Horrifying 911 audio of dispatcher lecturing drowning woman

[Grammarhero]

This will teach you next time, don't drive in the water': Horrifying audio reveals 911 dispatcher on her final shift lecturing a woman for accidentally driving into flood waters before she DROWNED

• Debra Stevens, 47, drowned on August 24 when she drove into flood waters in Forth Smith, Arkansas while delivering newspapers
• Stevens called 911 begging for help when she was unable to get out of her car
• Donna Reneau, who had resigned and was working her final shift as a Fort Smith Police Department dispatcher, was the person to answer Stevens' call at 4.38am
• The audio of the 911 call was released on Thursday as the dispatcher and police department face criticism over the handling of Stevens' terrified pleas for help
• At one point during the 22-minute call, Reneau could be heard telling the distraught woman to 'shut up' and lecturing her about the dangers of floods
• Police said they will be investigating its policies into responses and their dispatch center in the wake of Stevens' death

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-audio-dispatcher-lecturing-woman-drowns.html

 

[pedro47]

This is a sad story. The 911 dispatcher should be fired and hope the family of Debra Stevens sued this person and the City of Forth Smith, Arkansas.

 

[Eric B]

• Donna Reneau, who had resigned and was working her final shift as a Fort Smith Police Department dispatcher, was the person to answer Stevens' call at 4.38am

The 911 dispatcher should be fired ....

Kind of late for that....

 

[Patri]

That was awful. The dispatcher was a snot from the onset. I wonder if they are trained to help people get out of vehicles, if that would have been any safer with the rising water inside. I know the current was fast, but if there was a way to break the window or get a door open, there would be another chance. This is where those particular tools are valuable. I also hope the family finds some justice.

 

[Grammarhero]

This is a sad story. The 911 dispatcher should be fired and hope the family of Debra Stevens sued this person and the City of Forth Smith, Arkansas.

I don’t think the family can sue. It appears that the cops and firefighters did everything they could. Emotional distress lawsuits occur when someone gets physically hurt or almost physically hurt by the defendant.

 

[WVBaker]

"Fort Smith Interim Police Chief Danny Baker described Reneau's response as "calloused and uncaring at times" in a statement, but he added to KHBS that she did nothing "criminally wrong" nor "violated policy."

https://www.foxnews.com/us/woman-drowning-911-call-arkansas

Calloused and uncaring? Quite an understatement Chief.

 

[dioxide45]

Sounds like a disgruntled employee? Did she resign before of after this incident. I get the impression it was before?

 

[pedro47]

How long did it take for the police & fire department to answer to the situation.
The telephone called between the two (2) parties lasted 22 minutes as stated in the article. Where were the police & fire department during this time frame.

 

[Grammarhero]

How long did it take for the police & fire department to answer to the situation.
The telephone called between the two (2) parties lasted 22 minutes as stated in the article. Where were the police & fire department during this time frame.

Cops and firefighters were answering another calls. Firefighters were dispatched one minute after call entered the system, while cops were dispatched five minutes After the call entered the system.
Cops and firefighters arrived at the scene 10 minutes after the call entered the system.

4.38am: 911 call received. Dispatcher begins gathering information. Every police officer on duty is busy on other calls.

4.40am: Call entered in the system.

4.41am: Fire department is dispatched to the scene.

4.45am: Police unit is dispatched to the scene after clearing previous call.

4.50am: Police/fire arrive on the scene.

4.54am: Police/fire report difficulty locating vehicle.

4.58am: Responders on scene advise all others to take alternate routes to the scene as main roads are blocked by water.

4.59am: Responders request boat.

5.00am: 911 call is disconnected between caller and dispatch.

5.02am: Responders report they have located the vehicle.

5.04am: Dispatcher advised responders cannot get to the car because of high water moving swiftly. Responders begin trying to get to vehicle, donning life vests and ropes.

5.16am: Rescue boat arrives and is launched.

5.58am: Rescuers get to vehicle and remove Stevens' body.

 

[Grammarhero]

Sounds like a disgruntled employee? Did she resign before of after this incident. I get the impression it was before?

I think she was disgruntled, as she resigned before the incident. Methinks she was being fired and resigned instead.

 

[SteelerGal]

They will sue to force change in how such calls are answered.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

They will sue to force change in how such calls are answered.

This is very likely true, however the real issue here is the response time, and the time in which it took to actually find the poor victim (which appears to be one hour and twenty minutes after the initial call).

It is a sad situation all around.





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[dioxide45]

They will sue to force change in how such calls are answered.

I am not sure what could have been done differently except to have had the person that was resigning/being fired shown the door right away. No working out your two weeks notice or anything. Better to just pay them in lieu of notice and have them leave right away.

 

[Grammarhero]

This is very likely true, however the real issue here is the response time, and the time in which it took to actually find the poor victim (which appears to be one hour and twenty minutes after the initial call).

It is a sad situation all around.





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I think the cops and firefighters did all they could. The flood was so swift as to move a two ton car. Maybe the police could have ordered a boat nine (9) minutes sooner, but that wouldn’t have saved the woman.

 

[Patri]

I am not sure what could have been done differently except to have had the person that was resigning/being fired shown the door right away. No working out your two weeks notice or anything. Better to just pay them in lieu of notice and have them leave right away.

That shift was the last one after her two week notice. I think she was just anxious to be done and get home. She better not put this job on any future employment application. And I imagine she will be the scuttlebutt of conversation in her community for some time.

 

[tlwmkw]

It sounds like she technically didn’t do anything wrong other than extreme rudeness to a dying woman. She will have to live with that on her conscience (if she has one) from now on.

