Detroit – The county prosecutor has charged two 911 dispatchers – who dismissed a 5-year-old boy’s emergency calls after his mother’s collapse as pranks – with misdemeanors.
The Detroit dispatchers, Sharon Nichols, 43, and Terri Sutton, 47, are charged with willful neglect of duty. The charge is punishable by up to one year in jail.
The charges stem from a Feb. 20 incident in which Robert Turner, now 6, called 911 twice after his mother collapsed in her bedroom on Detroit’s west side.
A recording of the calls, which family members gave to the Detroit Free Press, revealed that the boy’s pleas for help weren’t taken seriously.
Sherrill Turner, 46, died of complications from an enlarged heart.
Police – not Emergency Medical Services workers – arrived after the second call and found her dead.
Ty Patterson, Robert Turner’s brother-in-law who took over guardianship with his wife, said he is thrilled that charges are coming.
According to the recording, when the boy – who was alone with his mother – first called 911 at 5:59 p.m., Nichols asked him to bring an adult to the phone. Robert said he couldn’t.
At one point, “she hanged up on me,” Robert said of Nichols’ response shortly after the incident. The recording indicates that Nichols hung up after saying she would send police to the home. They did not arrive.
Robert called back at 9:02 p.m. This time, Sutton answered and told him: “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 going to be in trouble.”
