Detroit Screws Up Again, Kills Another Person

[Dustdevil]

I saw the comment made that the dispatcher would not be terminated because of her years of faithful service to the city. I wonder how many other times something like this has happened with this "faithful servant of the city". They wonder why incidents like this happen. If you keep the people that are screwing up you have a lot of screwed up people. Pretty simple concept to me.

Exactly! Does anybody really believe that this is the first time that either of these cretins has blown off a 911 caller like that? Of course not. Two separate operators did the very same thing, and the words flowed effortlessly from their mouths with practised perfection. I would venture to guess that they treat callers like this several times per shift. The records and tapes will show that this is the norm. It is a clear pattern of behaviour that is endemic to the system. And, in fact, I would be extremely disappointed if the city is not doing a comprehensive audit of tapes to establish that this is a pattern of behaviour. When that pattern is established, they should be fired. And prosecuted. And so should any supervisors who have seen this practice and allowed it to go unchecked. Sounds like a clean sweep is probably in order for the entire organisation.

But more than likely, the city will eventually just scapegoat the one operator and claim that their system is just fine. :roll:

[Ridryder 911]

Actually, I am starting a new business and I will soon be rich... selling "blinders" to all the city officials, so they can not see the truth...

R/R 911

[Guest]

Actually, I am starting a new business and I will soon be rich... selling "blinders" to all the city officials, so they can not see the truth...

R/R 911

Can I have a piece of that......well after I finish writing a few points letters?

LMAO

[Ace844]

"squint, & everyone else"

Here's some which will get you all started..and YES I'M IN AS WELL.....

FOX & Friends — Friends@foxnews.com

The O'Reilly Factor — Oreilly@foxnews.com

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1-888-369-4762

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[Chief of Police

ELLA M. BULLY-CUMMINGS, ESQ.

DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT

1300 Beaubien

Detroit, MI 48226

or email Office of the Chief

dpdcp@dpdhq.ci.detroit.mi.us

the mayor doesn't have an e-mail address listed but the city council mebers each do here!!

http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/misc/directory_phone_numbers.htm

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

Please contact Mayor Kilpatrick at:

City of Detroit

Executive Office

Coleman A. Young Municipal Center

2 Woodward Ave., Ste. 1126

Detroit, MI 48226

(313) 224-3400

Council President Pro Tem

Kenneth V. Cockrel, Jr.

1340 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center

2 Woodward Ave

Detroit, MI 48226

(313) 224-4505 (office)

(313) 224-0367 (fax)

E-mail: CockrelK.CNCL.Council@kcockrel.ci.detroit.mi.us

Contact Person: John C. Clark

Council Member

Sharon McPhail

1340 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center

2 Woodward Ave

Detroit, MI 48226

(313) 224-4530 (office)

(313) 224- 2011 (fax)

E-mail: SMcPhail_MB@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us

Contact Person: Calvin T. Hughes, Jr.

Council Member

Sheila M. Cockrel1340 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center

2 Woodward Ave

Detroit, MI 48226

(313) 224-1337 (office)

(313) 224-0369 (fax)

E-mail: S-Cockrel_mb@ckrl.ci.detroit.mi.us

Contact Person: JoAnn Abdenour

Council Member

Alberta Tinsley-Talabi

1340 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center

2 Woodward Ave

Detroit, MI 48226

(313) 224-1645 (office)

(313) 224-1787 (fax)

E-mail: A_Talabi_mb@atwpo.ci.detroit.mi.us

Contact Person: Dorotha Hannah

Council Member

Barbara-Rose Collins

1340 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center

2 Woodward Ave

Detroit, MI 48226

(313) 224-1298(office)

(313) 224-0372(fax)

E-mail: Collins_MB@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us

Contact Person: Renee Baker

Council Member

Alonzo W. Bates

1340 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center

2 Woodward Ave

Detroit, MI 48226

(313) 224-1245(office)

