"Car" > wrote in message ...
>
> From the Hartford Courant
>
> Trooper Suspended 15 Days
>
> Response To 911 Call Called Inappropriate
>
> By TRACY GORDON FOX
> Courant Staff Writer
>
> March 22, 2005
>
> A state trooper was suspended for 15 days without pay Monday
> for telling the friend of a seriously injured motorcyclist
> "too bad," and hanging up on him when he called 911 for help
> last August.
>
> State police said Trooper Robert Peasley's behavior did not
> affect the response time to the accident or contribute to the
> death of Justin Sawyer, 21, of Bozrah. Sawyer died of head
> injuries several days after the crash in Bozrah.
>
> "The investigation revealed inappropriate and unprofessional
> language," said Sgt. J. Paul Vance, a state police spokesman.
> "The investigation revealed that despite the comments, state
> police and emergency service arrived promptly."
>
> But state police Commissioner Leonard C. Boyle said residents
> expect more from the state police when they call for help.
>
> "When someone reports a serious incident on a 911 call,
> the person receiving that call has an obligation to receive
> information, convey information back to that person and do
> so in a respectful manner," Boyle said Monday.
>
> Sawyer's family hired a lawyer, complained to state police,
> and requested the tape of the incident after learning what
> the trooper had said to Sawyer's friend. No lawsuit has been
> filed. Sawyer's family could not be reached for comment Monday.
>
> Peasley, who was working the dispatch desk in the Troop E
> barracks in Montville, was punished after an internal affairs
> investigation for several offenses, including conduct
> unbecoming a police officer, inefficient action and lack
> of decorum, police said.
>
> The trooper hung up on the caller because he apparently
> thought he had received several other calls about the same
> incident. But Boyle said the investigation showed that the
> call from the friend was the first Troop E received for that
> accident. It also showed that Peasley was rude to a second
> caller who reported the accident, telling him Sawyer
> "shouldn't have been riding that way."
>
> Union officials said they will fight to reduce the punishment,
> especially considering that Peasley, an 18-year veteran, has
> a good record and had not previously been in trouble.
>
> "It's a tragedy. But the discipline imposed is extremely
> harsh and not warranted," union President David LeBlanc
> said Monday.
>
> LeBlanc said Peasley and the one civilian dispatcher on
> duty on the evening of Aug. 17 were swamped with calls from
> another accident and several other incidents.
>
> LeBlanc said the incident illustrates the stress on
> dispatchers and troopers who man the desks at the busiest
> barracks.
>
> "It's out of control, and the agency has refused to
> staff it appropriately," LeBlanc said.
>
> Boyle said the department is looking into ways to better
> handle 911 calls.
>
> "In this instance, the investigation established the
> trooper had the opportunity and should have taken and
> provided more information," Boyle said.

Damn right he should be fired. While the officer may have a point about the
place being understaffed, it is still no excuse. If I tried to that in my
grocery clerk job, as soon as word got out to a manager from the customer,
I'd be hauled into the manager's office to try to explain myself, and then
most likely get my ass fired almost certainly regardless of my explanation
(OT, that type of thing has almost happened to me too many times, and I
really got out of the customer service biz).