After hanging up mid-sentence on a caller, a Houston 911 call center operator was heard on a recording saying, “Ain’t nobody got time for this. For real,” according to charging documents.
That call center operator identified as Crenshanda Williams was arrested and charged after allegedly hanging up on what could be thousands of emergency callers, according to the documents.
The 43-year-old had been placed under police investigation after her supervisors noticed that she had an abnormally large number of calls that lasted less than 20 seconds.
A review of the Houston Emergency Center database found that “thousands of short calls have been attributed to the defendant” from October 2015 to March 2016.
When interviewed by Houston Police in June, Williams allegedly told officers she often hung up on calls because she did not want to talk to anyone at that time. She was charged with interference with an emergency telephone call, which is a misdemeanor.
Williams does not have an attorney listed in the court documents and did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
She’s scheduled for a court appearance next week, according to CNN affiliate KPRC.
After robbery call, shop owner killed
Houston Police specified two incidents, alleging that in both cases Williams intentionally hung up on the emergency callers.
On March 12, a man identified as Hua Li dialed 911 at 8:10 p.m. to report an armed robbery.
Li had walked into a store that evening to buy lottery tickets. He heard someone yelling that there was a robbery and saw a man with a gun. Li counted five to six gunshots, then got into his car and drove away, as he tried to call for help.
Williams immediately hung up on Li’s first call, according to the charging documents.
A minute later, Li called again, and Williams answered: “Houston 911, do you need medical, police or fire?”
“This is a robbery,” Li responded.
Williams sighed before hanging up on him again, according to the charging documents.
He later told an investigator that he was “frustrated” but kept calling 911. On his third try, Li connected to another operator and was able to report the crime.
When officers arrived on scene, the store manager had been shot and killed, according to CNN affiliate KPRC. The victim was a father of four and had been expecting his first grandchild, according to CNN affiliate KTRK.
Li told KPRC that without 911, “Nobody, nobody is going to help you. You’re on your own.”
Trucks racing on highway
The second incident specified by Houston Police occurred on March 13 as a driver attempted to report trucks racing on the highway.
The driver, Jim Moten Jr. dialed 911 and Williams picked up his call.
Moten identified himself and began telling her, “I’m driving 45 South right now and right now, I am at …”
While Moten was mid-sentence, the call disconnected. That was when Williams was heard complaining on the recording that she didn’t have time.
Moten called 911 again and got through with a different dispatcher.
