911 dispatcher faces termination over call made during mass shooting

Latisha Rogers, who worked at the grocery store where 10 people were killed in a mass shooting, says a 911 dispatcher hung up on her during the shooting. #CNN #News

77 comments

    1. ​@Samir Cruz Look for the original video that he streamed and you will understand. They did a few big mistakes. I would be more than happy to link it but I can’t because it will be removed by YT.

    2. @ILLUMINATI . You sure love to copy/paste the same message, that shows the quality of your thinking. Quit acting like a kid and try to see why I’m saying what I’m saying, dig a bit before you do embarrass yourself.

  1. Her job is to listen to everyone’s situation no matter what, even if its a joke a dispatcher is never supposed to hang up on someone. Shame on this lady, people like this make the police look bad and they dont deserve to be in the force.

    1. @Clint Coop exactly… there are some situations were people pretend to be talking to someone when in reality they are trying to ask the police for help without alerting the person who maybe harming the caller… thats why a police dispatcher should always expect something is amiss even if it may not seem like it.

    2. @Eris Mana I’m not defending prank callers Im just saying some calls may be disguised to be a joke or something to make it seem like the caller isnt in contact with the police because he or she may feel are in danger if it is know to people around he or she is trying to get help from the police (like an abusive boyfriend/girlfriend for example).

    3. @Christian Fec I’m not talking about the very few examples of “disguised” calls I’m talking about the large number of prank calls.

    4. @Eris Mana You have no idea if call is a prank or not until you listen fully. That is her job and she didn’t do that.

  2. She’s absolutely right, she was left to die simply because she didn’t want the gunman to hear her.
    This woman still feels bad about the dispatcher losing her job and that’s a testament to her true humanity.
    Heart breakingly evil if you ask me, that dispatcher needs to find a job in a different field.

    1. @kclayA111 yes I did. If she doesn’t know what’s going on why would she not keep the line open. Ya didn’t hear her say she immediately turned her phone to silent expecting her to call back? Did u watch the video all the way through?

    2. @not applicable I did watch it. But how can the operator know for sure she’s done so?? You didn’t think that through either, huh? It’s all good though

    3. @Sané R. B. Parks I bet! Police mqny police departments are all twisted up backwards too. Many seem to be ran as if they are businesses. When did “serve and protect” turn into “serve high fines and protect the departments income” I was with a younger relative and he was speeding only slightly and it was with the flow of traffic and although the officer agreed that his record was clean and it was the flow of traffic he literally said “I don’t want to but my sargeant makes us hand out as many speeding tickets and seatbelt tickets, but u can keep hold on to your license and just mail in the fee and it won’t show at all on your record.” …. Thanks Officer 😒

  3. This is just awful. I am so sorry these poor innocent souls had to experience this. And for the 911 dispatcher to hang up like they couldn’t hear gun shots. What the hell. This woman is 100% right, that dispatcher left her to die. So disgusting. 😞😥

    1. @Soulife oh yes an investigation would bring that up. today’s headsets are made you-know-where.
      but i would be surprised if no shots got recorded.
      ps the cheap stuff carries a high price .

    2. @Jonnyjacob Jingleheimerschmidt  you literally ignored the very first sentence of my reply in the very first sentence of yours

    3. @Heather C Out of curiosity what is the procedure for calling back in a situation that may involve a shooter and the ringing alerting him? Is there one or is it just a judgement call?

    4. The dispatcher isn’t a cop and at most they could’ve done was alert the police that were already enroute.

  4. This is so visceral, so raw. This is like a movie. This was a terrible domestic terrorist racist attack, and my condolences go to the victims and their families. Her retelling of the event is truly riveting. She’s a hero.

  5. That was ABSOLUTELY wrong! Don’t feel bad, she did NOT do her job, and that is a life or death job for an entire community. I’m so sorry beautiful, you shouldn’t have had to experience that. No one should.

    1. She was too nice to ONLY say she wants her fired. I would be lawyering up for a LAWSUIT and trying to press CRIMINAL CHARGES and I would make an effort to get the word out to the community so that no boss will want to hire her for ANY JOB.

    2. I totally agree 👍, that’s why we pay them taxes, we are actually her boss, so she need be on her A game even If its a joke,you’re having a bad day, I worked in customer service for years and I know it’s no where near as stressful as 911, I don’t want that job, hanging up on someone is grounds for termination, and I’m sure she knew this. Lady you’re out that door 🚪 better start looking for work.

  6. A similar experience with 911 services happened to me 3 years ago. The operator began yelling at me and threatening to hang up even though I’m trying to explain I found someone dying. I had to find a neighbor just to talk to dispatch. It still breaks my heart to this day. Still saddened because the person lost their life and I had to argue with emergency services. R.I.P

    1. Omg seems like the wrong people are taking these jobs. I know I can’t handle it, only because mentally it would be too much for me. It seems people are taking the job even though they aren’t ready for what it requires

    2. I had a homeless person was sneaking into my backyard and when I called the 911 operator just told me to tell him to leave and if he gets violent to call again then hung up on me. He could have been trying to rob me and she didnt care at all. I hate to say it but I feel that these call centers are not ran by professionals and are probably very underpaid.

  7. Emergency call room operators are often literally lifesavers, talking people through resuscitating a person or delivering a baby etc. while also organising getting the emergency services to them. Sadly it seems this operator was not up to the job &/or didn’t want to do it. Apart from disgracing herself she has let down her colleagues, who may be left short staffed now until another candidate can be hired & trained fully. Would she want her own life or that of a loved one dependent on the standard of service she gave? I would hardly think so!
    So glad that this young woman came out of this horrendous experience alive & I hope she will come to realise that many people wish her well. Sending our love from Scotland.