 

[presley]

It's a sucky story for sure. I only listened to the first couple minutes of the call and the panicked woman wasn't answering the questions about where she was or what color car she was in. I wouldn't have been able to help her if she called me for help. She said she was next to apartments, but didn't know the name of the apartments. When asked if she was in a ditch or on a road, she said more than once, "I cut through," but didn't specify what she cut through.

I know it's a very panicked situation. I recently had to call 911 and I also thought the experience totally sucked. There was a young woman having a grand mal seizure in front of a restaurant with her mother. Her mother was screaming like a total crazy person. I think her screaming is what made every one in the area back off. I called 911 and they asked me an endless series of very stupid questions. I told them the name of the restaurant, the street it was one and the cross street. The operator told me she couldn't help me unless I gave the exact address. I was able to find the address on the building and then I was asked tons of medical history about the stranger that I had never talked to before. I was very clear that I didn't know the person, I just happened to see her seize. The mother was screaming and cussing like a maniac the entire time and it had to be heard through my phone. The whole restaurant was looking out the window and the concern was not for the young woman. It was more of a disgust at the screaming woman who was bothering their breakfast. I yelled into the restaurant that I needed a doctor or a nurse, but there weren't any. A waitress came out to hold the seizing girl, thank God, because I couldn't be on the phone with 911 and keep the girl from falling off the bench she was on at the and her mother was too crazed to do anything. Meanwhile, 911 was asking me how old she was, was she pregnant, has she had seizures before....... I live 2 miles from the restaurant and I know there are 2 fire departments within the same radius and a hospital, too. Just dispatch someone already. Welcome to the big city.

 

[WVBaker]

I know it's a very panicked situation. I recently had to call 911 and I also thought the experience totally sucked. There was a young woman having a grand mal seizure in front of a restaurant with her mother. Her mother was screaming like a total crazy person. I think her screaming is what made every one in the area back off. I called 911 and they asked me an endless series of very stupid questions. I told them the name of the restaurant, the street it was one and the cross street. The operator told me she couldn't help me unless I gave the exact address. I was able to find the address on the building and then I was asked tons of medical history about the stranger that I had never talked to before. I was very clear that I didn't know the person, I just happened to see her seize. The mother was screaming and cussing like a maniac the entire time and it had to be heard through my phone. The whole restaurant was looking out the window and the concern was not for the young woman. It was more of a disgust at the screaming woman who was bothering their breakfast. I yelled into the restaurant that I needed a doctor or a nurse, but there weren't any. A waitress came out to hold the seizing girl, thank God, because I couldn't be on the phone with 911 and keep the girl from falling off the bench she was on at the and her mother was too crazed to do anything. Meanwhile, 911 was asking me how old she was, was she pregnant, has she had seizures before....... I live 2 miles from the restaurant and I know there are 2 fire departments within the same radius and a hospital, too. Just dispatch someone already. Welcome to the big city.

The department I worked for required that we work as a 911 dispatcher to understand that part of of the job.

As a dispatcher, you have no idea what’s going on when that phone rings. Perhaps it's just a disabled vehicle or it may also be a child screaming in panic or just wanting to ask you a question. Well guess what, whatever their problem may be, for better or worse, you're now a part of it. They are that link between you and those first responders. They relay information, perhaps offer advice and check in after those first responders arrive.

They’re the first to know and the first to react. The decisions they make are often based on incomplete or wrong information.
The person on the other end may find the questions they're asked to be redundant or a waste of time. The public may not realize all the coordination that has to happen to send the needed help.

Understand that for every moment a 911 dispatcher felt like they had made a difference in just one persons life, there are many others where he or she was yelled at, cursed at or became nothing more than some outlet for an angry citizen to vent. They are often blamed for things they had no control over whatsoever.

But, it's just another day in the life of a 911 dispatcher. I'm sorry your experience "totally sucked".

 

[Grammarhero]

The department I worked for required that we work as a 911 dispatcher to understand that part of of the job.

As a dispatcher, you have no idea what’s going on when that phone rings. Perhaps it's just a disabled vehicle or it may also be a child screaming in panic or just wanting to ask you a question. Well guess what, whatever their problem may be, for better or worse, you're now a part of it. They are that link between you and those first responders. They relay information, perhaps offer advice and check in after those first responders arrive.

They’re the first to know and the first to react. The decisions they make are often based on incomplete or wrong information.
The person on the other end may find the questions they're asked to be redundant or a waste of time. The public may not realize all the coordination that has to happen to send the needed help.

Understand that for every moment a 911 dispatcher felt like they had made a difference in just one persons life, there are many others where he or she was yelled at, cursed at or became nothing more than some outlet for an angry citizen to vent. They are often blamed for things they had no control over whatsoever.

But, it's just another day in the life of a 911 dispatcher. I'm sorry your experience "totally sucked".

Thanks for your service. What percent of your calls were frivolous? (Ie. Citizen demanding to be taken to McDonalds because she doesn’t have a car and is hungry)

 

[WVBaker]

Thanks for your service. What percent of your calls were frivolous? (Ie. Citizen demanding to be taken to McDonalds because she doesn’t have a car and is hungry)

Thanks GH.

That's a hard question to answer. Some calls may seem unimportant and a waste of time to the dispatcher at the time, but not to the person on the other end. Calls from someone at a bar wanting a ride home. Calls from children because their parents punished them and made them stay in their room. People just looking for someone to talk to.

Once you're out on the road, you come to understand that that dispatcher may be the last friendly voice you hear.

 

[pedro47]

Thanks WVBaker for your service and your excellent post.