Police probe confrontation over 911 distress call
By Jason Alley, The News-Herald
PUBLISHED: September 3, 2008
LINCOLN PARK — It appears that a teenager who feared police were ignoring her pleas that an ambulance be sent for her father who was having a seizure had
a good reason for concern.
The officer who answered Adrainne Ledesma’s 911 calls Aug. 19 told her point blank that he wasn’t going to dispatch a rescue vehicle.
After she asked if police could send an ambulance to her house in the 2100 block of Hartwick, police Sgt. Robert McFarland called the 17-year-old a “stupid
ass” and told her, “No, you’re not going to get one.”
When she called back a minute later and asked for the officer’s name, he refused to identify himself, instead calling the teen “a buffoon.”
The exchange between the two was captured on the Police Department’s recorded 911 lines. While police officials refused to release a copy of the audiotape,
a transcript of the calls was made available.
The teenager also said McFarland repeatedly hung up on her when she called 911, but the transcript gives no indication as to which party ended each call.
Ledesma called 911 three times seeking an ambulance — each call one minute apart from the next. Six minutes after her initial call, McFarland dispatched
a unit to her house.
James Bowens, chairman of the city’s Public Safety Commission, which oversees the city’s Police and Fire departments, gasped when he read a copy of the
911 transcript.
“His comments to her are unacceptable,” he said. “I also want to know what happened between 10:07 (a.m.) and 10:13 (a.m.) and why an ambulance was never
dispatched in that time.”
Seven minutes later, when Ledesma walked into the police station to find out the officer’s name so she could file a complaint against him, the teen was
arrested for misusing the 911 system and locked up pending a court hearing.
The incident started at about 10 a.m. when Ledesma was awakened by a loud noise in her house.
When she went downstairs, she found her father, Adrain, who recently underwent brain surgery, lying on the kitchen floor, having a seizure.
Upset about what she was seeing, she said she started to swear as she dialed 911 for an ambulance. She was in the midst of a swear word, she said, when
McFarland answered the phone.
“He started to lecture me about not cussing because I think he thought I was cussing at him, but I wasn’t,” she said. “Then he hung up on me.”
She said she called back and again explained that she needed an ambulance, but was hung up on again.
This was repeated once more, she said, until she finally got in touch with a relative and had him call for an ambulance, which transported her father to
Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital. He was treated and released, and is recovering at home.
During the three calls, Ledesma used the “F” word five times, but never directed the expletive at the officer. He twice told her to stop swearing, while
swearing himself and calling the teen two derogatory names.
Police Lt. Brian Hawk said he supports his officer’s decision to arrest Ledesma when she came to the police station, saying the teen was disruptive when
she arrived.
According to police, she repeatedly swore in the lobby and yelled at McFarland, an officer for 20 years. Once she was arrested, the report says, the teen
refused to comply and had to be restrained to a bench.
Hawk said an internal investigation is under way to review the way McFarland handled the 911 calls. He said it should be concluded soon, but he declined
to name a date.
“If the officer made a mistake, it will be dealt with,” Hawk said.
Ledesma has been charged with phone harassment and disturbing the peace, both of which are misdemeanor offenses punishable by 90 days in jail.
She is due in 25th District Court on Sept. 9 for an arraignment and a pretrial hearing.
The teen’s attorney, Douglas Hamel, said he plans to fight the charges and also is considering suing the department for wrongful arrest.
“Anybody whose father is laying on the floor is going to be upset,” he said. “Yeah, she was upset and started to swear, but I don’t think they should have
locked her up. …
“It isn’t like she was playing games and making things up. He could have died.”
Contact Staff Writer Jason Alley at
jalley@heritage.com
As a paramedic with now fifteen years of service, who has also worked the dispatch center, I find this inexcusable.
