911 Operator Loses Job for Telling Teen to ‘Stop Whining’

A 911 dispatcher, working for the Anne Arundel County fire department was fired for telling a 13 year old girl to 'stop whining'. The teenager contacted 911 to help her dying father who was involved in a hit and run car crash.

While the dispatchers name was withheld from the press, spokesperson Capt. Russ Davies for the Anne Arundel County said that operator was no longer employed with the department.

The accident occurred on February 1 when a car hit 38 year old Rick Warrick and his fiancée. The couple were changing the tire of their vehicle on the Baltimore Washington highway. Following the crash, Warrick's daughter and her younger brother called 911 to ask for immediate assistance.

The teenager was understandably distressed and struggled to maintain her composure. She kept pleading the operator to 'hurry up' and send help while the exact the location of the crash was yet to be determined. At this point the dispatcher interrupted the girl and said, "OK, let's stop whining. Let's stop whining, it's hard to understand you."

He then sounded frustrated and asked the girl if there was anyone else he could talk to.

The father was killed in the crash while his 28 year old fiancee was seriously injured. The incident triggered an investigation after authorities discovered the manner in which the operator spoke to the girl.

Spokesperson Davies admitted to the press that the dispatcher should have handled the situation differently.

Davies said, "911 dispatchers are trained to take control when they have a hysterical caller to focus them, but how (the dispatcher) proceeded to do that doesn't meet our expectations of how that would occur, and we're going to presume the public feels the same way. That's not how they expect to be treated when calling 911 in an emergency like that.''