(313) 224- 4095(fax)

E-mail: Bates_MB@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us

Council Member

JoAnn Watson

1340 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center

2 Woodward Ave

Detroit, MI 48226

(313) 224-4535 (office)

(313) 224-1524 (fax)

E-mail: WatsonJ@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us

Contact Person: Sandra Epps

For those who would like to hear the tapes, here's a link::

[web:0fdf87037b]http://www.911dispatch.com/db/index.php[/web:0fdf87037b]

out here,

ACE844

[Dustdevil]

From: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006604110321

Boy's 911 calls put trouble in spotlight

Death of Detroit boy's mom results in lawsuit

April 11, 2006

BY MARISOL BELLO, FRANK WITSIL and JOE SWICKARD

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

A Detroit mother couldn't save her son five years ago, and now her heart breaks anew because another child couldn't save his mom.

In both cases, pleading calls to 911 failed to bring help.

Anshiree Martin's 9-year-old son, Damion Cottingham, died in her arms in 2001, gasping for breath in an asthma attack after a Detroit 911 operator repeatedly assured her that help was on the way.

Martin -- who sued the city in 2001 and won an arbitrator's award of $325,000 -- said Monday she knows the grief felt by 6-year-old Robert Turner, whose calls to 911 in February after his mom collapsed were considered possible pranks. Sherrill Turner, 46, died of complications from an enlarged heart, putting Detroit's emergency response system under harsh criticism and intense scrutiny, and prompting a lawsuit filed Monday.

Police say they are investigating the incident. Union officials have defended the actions of the operators, whose names have not been released.

"It's sad, and all because of one person who holds your whole life in their hands," Martin said. "I can imagine how that little boy feels, three hours with his mom like that. Every day I deal with this."

On Monday, attorney Geoffrey Fieger -- with Robert at his side playing with a Spider-Man toy -- filed a $1-million lawsuit on behalf of Robert and his mother's estate, claiming gross negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress on the part of Detroit 911 operators who took the boy's calls.

Saying Sherrill Turner's death isn't an isolated case, Fieger also said he represents another woman whose calls last year to 911 -- she said she had been shot in the head -- were met with skepticism and delay. A dispatcher asked her if she was a mental patient.

Fieger said Lorraine Hayes is a paraplegic because of her injuries and only got help after she called relatives in Minnesota, who contacted Detroit police.

In a telephone interview with the Free Press, Hayes said Monday the dispatcher "treated me like a piece of garbage."

Such a sentiment comes as no surprise to Martin, 31, who said the grief over losing her son won't go away. Every weekend, she and her 5-year-old daughter visit his grave.

"He passed away in my arms in his bedroom because of the negligence of one operator," Martin said.

When Damion was stricken with an asthma attack, Martin, an accountant who lives on the west side, said she called 911 and was told an ambulance was on its way. When none arrived, she said she and her fiance called again and again.

She said an operator told them an ambulance would arrive in 7 to 8 minutes, even though EMS technicians told the operator and another dispatcher they did not know when they could arrive because they were on the other side of town. But Martin said the operator repeatedly told her the ambulance was on its way.

It took the ambulance 22 minutes to arrive. By then, Damion had died.

Martin said Monday if the operator had been truthful, she would have taken her son to a hospital.

"If she had told us the truth, maybe he'd be alive," she said.

Martin said she doesn't know if the operator was ever disciplined and, in light of the latest incident, said it's clear dispatchers have to receive more training about dealing properly with emergencies.

"I wouldn't call 911 now," she said. "I've been there and I wouldn't want my life in their hands."

But city officials have said the 911 system hasn't been a hot button issue in years. Detroit Ombudsman Durene Brown said her office has gotten only one complaint about the system in the past six months although she said citizens can also complain directly to the police or fire departments.

Second Deputy Police Chief James Tate said the number of complaints received by his office was not available Monday.

