12-Year Old Girl Won't Behave--Mom Calls 911

Man, parents are pushovers. And then she got mad at the dispatcher because he made a sarcastic remark about it.

Mom not laughing at 911 dispatcher's 'joke'

By Leila Fadel

Star-Telegram Staff Writer


WATAUGA - Lori came home to find her daughters fighting that Monday evening. Her 12-year-old had kicked a hole in the door, and the girls were hitting and throwing things at each other. She feared one or both would be seriously hurt.

She called 911 and asked for help. Her 12-year-old daughter was out of control, she told the call-taker.

"OK. Do you want us to come over to shoot her?" the dispatcher asked, according to a recording released this week. For five seconds, the line went dead.

"Are you there?" the call-taker asked.

"Excuse me?" Lori said.

Mike Forbess, a dispatcher of five years for the Watauga Department of Public Safety, then told her he was joking and apologized. But Lori cannot get his comment out of her head.

"This is a slap in the face that my child was not important enough, my call for help, my 911 call was not important enough that he had to make a joke about it," Lori said Monday. She asked that her last name not be used to avoid identifying her daughters, one of whom has emotional problems.

Forbess immediately told his supervisor about the call. He received a letter of reprimand two days later. Forbess received a second letter of reprimand from Chief David Van Laar on Monday, the same day the Star-Telegram obtained a copy of the 911 call recording, and of Forbess' disciplinary records.

The mother, however, said her faith in the 911 system remains shaken. She said she plans to file a formal complaint.

"I do not have words to tell you how shocked I am that someone is allowed to do this," she said. "You don't do people like this, and then get a slap on the wrist."

I say the mom needs to be slapped for wasting 911's time because she can't control her brat.

 

And she should be slapped for having no sense of humor.

 

we get this all the time, i think theres a site that details all the misuse of the 999 or 911 system.

in teh uk someone rang 999 because they ran out of milk

 

just because she can't control her kids and can't bring herself to actually disipline them properly. She deserves to be wrist slapped because at that point no one was hurt and instead of breaking up the fight she calls 911.

word of wise, spanking at times is never a bad idea. and you always follow through on punishments or next time the kid doesn't take you seriously enough

 

I smell a lawsuit.

 

Wrist slaps are the [edited] method of actual slaps, she needs an actual slap



Amos edit: Language.

 

That's ridiculous. Your two daughters were fighting, so you call 911? What kind of logic is that? Just separate the two of them, and actually give them discipline. Amazing how that works

 

I have listen to this call, the mom had every right to be upset.

 

Both parties are at fault here. The woman for misusing the 911 service, and the operator for her joke. As idiotic as the woman's call was, the person at the other end of the line should've remained professional.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other = this story.

 

Here are some great actual calls made to the emergency services in the UK

http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/communications/examples_of_999_calls.asp

I'd suggest using the "Flash with subtitles" links unless you are confident you'll understand the thick Somerset accents.

My personal favourites are :- A female caller has dialled 999 to report an injured pigeon. and A male caller has dialled 999 to say that his wife has gone out without leaving any food to eat.

 

My dad acutally threatened to disown us by taking us to a orphanage

that scared the crap out of me.

 

It'd be pretty damn ridiculous if someone couldn't get through for a real emergency and died because this idiot can't control her kids.

 

That 999 call site is a very good example of what you're SUPPOSED to do when someone calls you with an absurd request. They teach you this over and over again, no matter what the customer says, you have to be nice, and you have to be pleasant. And you can't make off-color jokes about shooting the caller's daughter. Yes, the person shouldn't've called, but the call could have been handled quite easily without needing to be rude.

 

I have to hand it to deadbeat people like that mom--they're serving as a fantastic example of what NOT to do for the next generation of parents.

 

Eaglei: what do you do with an out of control dog? what else but shoot it. Its a joke nothing more nothing less.

 

You've obviously never worked in any sort of customer service job, Falcon.

 

Great find Malkie, some of those are really funny.

 

actually Eaglei I do work retail and on cash.

I know how to handle myself, but theres just sometimes it slips because of peoples behaviour and I tend to feel just as frustrated.

that and we have the crazy candle lady, she thinks that she can get the candle half off if she breaks them in half.

and theres also a customer when she calls, she asks the same question over and over again and just for fun I toss the call off to the manager in training, I got the you just had to do it look and I wore a huge grin on my face.

 

But you don't make jokes in bad taste to customers just because they're being stupid. You have to put yourself in a mindset where you're trying to help the person.

And, by the way, the caller was calling because, as she said, her daughter 'is as big as I am, and I can't physically control her.'

The operator should have at least found out how serious a situation it was before offering to shoot the child.

I could easily imagine a situation where a child is so out of control that they need to dispatch the police.

This was not 'I can't get the pickle jar open.'

 

Hey Amos, how about you don't edit out language that's completely acceptable?


PUSSYfoot does not refer to VAGINAS, it is the delicate, soft step comes from the imagery of a cat's careful tread, as popularized by Theodore Roosevelt. "To pussyfoot is to proceed with caution, subtlety, and delicacy"

A tad overzealous in your editing? I'm sure I've never complained about THAT in you before

 

And, by the way, the caller was calling because, as she said, her daughter 'is as big as I am, and I can't physically control her.' hmmmmmmmmmmm you do have a point, I didn't hear that part

where did you hear the recording? I tried looking for it but the links gone.

 

where did you hear the recording? I tried looking for it but the links gone.

I Google News'd '911 shoot girl.'

I got this link with the call:

http://www.nbc30.com/news/4379745/detail.html

Click on the 'FeedRoom' link.

 

The kids were old enough to be left at home and the girl had kicked a hole in a door, how many of you do that in normal tantrums?

She deserves to be wrist slapped because at that point no one was hurt and instead of breaking up the fight she calls 911

Maybe she tried. This wasn't two girls pulling each others hair. They were throwing things at each other, probably not pillows.

I think its wrong to put blame on the mom and not the operator.

 

When my 15 month old son misbehaves and starts throwing a tantrum I simply tape him to the ceiling fan and let him spin for a bit.

 

Somebody should take this woman's children away from her before one of them commits fratricide. On the other hand, the 911 dispatcher deserved to be reprimanded for his unprofessional and equally asinine comment. No matter how unwarranted the call, his job is to manage the dialog. He's fortunate he didn't lose his job, in my opinion. If I were his supervisor, I would have seriously considered letting him go. 911 operators have no business handling stupid calls like this. They should possess the ability to process even the dumbest calls as expeditiously as possible, which means maintaining a certain level of professionalism.

The caller was a moron, but the 911 operator lost control of the call with his argumentative and sarcastic remark. Dead air? "Are you there?" He's no better at handling idiots who abuse 911 than that woman is capable of handling her squabbling kids.

Unacceptable.

I woke up on the dark side this morning, and I'm loving it.