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911 Dispatcher Under Fire Over Handling Of The Troubling Richard Sherman Call

The 911 dispatcher who answered Richard Sherman's wife, Ashley Moss, on Wednesday morning is under fire for her questionable response

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman before an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

When Richard Sherman’s wife, Ashley Moss, called 911 on Wednesday morning, she was scared for her husband’s life.

While Moss claimed Sherman was aggressive and drunk, it was the claim that he was threatening to take his own life that really should have been a red flag.

Ashley Moss was clearly scared for her Richard Sherman, and she was met by a rude dispatcher who clearly wasn’t equipped to deal with what was going on.

Immediately after revealing that Sherman was threatening to take his own life, the dispatcher asked for the address, and if there were any weapons on the property. When a scared Moss tried answering, the dispatcher began to lose patience.

“You didn’t let me finish. You need to stop interrupting,” the dispatcher told Moss.

When Ashley Moss went on to tell the operator that Richard Sherman was trying to fight her uncle, the response was, ““Trying to fight somebody and actually being physical is two different things.”

As the call went on, Moss became more and more concerned, and the dispatcher became more and more annoyed (or so it seemed). Moss continued to re-iterate that she needed help ASAP.

“I am handling this. You need to stop telling me that,” the dispatcher said.

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When another family member hopped on the phone to try to give more details about Richard Sherman’s condition, the dispatcher was cold, yet again. “Sir, I only need to talk to one person,” she said.

While we need to prioritize mental health in this country, we also need to re-think how certain instances such as the Richard Sherman situation are policed. When a wife calls the police, clearly worried about her husband’s life, she should not be met with a cold, rude dispatcher.

I don’t know what the exact protocol is for 911 dispatchers, but it has to be better than this.


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