911 dispatcher hangs up on caller trying to save 17-year-old friend's life
A 911 dispatch operator has quit his job after facing massive backlash for, well, doing the exact opposite of what his job requires of him.
Matthew Sanchez resigned after he told a teenage caller to "deal with it yourself".
The teen had called in after her 17-year-old friend Jaydon Chavez-Silver was shot in a drive-by on June 26.
In an audio file obtained by New Mexico news station KRQE, the girl can be heard desperately pleading with Chavez-Silver to stay awake while speaking to the dispatcher.
The dispatcher first asks the girl: "Is he not breathing?"
She answers: "Barely."
The girl then tells Chavez-Silver: "Stay with me. Stay with me, okay. Good job Jaydon."
Sanchez asks once again: "Is he breathing?"
The girl swears at the dispatcher and says: "He's barely breathing. How many times do I have to f****** tell you?"
Sanchez then replies: "Okay, you know what ma'am? You can deal with it yourself. I'm not going to deal with this, okay."
She pleads with him: "No, he's going to die".
And the call ends.
However, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Fire Department said that an ambulance was already en route to Chavez-Silver's location before Sanchez, who has been with the department for 10 years, hung up on the girl.
Sanchez had worked as a dispatcher for three years.
Chavez-Silver's mother said in a statement: "We heard rumours about the 911 operator hanging up on the caller when Jaydon was shot but had no other information. After hearing the call today, it is heartbreaking to listen to. Right now, we just want to find the people responsible for this violent, deadly crime."
The teenager's killer is still at large.
Source: Gawker, Huffington Post, New York Daily News
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now