    1. Your 999 call takers in Scotland (and UK generally), as I mention in my comment above, seem to be such wonderful, highly professional people – we might want to import their training program! 🙌🙌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

  8. I was a dispatcher myself. This is unacceptable and unbelievable, too.
    Not professional at all. Its awful. These people have no other option than you, the one dispatcher that picks up. You are the one person that needs to do everything possible to help. That is the pride of every professional dispatcher to never let anyone down.

    1. Thank you for your service Christine….
      I once encountered a tractor/trailer rig that had ran off the road. The trailer was on its side but otherwise intact. I was the first one there. I could see Haz-Mat placards on the trailer door.
      The driver was still in his chair but seemed to be having a heart attack. I pulled his Haz-Mat paperwork from the drivers door pouch where its supposed to be kept while I called 911.
      In a matter of seconds the dispatcher had taken all the relevant information including the Haz-Mat ID numbers and was rolling police, ambulance, and fire with a Haz-Mat response team.
      It couldn’t have been more than 30 seconds on the phone before she understood the situation and had everything moving.
      The police had me move my tractor/trailer rig after they took my information…I had to be on my way so I never knew how things worked out for that driver.
      But, I was impressed with that dispatcher.

    2. If someone is whispering I would assume dispatchers are trained to know someone is clearly in need of help and not trying to bring attention to themselves?? Or at least that is common sense to me.

    3. Damn straight…
      And not only should the dispatcher never hang up on a caller in distress, but if the connection is lost, the dispatcher should immediately call that number back, if possible!

  9. If the operator heard enough to say “they can’t hear you”, she heard enough to know that the caller was in danger. Firing that operator is the absolute lowest penalty for a person who can’t do the job. Mishandling certain kinds of jobs is criminal and should be treated as such so that the others do it responsibly

    1. @Sandra Lewis exactly 💯💯💯💯💯. Criminal charges is the only thing that dispatcher deserves. Right now she’s on paid leave with a possibility of being fired? WTF? Fire her immediately and press charges. At least criminal negligence or something. She did literally hang up leaving that lady to die without calling back. Smh.

    2. @Marcia Marcia EXACTLY. We’re paying these people salaries just for them to let us die and not do the job we’re paying them to do. She needs to go immediately.

  10. Many blessing to all who went thru this horrific attack…sending compassion kindness empathy and love for all those at tops that day and the family members that are dealing with their grief of losing loved ones…may some day in future when you feel the caress of the wind on your face or a sunbeam on your hand or a starry night twinkling that brings a moment of reflection of the love you shared with that love one you lost and that you feel like your love one is with you in that moment and that can bring a smile again of their memory and the love they shared with you….peace and equality within our love for you all….💙💛🌏🌍🌎✌🙏🛐✝️✌

  11. I am so thankful she came out ok.. She does not need to feel guilty for her losing her job, that’s exactly what should have happened. This job is too much for her so she needed to be let go! She could have cost lives!
    I cannot imagine what she went through, that feeling of helplessness like, she hung up on me?! I’m crying with her and all the others..

  12. That must have been just so terrifying. She’s suffering from PTSD and it will always be with her. So sad that this happened to her and everyone else. It’s not just the people killed and wounded who are victims.

    1. @Kaos Duval the trauma to the victims , bystanders and families are the same, so what’s your point?

    2. It is tragic in every way. And, PTSD can be healed with a qualified EMDR therapist. I have had the benefit of EMDR myself through EMDR. My hope is that this woman and all impacted by this senseless tragedy and murder can get the help they need.

    3. @Kaos Duval over 20 plus years ago we was robbed I had to shot the robber once and he died right there. He killed two people that night robbing people. I have saw several people killed right in front of me. I work in the health field and see death all the time. You get immune to death. It’s still hard to see kids raped, murdered and abused.

  13. WOW. This makes me cry. This lady put her life on the line to call for help. Sad😔 . I can feel the pain. I could just only imagine how terrified she was but she did the right thing. Not thinking just of herself but everyone else. There’s a lot of good people in this world as well as the bad. I’m thankful she survived.

    1. @Hope Fliers I think they get a number of prank calls unfortunately. Not that I’m giving an excuse.

  14. I feel so sad for them. It’s terrible what they had to and will have to endure. Love. Light. Prayers. 🙏🏾❤️

  15. that’s ridiculous. you can’t tell me that 911 operators are not trained to expect callers whispering! they’re even supposed to send cops if they’re called silently because it’s generally recognized that there are situations where people call 911 but have to avoid being heard.

    1. What if someone from that dispatchers family was in that store? That’s how it should have been handled,like it was one of our loved ones in the store.

    2. @SilentEcho9194 as they should. I was a dispatcher 30 yrs. This story broke my heart. Your pocket dial was a GOOD dispatcher.

    3. @Heather C Yes. A very good and concerned one. That was the phone before the smartphone. I’m still careful though.

    4. @Heather C I’m recently retired patrol Sgt. I know you know what should’ve happened. She should’ve kept her on the line while simultaneously putting the call out to all cars saying unknown disturbance at that location.

  16. I feel so hopeless. This is the country we are living in. Another sad part of this is I feel like we’re desensitized from these shootings. We need to stop looking for everyone else to fix the world and just fix ourselves. Keeping all the victims in my thoughts and sending well wishes.

  17. My God this hurts! Such evil in this world. I pray that Counselors are on the scene to offer support for this community. Out of all the stories this really cut deep. Such cruelty all the way round. Inhumane treatment. 😪🙏

    1. true. .. but she probably had to give that speech 100 times. she ought to be good at it by now.

  18. I’m so sorry you went through that horror, but most especially I’m sorry that the 911 dispatcher treated you that way in the face of a massacre. Sending prayers your way dear lady. 🙏🏻

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