Police are supposed to protect people and take their concerns seriously, which is why having professional 911 operators is so important. Unfortunately, a concerned California resident ended up dealing with a dispatcher who was anything but professional.
He explained that he was sitting in his West Hollywood apartment when he suddenly heard a woman screaming. The scream was blood-curdling, the kind of sound that makes you think someone has just been seriously hurt or worse. Moments later, he heard a man yell, “Shut the [expletive] up.”
Naturally, the first thing he assumed was that the woman was being attacked or that someone was in immediate danger.
Of course, like any reasonable person would, the California resident called 911. He explained what he had heard and begged the dispatcher to send help quickly before the woman was harmed. But her response shocked him. Instead of showing urgency or concern, she replied, “Well, if she’s screaming, she’s not dead.”
Who even says that? The man was stunned. He told her, “That’s the most unprofessional thing I’ve ever heard,” and he wasn’t wrong. When he asked how long it would take for officers to arrive, she snapped back, “I don’t know.”
Because of how poorly the dispatcher handled the situation, he ended up calling the Sheriff’s Department directly and filing a complaint. “I hope no one has your awful attitude for a real emergency one day,” he said, just in case she ever saw his video.
Thankfully, he later learned that the screaming woman was physically okay. She was mentally ill and had reportedly been screaming for about 45 minutes. It’s a relief that no one was harmed, but the dispatcher’s behavior is still unacceptable.
It’s unfortunate that this was the man’s first time ever calling 911, and it turned into a terrible experience. Now he might think twice before calling for help again, and that’s the last thing any community needs.
People Reacting to the California Citizen’s 911 Call
People were absolutely shocked by the California citizen’s story because, seriously, how did the dispatcher get the job? It turned out that the 911 call operation center in West Hollywood isn’t that great because others shared their own experience with it. “They’re soooooo rude. My apartment was getting robbed IN THE MOMENT and they said if I’m okay then just fill out a form online bc they’re short staffed and maybe they’ll get back to me if they find anything… lol,” one woman wrote. Another woman had a similar insane story as she said:
“I called in WeHo because a homeless man was walking around with a HUGE gun and running around manically. I was like idk if it’s a real or fake cause it’s HUGE but like regardless it’s a threat. And she goes, ‘You need to figure out if it’s real or fake cause if the cops come and shoot him, that’s on you.’ I WONDER IF ITS THE SAME GIRL.”
Several commenters shared their own frustrating experiences with 911, showing that what happened to the California man wasn’t an isolated incident. One woman wrote, “The WeHo police are such trash. My car was hit in a hit-and-run, and when the cop came her first question to me was, ‘Well, were you on your phone? Was your seatbelt buckled?’ Trying to blame me for my car getting hit lol.”
With stories like these piling up, another person asked a very valid question: “Where do our taxes go omg?”
Someone else applauded the man for reporting the dispatcher, saying, “There need to be repercussions for a bad attitude, especially from a 911 dispatcher. I’m so glad you reported her.”
Hopefully, this dispatcher is held accountable, and hopefully, she’s never the reason someone ends up getting seriously harmed.
