An investigation into the conduct of Crenshanda Williams, 43, was begun after officials at the Houston Emergency Center noted she had an extraordinary high number of “short calls.” Short calls are those telephone calls lasting 20 seconds or less. It was determined she took thousands of such calls between October 2015 and March 2016. Investigators are alleging the former operator simply hung up on a lot of people who called to report serious crimes or medical emergencies.
The 43-year-old woman has been criminally charged with two counts of interference with an emergency telephone call, a Class A misdemeanor.
On March 1, a man called 911 after his wife passed out. A blood clot had travelled to one of her lungs and he could not get a pulse. He said he performed CPR with one hand while using the other to make the phone call. After telling the operator his wife passed out, Williams allegedly said, “OK” and then hung up. The man called back and paramedics eventually showed up. His wife survived.
On March 12, Hua Li called 911. The engineer was in a convenience store buying lottery tickets when he heard yelling followed by a series of gunshots. Li realized there was a man in the store with a gun and then ran to his car. He drove a short distance and then called 911. Police allege Williams hung up on him as soon as she answered the phone. Li called back a second time and managed to get out “this is a robbery” before the operator again hung up on him. Li called back a third time and was able to report the incident.
A 52-year-old clerk was shot to death in the back room of the store.
The day following the robbery, a security guard called to say two cars were racing at high speeds on a Houston highway. He only managed to get out his name before Williams allegedly hung up on him. Although the call was disconnected the recording mechanism kept going. According to police, Williams was heard to say, “Ain’t nobody got time for this. For real.” The security guard called back, got a different operator and reported the race.
Police say when they questioned Williams she admitted hanging up on callers because she simply did not feel like talking. Williams, who had been a 911 operator since July 2014, was arrested and later released on a $1,000 bond.
Williams is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow. The offence of interference with an emergency telephone call carries a maximum punishment of a $4,000 fine and up to a year in jail.