He added, however, that Detroit's 911 system is a busy one, handling about 2 million calls a year for police, fire and EMS services. Many of those, he said, are for nonemergency situations.

According to this year's budget, 23 operators handle emergency calls and another 20 operators handle nonemergency calls to the system. The city spends $3.4 million on the system.

Union officials have estimated about one-quarter of the calls are pranks.

Fieger, however, maintains in the lawsuit that city dispatchers have been too quick to shrug off some calls. For instance, he said when Hayes called 911 in January 2005, she clearly and calmly asked for an ambulance, saying, "I've been shot in the head. I'm dying."

In a tape and transcript Fieger claimed is a record of Hayes' call, the woman provides her name and answers the dispatcher's questions politely with "yes, ma'am," and "no ma'am." She tells the dispatcher she has been shot in the head twice by her husband and is on the floor and bleeding. She gives her address and repeatedly asks for help.

The dispatcher continues to question her, asking at one point: "Are you a mental patient?"

Hayes responded, "No ma'am."

The dispatcher also warned her -- much as Robert Turner was scolded by a dispatcher this year -- that she would get in trouble if she made a false report.

In a second call, according to Fieger's documents, Hayes told a dispatcher, "I'm getting ready to die." The dispatcher told her that police and EMS were on the way. Hayes repeated her address and said she had been shot in the temple and the chest.

The dispatcher responded, "But you are able to call on the phone? That's a miracle."

"I'm dying," Hayes said. "I swear to God."

Contact JOE SWICKARD at 313-222-8769 or jswickard@freepress.com.

[Ace844]

"Squint,"

How about this for an acronym....International Consortium of Concerned Pre-Hospital Clinicians ( ICCPHC )

out here,

ACE844

[Ace844]

So how about it everyone, are we all going to WALK OUR TALK and take action here or what?!?!!?!?!?!

This like some previous posts which "PRPG, RID, & others" have made in the past is an opportunity to show our community and the general public at large that we want to make a difference, and we are more than uneducated taxi driving cot jockeys!!! So get fired up and lets start mobilizing to aloow ourselves to be HEARD!!!!!

ACE844

[Guest]

"Squint,"

How about this for an acronym....International Consortium of Concerned Pre-Hospital Clinicians ( ICCPHC )

out here,

ACE844

PERFECT!

Can I be a member too!

ps I still dont like u Ace :twisted:

LMAO!

[Ace844]

Hi Everyone,

here's a rough Draft of a letter which we could send. Let's hear some opions and if you have them..post your Examples, comments, etc..!!!!!!!!

Come on "Dust, Squint, medik8, RID, PRPG, etc..." lets hear from you and see yours!!!!

OREILLY@FOXNEWS.COM & Friends@foxnews.com

Dear ,

I am writing to you as an a member of the group the International Consortium of Concerned Pre-Hospital Clinicians ( ICCPHC ) and as a concerned professional Pre-hospital care provider. I’ve been employed in this profession for over 10 years and this spate of recent occurrences have caused m us to try to seek your help with this. I would like to bring to your attention an issue, which has quietly catalyzed the Emergency services community. Recently Fox News and the National news media have been reporting on an incident in Detroit where a 911 Dispatcher refused to send any sort of Emergency aid to a 6yo boy whose mother was in trouble, and due to this dispatchers negligence the boys mother died! I have also learned through the press and colleagues that this particular dispatcher will be able to remain on the job as the union representative for Detroit EMS states; “the dispatcher would not be terminated because of her years of faithful service to the city.” This is a disgrace and I wonder how many other times something like this has happened with this "faithful servant of the city".

