Houston 911 operator hung up on 'thousands' of calls, including report of robbery

Don't hang up on a 911 call.
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A 911 operator in Houston has been charged with two counts of interference with an emergency telephone call after hanging up on "thousands" of calls, The Associated Press reported.

Crenshanda Williams' supervisors first started to suspect something was awry when they noticed an unusually high number of Williams' calls lasted 20 seconds or less. A further investigation of the call log uncovered that Williams had disconnected thousands of calls between October 2015 and March 2016, Tribune Media Wire reported.

In one instance, a recording captured Williams telling a caller, "Ain't nobody got time for this. For real." Another time, a person was fatally shot after Williams hung up on a caller reporting a robbery:

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... [A]n operator — identified as Williams — is heard answering "Houston 911, do you need medical, police or fire?"When the male caller responded, "This is a robbery," Williams is heard sighing before hanging up, according to court documents.Investigators tracked down the robbery/shooting caller, who confirmed someone hung up the phone the first time he called in, frustrating him, and he had to call back a second time. By the time police arrived, a person was dead. [Tribune Media Wire]

The Houston Emergency Center fired Williams in August. She was charged Oct. 5, and later released on bond. If convicted, Williams could face up to two years in jail and an $8,000 fine.

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