AR - Debra Stevens dies in flash flood, rude 911 operator Donna Reneau, Fort Smith, 29 Aug 2019

[weepingangel]

Too late to edit they also have a blade to slice a seatbelt

The Best Car Escape Tools: Make a Quick Exit During an Emergency

I’ve bought several of the ResQme keychains

Many first responders/medical folks carry them off duty to use if they come upon an accident scene and need to bust a window

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Family Of Fort Smith Woman Who Died During Flash Flooding Speaks Out

the city made it a priority to add the guardrail as a safety measure.

“At least they care. You know it does show that they haven’t forgotten and they are trying, and hopefully, it will save somebody else’s life," Roxanne Burch, Debbie’s cousin said.

Signs warning people of the potential flood danger now mark the area on Kinkead Ave where Debbie got trapped by floodwaters.

Her cousins say listening to the 911 call was devastating.

“I just knew that...She just didn’t deserve to be treated that way," Cristy Rabbitt, Debbie's cousin said.

“I would not want anybody to have their last communication with anybody to be that. It was heartbreaking," Burch said.

Family members describe Debbie as sweet, funny, and caring.

Best friends with her mother Nancy who passed away not long after her daughter. The two shared a funeral.

“It made sense that Nannie would want to be with Debbie cause like I said they were always together," Rabbitt said.

The family says they don’t mind that the 911 call was aired on tv. They want it to serve as a training tool for other dispatchers.

"It’s going to be a good awareness of what not to do if you’re a 911 operator, to have some compassion and some concern," Burch said.

To Donna Reneau, the former dispatcher who took Debbie's final call her family has this to say.

“How would you feel if that was your loved one on the other end? Or you, would you be okay with that? Would you be okay with someone speaking to you or your loved one like that?" Burch said.

 

[MJPeony]

....

To Donna Reneau, the former dispatcher who took Debbie's final call her family has this to say.

“How would you feel if that was your loved one on the other end? Or you, would you be okay with that? Would you be okay with someone speaking to you or your loved one like that?" Burch said.

SBM

FAR FAR nicer than the words I would have said to Reneau.

God love them.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Callous 911 dispatcher lectured drowning woman and told her to 'shut up' minutes before she died | Daily Mail Online

Callous 911 dispatcher WON'T face charges despite lecturing drowning woman and telling her to 'shut up' minutes before she died when her SUV was swept away in floods

 

[Luckyzmom]

Disappointed but not surprised Hope this woman is never again hired for dispatch of any kind. Hard to believe one human being that cold to another in a life threatening situation. Debra needed help desperately and she got attitude from an uncaring individual. Doesn't speak well for LE in that area MOO

 

[beatrixpotter]

Ugh, this is awful. It feels like there should be some real consequence. I hope it's at least the lack of a job and some good old fashioned public shaming...

 

[sloane7777]

Reneau, who had submitted her two weeks’ resignation notice earlier that month, was on her final shift as a dispatcher for the Police Department, interim Police Chief Baker said. Reneau had been on the job five years and was a dispatch trainer. Baker said disciplinary action would have been taken against Reneau if she still worked at the Police Department but he didn’t observe anything in the phone call that would have warranted termination or a criminal investigation.

The internal investigation will observe if any policies can be changed between patrol officers and dispatch to prevent such an outcome. Baker said he can “completely understand” public concern over how Reneau handled the situation. He also speculated Reneau may have underestimated the importance of the call and not urged officers at other calls to respond as much as she could have, which may have led to Stevens’ demise.

snip

Reneau moments later told Stevens, who was still frantic, that she needed to “shut up” and listen to her.

“We field rudeness complaints regularly from our officers and our dispatchers, and I certainly don’t tolerate it. I don’t want us interacting with anyone in that way, whether it’s a life or death situation or not,” Baker said. “That’s certainly something we have to look at and examine.”

Police investigate department after "callous and uncaring"-sounding 911 call from drowning

BBM :apparently you do tolerate it as long as she was on property working on the clock she can be held accountable! If anything that family needs to civilly sue that she might have been saved I'm sure a good attorney can come up with a suit and this case warrants a lawsuit if any does!!! What an evil human , that was just mean , this is why I like dogs better than humans !

 

[Mentalheadslap2018]

A woman was delivering papers in Fort Smith Arkansas. She called nine-one-one for help, and the over 25 minute 911 call is just unbelievable as to the rudeness of the operator, Donna Reneau, while this woman was dying. I just cannot believe the insensitivity of Donna Reneau at 911.

In the past couple of hours they have deleted the last few minutes of the audio of the entire phone call. I have not taken the time to research it because it is too upsetting.

WARNING very graphic and I follow a lot of cases, but this has me wanting to throw my phone up against the wall and to call and complain.

