Can we wrap this up here? I’ve got somebody on hold

Since it happened in South Sacramento County I suppose it’s only a matter of time until Jason brings his all-seeing Eye to the mix, but are you following today’s CHP wait-time scandal? Check the SacBee for the details of a road rage incident and CBS13 for the news of the CHP’s investigation into its own handling of the related 911 call.

The story itself is frightening. And although the major outrage here is the length of time these poor women had to wait for help, what stuck out for me (my wife actually picked up on this first, this morning over coffee and baby biscuits) was the attitude of the 911 dispatcher. (Italics mine, because people generally don’t talk in italics.)

Driver: I need help. There is a guy trying to run me off the freeway. I don’t know who he is. Oh, my God. Oh, my God!
[apparently there was a pause there on the driver’s end, which was a wee bit more than this dispatcher could stand]
Dispatcher: Hellooo?

I’m sorry miss operator, I was handling a little situation there. But it gets better:

Dispatcher: Ma’am, I need to find out where you are.
Driver: I am [on] 99 south.
Dispatcher: Ma’am, 99 goes all the way from Marysville all the way down through Fresno. That doesn’t help me.

Because I have the luxury of time and distance, I can throw my name behind “that’s like saying you’re at Starbucks,” but I’m not the voice you hear when you’re in dire need. I realize the investigation is well underway, but I pledge to bring my considerable local celebrity to bear and demand that this 911 dispatcher be fired.

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Author: CoolDMZ

"X-ray vision to see in between / Where's my kimono and my time machine?"

8 thoughts on “Can we wrap this up here? I’ve got somebody on hold”

  3. That struck me too when I heard the call on the news. You would think that, of all people, 991 dispatchers would be trained and thoroughly brainwashed on how to talk to people in crisis situations.

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  5. it’s all about Arrowroot flour. though that always makes me think of Willow. what is it that Val Kilmer tries to give the baby?

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  8. AMEN!!! I guess she was probably upset that someone had called and interupted her disability pay calculations for her boss’s retirement.

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