OK, so we have all heard the 911 call from the caseworker at the Powell house. I don't want this to turn into a blame game, after all it was the incredibly evil, egotistical bastid named Josh Powell that is responsible for this tragedy. However, after hearing the 911 call, I am struck that the operator requires (at the very least)

Training
Attitude adjustment
A dose of humanity

What do you think? Should this operator be shown the door? Should he have dispatched early on in the call with or without the exact address? It's easy to judge with hindsight, but 21 minutes from the call to arrival by deputies seems really long IMHO.

The dispatcher should have repeatedly asked for the address until the case worker understood that was critical and essential information she hadn't yet provided. First things first.

1. Emergency at - location.

2. Life threatening or not.

3. Resources needed - fire, police, ambulance.

That's my best guess.

Sg

Why'd it take the cops 14 minutes to get there? Probably hadn't finished flirting with the baristas and sipping their lattes is my guess...

Gotta agree with Salmo G on the first thing on a 911 call is LOCATION.
The call might go to hell but with a location an operator can go from there.
calling that SOB a bastid is too good for him. Most bastids are treated
better than his sons got.

In Spokane, bit past the mother of 5 kids was strangled allegedly by
her husband who then posed her as an sexual assault victim.

She managed to get a coll off to 911 but all the operater got was
a female in distress before the call was terminated. The operator
didn't bother to report the call for 7 hours. And they didn't discover
her body on her bed in her house for a couple of days.

Hell ain't hot enough for that POS....

Sadly this is just a distraction.

The boys didn't deserve any of what happened in their family. I'm not certain they were alive for very long, and I don't mean to be cruel, but I hope their deaths were at least quick for their sake. Even if the EMS was there on the scene when this happened I doubt highly that any level of response would have saved them. So very sad, cruel, and evil.

In Pierce County we have an Enhanced 911 system which allows the operator to locate the approximate location of the caller. I am less than thrilled with how my tax dollars are spent if this 911 operator is the best we can do.

i used to dispatch and using the gps coordinates to find a cellular phone was time consuming and often not accurate. if the caller doesn't have a clear sky or is inside, often the gps coordinates that come up are just the closest cell phone tower (which is not helpful at all.) it's not as simple as the TV shows make it out to be.

i agree the address / location is the most important information. it is too bad the case worker did not have that info readily available, and it is too bad that the dispatcher did not at least give the information to law enforcement and allow them to make the decision to decide whether they should respond more rapidly.

of course, considering the case even if the deputies had been dispatched more quickly it probably would not have saved these children. the blame lies with the murderer, not the dispatcher or case worker. there should be a critical eye paid to how the call was dispatched, but only to improve future service and not to attempt to place blame.

The news media said all three died from smoke inhalation. If so the boys were alive after the neck chops.

Pretty well indicates what happened to their mother.
POS indeed.