But alas and alack, the department has said that this phone call was done on Donna Reneau's last day ( within the article it said that she had put in her resignation and this was her last day) and her last shift at the 911 center, and they cannot do anything as far as to investigation.

I call bull*hit and I need to calm down before I post anymore. I actually took the time to listen to the entire call, but only listen to the audio if you really really really can take it because it is so very upsetting.

Horrifying 911 Audio, Body Cam Footage Released After Fort Smith Woman Drowns During Flash Flooding

There were about 10 shocking comments that were degrading to the person who died, and this was just one that they put in the article.

"The 911 dispatcher, Donna Reneau, can be heard telling Stevens "this will teach you next time don't drive in the water.."

"Graphic Warning: This story and the accompanying audio and video are graphic in nature, and the content may be disturbing. Though it was a difficult decision, we have decided to broadcast and post the 911 call for help after concerns were raised as to how dispatchers and first responders handled the situation. FORT SMITH, Ark. (KFSM) "

ETA- this situation with 911 upsets me as much as the one of Kyle Plush here on threads. <modsnip> Can't say what I really think right now.

My God. Her role was dispatcher, not parent/know-it-all. I hope her two week notice from this position involved a career change.

 

[Mentalheadslap2018]

I saw a news story about this case today on another site. Wow. Wowowow.

Like everyone else here, I’ve read and heard some unsettling stuff. But listening to that 911 call legitimately made me feel sick to my stomach and so anxious. That poor woman was terrified for her life, and that *** 911 operator was scum. I actually think scum is a compliment for that lady.

I don’t care if she gave her 2 weeks notice - why not just quit on the spot instead of half assing your job and treating callers like garbage??? To think she got paid for the time she was on this call!!! If I was a local taxpayer I’d be furious knowing if I had an emergency and have to call 911, I could be unfortunate enough to get someone like this dirt bag. The local LE person (I can’t remember off the top of my head what his title is) who spoke about it in the media pretty much defended 911 operator lady saying she was rude, but someone wouldn’t be fired for talking to a caller like that. WOW. I hope locals make a big stink about that.

In the last 24 minutes of her life, Debbie was belittled, criticized, and told to shut up by a 911 operator. Yet she was still polite, apologized repeatedly (even though she had no reason to), and was shut down by the 911 operator when she asked the 911 chick to pray with her. I don’t think going to get that 911 call out of my head for a while.

I agree with every word you said. I hope the locals do make a big stink about it, starting with the guy who made that statement. How the HELL does he know she wouldn't have been fired? Don't they do lessons learned after each call that involved a fatality? 'Short-timers' mentality doesn't excuse this - if it's OK then they need to take them off the phones and put them on something administrative once they've given their 2 weeks.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

I was just watching a television show on ID channel called " the night that didn't end" , season 2 episode 1 is "my name is Denise". It is about a young woman who was apprehended from the backyard of her home while she was cutting her children's hair in North Port Florida.

She got ahold of her captors phone and called nine-one-one from the his car. The captor realize finally that she had his phone, and pulled out the SIM card and Battery.

She was the daughter of one of the law enforcement officers in the area. A second call came in from a woman who was at a stoplight right next to the Green Camaro which had a bolo on it, and said there was somebody screaming in the car for help to be let out. She followed the car for 9 minutes, but the 911 operator never passed it along to law enforcement!!! She end up being raped, murdered. Her husband and her parents are featured in the episode. They created a foundation to better get standards and training for 911 operators which I was just reading. So interesting that I came here to post as a show to watch about how 911 can really screw up and people die because of it.

Our Story - Denise Amber Lee Foundation

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

I'm torn. It's drilled into everyone's head nowadays not to drive into water, on the other hand dispatchers need to be kind and not judgmental.

I'm not torn at all. You don't lecture someone as they're dying. As a physician, I often see the results of the choices people make and even if I disagree with those choices, my job is not to judge. I don't say to a person having a heart attack "maybe you should have had a better diet" or to the accident victim "if only you'd worn that seat belt". It wouldn't even occur to me because by the time they're seeing me, it's a sure bet they're thinking those things themselves and the last thing I'd want to do is add to the emotional distress they're feeling about their situation.

I think it's incredibly sad and cruel that this victim had to be berated by 911 dispatcher, the person who she should have been able to rely on to HELP, not lecture her in her last moments on this planet.

MOO.

 

[beatrixpotter]

I'm not torn at all. You don't lecture someone as they're dying. As a physician, I often see the results of the choices people make and even if I disagree with those choices, my job is not to judge. I don't say to a person having a heart attack "maybe you should have had a better diet" or to the accident victim "if only you'd worn that seat belt". It wouldn't even occur to me because by the time they're seeing me, it's a sure bet they're thinking those things themselves and the last thing I'd want to do is add to the emotional distress they're feeling about their situation.

