DETROIT -- A 6-year-old boy's 911 call for help was thought to be a prank, but the call was real and the boy's mother died, Local 4 reported.

Robert Turner (pictured) called 911 to get help for his mother, Sherel Turner, 46, whom he found lying unconscious on the kitchen floor of their Detroit apartment in February, the station reported.

"Then I had felt her tummy. She wasn't breathing. Then I had called 911," said Robert. "I told them to send an emergency truck right now."

911 Operator: "911. What's the problem?"

Robert: "My mom has passed out."

The 911 operator, however, did not take him seriously and told him to stop playing on the phone, the station reported.

911 Operator: "Where's the grownups at?"

Robert: (Inaudible)

911 Operator: "Let me speak to her before I send the police over there."

"I tried to tell them she wouldn't talk," said Robert to Local 4.

Robert: (Inaudible)

911 Operator: "I don't care. You shouldn't be playing on the phone. Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble."

Robert: "Ugh!" (Hangs up.)

Kimberly Harris, the union president of AFSCME Local 1023, said more than a quarter of phone calls received by 911 operators are prank calls. She also said that everybody does not express their pain or emergencies the same way.

"That operator could have had five prank calls. Kids calling in prior to that call. And please, don't think that I am trying to make an excuse. That was a tragedy," said Harris.

Officials said the 911 operator will be disciplined, but because of her years of service she will not be fired.

"I know that operator. I know that she is a very good operator," said Harris. "She is very thorough.

Robert said every time someone talks about his mother, he starts crying.

Police continue to investigate.

At a news conference announcing the filing of the suit, Fieger said Robert Turner's case is not the only one.

He played another 911 tape from January 12, 2005, in which a woman who had been shot in the head by her husband called 911.

On the tape, the operator can be heard asking the woman if she has a mental problem and then asking that the husband who shot the woman be put on the phone. Rescuers did not come until a third call was placed by the woman's son, who lives out of state.

I guess parents could forget about teaching their kids to dial 911 for emergencies. You now have to be 14 years of age to be taken seriously

At a news conference announcing the filing of the suit, Fieger said Robert Turner's case is not the only one.

He played another 911 tape from January 12, 2005, in which a woman who had been shot in the head by her husband called 911.

On the tape, the operator can be heard asking the woman if she has a mental problem and then asking that the husband who shot the woman be put on the phone. Rescuers did not come until a third call was placed by the woman's son, who lives out of state.

Sorry Baba, I too work in a call center and we are trained that even if someone sounds like they are in distress, to transfer them to 911...and I work for friggin Bell Mobility!!! There is no excuse for her behaviour. Even if she did have 4 previous prank calls, it is her job, it is her duty, it is her oath to take every call as sserious as a heart attack. This woman cost someone his mom's life. There is no excuse for what she did. None whatsoever. My job is not life and death scenarios. Someoen loses their phone, big fuckin deal, no one dies. But in her job, she makes the wrong decision and someone dies. Therefore every call should be taken serious. She should be fired and the kind should sue for millions.

Dan

See .. thats the difference. You just said that you're trained to do something like that. Means your organization is working the way it should! I know countless people working in call centers where they are explicitly told the following:

a) If there is a first time claim, give them a ticket number and don't do anything about it .. ever. till they call back.
b) 2nd time call, tell them to expect this done by next week. Don't do anything.

Hell, I have a riend who worked at a call center who was told the following. if the client gets too aggressive on the phone, scream back at them cause some people get scared and never call. if they continue, make sure you don't give your name and just hang up without even saying bye. Just cut them off. This is so the next time they call back, they don't know who the person was so they can't take action. it is mentioned that the 2nd tier support is busy and will call them back. the call comes rarely.

What the hell kind of call center does your friend work for? I've worked in a call center now for close to a year, and any of the behavior you listed above is cause for immediate termination.

As for the story at hand, I sort of agree with you that it's unfair for us to judge exactly what happened without knowing everything behind it. Sure, the easy thing for us is to just condem this woman as a murder, but you have to consider all of other variables before jumping to a conclusion. What if the 911 call center she works for has a strict policy regarding dispatching units to a prank call (which I'm sure they do)? Should she fly in the face of everything that she's learned in her years on the job and risk losing it just incase? It's an unfortunate situation, yeah. But it's not fair to condem this woman, either.

who said anything about 'a friend'. Countless friends in countless call centers dude. most of them are in credit cards, insurance, business directories and what not. i worked at a call center where the script explicitly asked me to tell the potential client that they already had a subscription with the thing and you're renewing it, when they clearly didn't.