In addition to this incident there has clearly been a disturbing trend in Detroit of similar occurrences over the last 5 years. Examples and some verifiable sourcesof this can be found below:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006604110321 , Death of Detroit boy's mom results in lawsuit

April 11, 2006

BY MARISOL BELLO, FRANK WITSIL and JOE SWICKARD

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS; Contact JOE SWICKARD at 313-222-8769 or jswickard@freepress.com.

here’s a website with both the tapes and a video interview with the union reps statements above. http://www.911dispatch.com/db/index.php

http://www.clickondetroit.com/index.html

Detroit Boy's 911 Call Considered Prank; Mother Dies ; http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006604100335

Audio of 911 tapes also available at that link.

911 death suit expected

Fieger: Boy's mom would be alive if operators took calls

Here’s an example of some of the horrific EMS care provided there:

Qualified Immunity Shields Detroit EMTs from Claims

Health Law Week

The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that two emergency medical technicians (EMTs) were entitled to qualified immunity because a gunshot victim set forth no facts supporting a constitutional claim for violation of due process as a result of allegedly deficient emergency care.

Alter Keith Jackson was shot on Sept. 16, 2000 and two EMTs from the Detroit Fire Department were dispatched to the scene, where they found Jackson alive but bleeding profusely. The EMTs placed Jackson in their ambulance, but they did not administer life support or transport him to a trauma center. Jackson died in the ambulance.

Jackson's mother sued the EMTs in their personal capacity, alleging that they violated her son's due process rights by failing to provide proper emergency care. Jackson also alleged that the EMTs' conduct amounted to a state-created danger, thereby triggering a right to medical care. The EMTs moved for dismissal, arguing that they enjoyed qualified immunity against Jackson's claims. The district court denied the motion, and the EMTs appealed.

The Sixth Circuit held that the EMTs were entitled to qualified immunity. First, the Sixth Circuit held that, generally, it is not a constitutional violation for a state actor to render incompetent medical assistance or to fail to rescue a citizen. Further, neither the "custody," nor the "state-created danger" exceptions to the general rule applied.

Jackson was never in state custody, as he was not held against his will by a state actor. Moving an unconscious patient into an ambulance does not constitute custody absent some evidence that the EMTs made affirmative acts to restrain the patient.

The Sixth Circuit also held that Jackson had not established a claim under the "state-created danger" exception because there was no evidence that the EMTs' conduct created a greater danger than the one posed by Jackson's gunshot wound. Conditions inside the ambulance were safer than in public generally.

Source: Health Law Week, 12/09/2005

Here's the full text of the courts decision....

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/6th/042289p.pdf

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006604110321

5.) Boy's 911 calls put trouble in spotlight

Death of Detroit boy's mom results in lawsuit

April 11, 2006

BY MARISOL BELLO, FRANK WITSIL and JOE SWICKARD

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

6.) Lastly your network also aired a segment on this in the AM on FOX & Friends on April 10th, 2006..

My self and my colleagues are concerned that this act of gross negligence which is obviously going to go unpunished without your help will continue to paint our profession and the many thousands of dedicated pre-hospital professionals around the world in an unjustified negative light.

As pre-hospital professionals from all facets of our society we often work long hours, nights-weekends-holidays, etc.. For little pay ( in some areas employees of McDonald’s make more), recognition, or praise. We as a group are highly trained, knowledgeable, competent, and caring medical professionals who often respond to the emergencies of average citizens without regard for our own safety or comfort. We then provide our pt’s with rapid access to emergency care via competent, skilled medical interventions and rapid transport/access to medical care. Without us, and the publics faith we believe that many people would needlessly die. We would like you to help us set the record straight and ensure that Justice is done here.

It is our hope that with your attention to this matter and the National-International recognition it will bring to this issue that we can inform the public at large that they can feel safe, and have faith that we as a group do our utmost to provide for their safety. This insult to our profession must not go unpunished, or unnoticed!

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter….

[kodiac_x]

That makes me wanna go and vomit in the mayors desk at city hall in Detroit. By all means the dispatcher should be disciplined. I know that this does not happen a lot. But when is too many times too many? How many more have to suffer to such stupidity?