Heimlich Help Delayed

A Pasco County (Fla.) dispatcher has resigned after dispatchers testified to investigators that he refused to take over a 911 call reporting a choking victim and give EMD instructions, saying, “I am not getting on with a hysterical caller.” Nancy McGhee, 37, choked on a piece of food and her boyfriend dialed 911, but he was unable to dislodge the piece of steak even after supervisor David Cook came on the line, seven minutes after the call started. Just 18 of 29 dispatchers are trained in EMD, although the remainder are in the midst of training now. In written statements in response to an investigation, Cook’s co-workers said they begged him several times to take over the call, since he was EMD trained. However, he continued to refuse, and was even joking with a sheriff’s deputy about another matter during the call. He finally took the call and gave the boyfriend unsuccessful EMD instructions, but Cook reportedly slammed down the phone and said, “I’m over this already.” Dispatchers told investigators that when word arrived that McGee had died, Cook said, “She must have bitten off more than she can chew.” An investigation began the next day, Cook was put on paid leave, but then announced he was retiring early at age 58.