‘Wilful Neglect’ Trial Begins in Detroit

The criminal trial has begun in Detroit for two dispatchers accused of wilful neglect of duty in connection with a 5 year-old’s 911 call in 2006 reporting his mother was unconscious. Sharon Nichols, 44, a city worker for 18 years, and Terri Sutton, 48, a seven-year veteran, fielded 911 calls from Robert Turner. Both dispatchers believed the calls were a prank and didn’t send EMS units to the scene. Only after Edwards called a second time almost three hours after the first did police respond to scold the boy, and discovered his mother was dead. Nichols was suspended five days without pay over the incident, and Sutton was suspended for three days. Both are still employed by the city. They face up to a year in jail if convicted on the charges. Both dispatchers and the city also face a civil lawsuit from the mother’s family.