig for almost 22 years, then come sit near me after a bad shift...I say shit that could curdle the milk in your friggin coffee! Its just blowing off excess anxiety and frustration....but again... Ive had a helluva lot more time to accumulate it than this pup did it would seem.

No he wasnt right to have said that, he wasnt right for the job, but the press sharks didnt have to come tearin in circling for the kill either, THAT just exploits the situation to a whole new level of poor taste!

[sc_flametamer]

What I would like to know is, if this guy said it AFTER the call had been completed, who heard it BESIDES the training personnel and the people listening to the recordings...because if he did his job while this woman was on the line, what he says afterwards in a moment of frustration prehaps over how the direction of the call went, and the height of stress he was exposed to DURING the call, prehaps this is an instance of him having a stress induced moment of low impulse control.

Nobody should have heard it, except someone listening to the tape. Considering this statement in the original article

and that "a series of errors" led to the three-hour delay in response to the emergency call.

I would imagine that fairly soon an entire courtroom of people is going to hear it.

A statement made in the heat of the moment that had absolutely no effect on the outcome of the call is likely going to cost her agency a pretty penny.

[LdrClmr]

3 hour delays should also fall under the responsibility of the supervising dispatcher ... WHY THE HELL didnt THEY step in? I would think that in this case where it was a woman being held at knifepoint someone would have seen the obvious need for SWIFT action and have assumed control rather than sit back and permit a trainee to attempt to handle it poorly!

Dont get me wrong if the guy fuuked up the guy fuuked up, but it sounds to me that he had a bit of help there AND that rather than own up to incompetance on the part of the overseeing party, that they are dumping it on him as a patsy!

You cant blame a trainee for NOT knowing the entirety of the job BUT in saying that YOU DAMNED SURE CAN blame the Supervisor for permitting it to happen in the first place!

[94onair]

Yeah kim you have a point, even if he was out of line it could have been delt with much more descretly than having news stations do a report on it. And yeah I would imagine there will be pending law suits comming up in the works. That will most likely be succesful.

[ncff07]

Originally Posted by LdrClmr

3 hour delays should also fall under the responsibility of the supervising dispatcher ... WHY THE HELL didnt THEY step in? I would think that in this case where it was a woman being held at knifepoint someone would have seen the obvious need for SWIFT action and have assumed control rather than sit back and permit a trainee to attempt to handle it poorly!

Dont get me wrong if the guy fuuked up the guy fuuked up, but it sounds to me that he had a bit of help there AND that rather than own up to incompetance on the part of the overseeing party, that they are dumping it on him as a patsy!

You cant blame a trainee for NOT knowing the entirety of the job BUT in saying that YOU DAMNED SURE CAN blame the Supervisor for permitting it to happen in the first place!

yea pass the buck. you cant always supervise all the time... the supervisor may have been partially at fault for not following up on the ones working there especially a trainee but i really think think it falls on the one that said it, or not follow through with the proper procedures on the call for a timely response. what ever happened to being responsible for your own actions? i mean its the person that does it not the supervisor, not their parents, not anyone else but them. im my opinion the person should be held accountable for their own actions not look somewhere else to place the blame. maybe the one that said it was just stupid who knows.

[LdrClmr]

Oh I see what youre saying Scott and I agree to a point but heres the point IM trying to make...

Are you suggesting that the state of Tennessee HIRES untrained people to run an emergy dispatch call center....leaves them to their OWN devices to handle ANY manner of emergency calls?

The term trainee refers to someone who is being trained for a specific task, they are assigned to a training officer WHOS job it IS to insure that said person IS trained to the specification required BY said job.

NOW this lad was a trainee....the case in question was a woman calling in a life threatening situation....NOT something to be dealt with solo BY a ROOKIE dispatcher....NOT something that should be dealt with lightly....AND where the HELL was the guy who SHOULD have BEEN there on this guys 6 to INSURE it was handled APPROPRIATELY?

The fault lies within a system that is obviously blaming someone with little to NO experience on how to handle a situation that they were OBVIOUSLY ILL equipt to either comprehend or handle in a timely and effective manner, therefore I would presume that the lad who didnt know any better sorta gets a pass for his incompetance and that leaves but ONE entity to stand accountable for it.... Supervisor DROPPED THE BALL! Bottom line is THEY are there to teach this guy and didnt....they were supposed to be there to consult and watch to insure this kinda thing DIDNT occur....THEY WERENT THERE OR THEY WERENT THERE SOON ENOUGH!

You wanna find fault and assign blame fine... just make sure that its assigned where it belongs, you cant fault someone who dont know sweet F**K all, especially when in this instance its pretty obvious that the people doing the teaching portion were just as remiss in their duties as the kid they are now presently trying to crucify!

[sc_flametamer]

Without knowing their training procedures I can't say for sure, but I'd be willing to bet there was a trainer assigned to this person. Why they didn't intervene is beyond me. It could be that they were short-staffed and the trainer was doing other things and this one slipped through the cracks. It also could have been the fact that the trainer was using their position to slack off and was occupying their time doing something else. It could be the fact that they don't have a formal training program and after a brief "Here read this" type training program they throw trainees to the wolves. (Don't laugh...I can name at least 5 agencies here in SC and two in other states that train this way) Time will tell what the case is here.

[LdrClmr]

THANK YOU TODD!!!! THATS the point I was trying to make....WTF WAS THE TRAINING SUPERVISOR!!! THATS the prick who should be answering questions and having his nuts put in the wringer NOT some greenhorn, cause HE'S the person who WAS qualified and SHOULD have stepped in FAR BEFORE ANY of this occured!



BTW I have a pal who works for NFD....why dont I get ahold of him and ask as to the proceedures that are implimented for training 911 operators, and see what he has to say, cripes wouldnt that be enlightening to find out from someone whos like the handle on a pisspot....close enough to see the shit but far enough outta the way to avoid the ultimate splash!

And they keep tryin to tell us that we truckies are f**king stupid....Todd knew EXACTLY what I was sayin!

[Lucky 13]

Originally Posted by sc_flametamer

It could be the fact that they don't have a formal training program and after a brief "Here read this" type training program they throw trainees to the wolves. (Don't laugh...I can name at least 5 agencies here in SC and two in other states that train this way) Time will tell what the case is here.

I swear, sometimes it seems like that's how Sumter does it.

[sc_flametamer]

Originally Posted by Lucky 13

I swear, sometimes it seems like that's how Sumter does it.

Sumter's better than most we deal with. Believe it or not I'd rather deal with Sumter than Richland.

Nobody is as bad as Kershaw though.

[Lucky 13]

Richland is that bad eh? Sumter isn't the worst I'll agree to that, but that's not to say they couldn't use some work.

I've heard that about Kershaw. There's a married couple I'm friends with that moved from Sumter to Kershaw and they said it's really bad.

[sc_flametamer]

Richland has some great folks, but there is so much turnover there that they are the minority.