911 Call Sparks Language Debate

A 911 call from a father reporting that his 4 year-old daughter had drowned is the subject of controversy and debate when the logging tape revealed the dispatcher had difficulty understanding the man, whose first language is Spanish. The man spoke English, but with an accent, so the dispatcher conferenced in an interpreter, taking up time. Apparently the man didn’t understand that EMS units had been dispatched to the incident, and drove the girl to the hospital, where she was declared dead. Read a news article about the incident and listen to the 911 call here, and then read a perspective from an Hispanic community group here.