Dialed 911, Heard Non-Stop Laughter

A Chicago woman dialed 911 to report illegal fireworks being fired off in her neighborhood on July 4th, but says that when the calltaker answered, the dispatcher was laughing uncontrollably and wasn’t able to take the call. Brigitte Biver says the calltaker continued to laugh as she tried to give the information. Finally, the calltaker said, “Ma’am, you’re gonna have to call back,” and then hung up. Kevin Smith, spokesperson for the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, said the conduct sounded “unprofessional,” but that without a formal complaint from Biver, he couldn’t take action. “Are we interested in it? Yes. The circumstances that you have described depict unprofessional behavior. And if we are able to identify this, we will take steps,” Smith said.