I think it's incredibly sad and cruel that this victim had to be berated by 911 dispatcher, the person who she should have been able to rely on to HELP, not lecture her in her last moments on this planet.

MOO.

I forgot about this horrible case. I hope that woman lost her job. We don't need sociopaths for 911 operators. I completely agree with you. It's a total abuse of power and position to lecture someone like this.

 

[Hestia's Fire]

What a small world. I was just out for lunch with my partner and he was telling me this story as he'd randomly heard about it elsewhere. I came back and logged into Websleuths and this was the top link in New Posts.

Absolutely heartbreaking to think anyone can treat another human being this way during such a crisis.

 

[asmi106082]

I forgot about this horrible case. I hope that woman lost her job. We don't need sociopaths for 911 operators. I completely agree with you. It's a total abuse of power and position to lecture someone like this.

She had already quit. It was her last night on the job.

 

[Gemmie]

I'm not torn at all. You don't lecture someone as they're dying. As a physician, I often see the results of the choices people make and even if I disagree with those choices, my job is not to judge. I don't say to a person having a heart attack "maybe you should have had a better diet" or to the accident victim "if only you'd worn that seat belt". It wouldn't even occur to me because by the time they're seeing me, it's a sure bet they're thinking those things themselves and the last thing I'd want to do is add to the emotional distress they're feeling about their situation.

I think it's incredibly sad and cruel that this victim had to be berated by 911 dispatcher, the person who she should have been able to rely on to HELP, not lecture her in her last moments on this planet.

MOO.

IMO, after listening to the 22+ minute 911 call, it just felt to me like the dispatcher didn't believe Debbie was in as much trouble as she was. It's also my opinion that she thought Debbie was overexaggerating because Debbie was "freaking out" (Dispatch's words). That's my take from listening to the call and hearing dispatch's tone of voice (plus things said).

Here's one example of what I felt was her disbelief from the transcript:



Red underlined make me feel like she didn't believe a lot of what Debbie said, including how high the water was. Water CAN and DOES "just appear" in a flash flood. You'd think a 911 dispatch would know that.

Transcripts, plus other info from Fort Smith PD's investigative report into Debbie's death: https://www.nwahomepage.com/wp-cont...EBRA-STEVENS-ADMIN-REVIEW-1-OF-7-REDACTED.pdf

 

[Gemmie]

Okay guys, sit down for this one, and grab some tissues.

Joint Service To Be Held In Fort Smith For Woman Who Drowned In Flash Flooding, And Her Mother

A joint memorial service will be held Saturday (Sept. 21) in Fort Smith for Debbie Stevens and her now-deceased mother Nancy Organ. Steven's mother, Nancy passed away about a week ago. The joint service will be held at Eastside Baptist Church at 4 p.m.

My heart is broken in a million pieces, and that perhaps it is what happened to her mother.

It appears that their church held the double memorial service and posted it on their FB. It's a little over an hour long.

Nancy Organ & Debra Stevens Memorial Service | By East Side Baptist ChurchFacebook

Nancy Organ & Debra Stevens Memorial Service

www.facebook.com

 

[Gemmie]

I forgot about this horrible case. I hope that woman lost her job. We don't need sociopaths for 911 operators. I completely agree with you. It's a total abuse of power and position to lecture someone like this.

She had already given her 2 weeks notice and it was her last shift.

Reneau put in her two weeks notice before Stevens' drowning, and the call came in during her last shift.
An exit interview with Donna Reneau was released.

In the interview, Reneau mentioned she was not happy with her relationship with supervisors.
When asked, "What did you like most about your job?" Reneau said, "The ability to help people in a time of an emergency."

Former Fort Smith dispatcher cleared of wrongdoing in Debbie Stevens case

A former Fort Smith 911 dispatcher accused of mishandling a call with a drowning woman has been cleared of wrongdoing.

www.5newsonline.com

==============================================================
Also, she was cleared of any wrong doing.

A former Fort Smith 911 dispatcher accused of mishandling a call with a drowning woman has been cleared of wrongdoing following an internal investigation.

The investigation was conducted by the Fort Smith Police Department and Fire Department.
Reports state that though operator Donna Reneau may have violated policy by being rude to Debbie Stevens at times, she had done nothing that would have warranted her termination had she still been employed with the Fort Smith Police Department.

Former Fort Smith dispatcher cleared of wrongdoing in Debbie Stevens case

A former Fort Smith 911 dispatcher accused of mishandling a call with a drowning woman has been cleared of wrongdoing.

www.5newsonline.com