A 911 dispatcher has been charged with manslaughter after failing to send an ambulance to a woman in rural Pennsylvania who was bleeding and incoherent and who died a day later, authorities said.
Waynesburg 50-year-old dispatcher Leon Price had indicated in a 911 call with the woman’s daughter, Kelly D. Titchenell, that he would not send an ambulance to his mother, Diania L. Kronk, unless the Mrs. Kronk agreed to go. the hospital, according to a criminal complaint.
But a 911 dispatcher has no legal authority to refuse to send medical services “on the condition of a medical refusal,” and there was no evidence that Ms. Kronk intended to refuse medical services, the complaint.
Mr. Price was charged on June 26 with four misdemeanors: manslaughter, reckless endangerment of another person, official oppression, and obstruction of law enforcement or other government function, according to the Greene County District Attorney. David J. Russo.
“It is rare for 911 dispatchers to be charged criminally, but it has been done in the past, and in this case, evidence suggests that the Kronk family was denied emergency services that resulted in the death of ‘a family member,’ said Mr. Russian. in an interview.
It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Price had a lawyer, and he could not be contacted at the phone numbers listed under his name. He has not yet filed any allegations, Mr. Russian.
These allegations often lead to disciplinary action, said John H. Kelly, general counsel for the National Association of Emergency Numbers, which represents the 911 industry.
“Criminal charges for what is effectively negligence of duty, and this is what you argue here, are very, very rare,” Mr. Kelly.
The maximum penalty for manslaughter in Pennsylvania is five years in prison and a $ 10,000 fine.
Ms. Titchenell called 911 in Greene County on July 1, 2020, asking for help for Ms. Kronk, prosecutors said.
He told the dispatcher that his mother was “very bad”, that she had not gotten out of bed in three days, that she had drunk a lot, that she was “turning yellow”, that she had lost “a lot of weight” and that she was “making noises”. to an audio recording of the 911 call posted by Ms. Titchenell’s attorney, Lawrence E. Bolind Jr.
The dispatcher asked Mrs. Titchenell if her mother was willing to go to the hospital. “She’s leaving, or she’s going to die,” Ms. Titchenell said. The dispatcher said, “We can’t force her to go in an ambulance.”
Diania L. KronkCredit … Kelly Titchenell / Kelly Titchenell, via Associated Press
After repeating that Mrs. Kronk could not be forced to go to the hospital and had to be willing to go there, Mrs. Titchenell said, “She must go because otherwise she will die.” He added: “I don’t think he’s even in his good mood now.”
The dispatcher ended the call to Mrs. Titchenell, who was driving to the house where her mother was staying, asked her to call back once she got there to “make sure she’s willing to go there before we send resources out there, in case that she says no. ”He added that as long as Ms. Kronk was willing to go, she would send an ambulance.
Mr. Bolind said Ms. Titchenell did not call 911 again once she got home.
“That 911 turned down services defeated her mentally,” he said, adding, “You don’t need to call back. He should have been sent right away.”
Mrs. Titchenell said in an interview that she had no cell service in the house and that she found her mother out and naked.
Ms. Kronk, 54, who had jaundice and was bleeding from a hole in her esophagus, died at home the next day, July 2, 2020, without ever being sent an ambulance, Mr. Bolind.
“It’s like, what’s the problem?” said Mrs. Titchenell. “Isn’t she good enough to receive the same treatment as anyone else?”
County detectives’ investigation revealed that 911 services “violated protocol and their own procedures” by refusing to send an ambulance to Ms. Kronk, even though all three ambulances were available, Mr. . Russian.
He said the investigation was ongoing and would examine whether “this was the result of a possible 911 unwritten 911 management policy in Greene County.”
In general, dispatchers comply with the slogan “If in doubt, send them,” which encourages them to send emergency medical workers, police, or firefighters who can assess a situation in person, Mr. Kelly.
“I don’t know if the action or inaction of this particular dispatcher justifies” charges, Mr. Kelly. “This is really something a judge and a jury will have to figure out.”
In May, an emergency services dispatcher in Buffalo who was accused of hanging up a 911 call from a supermarket employee during a shooting was fired, an official said last month.
The shooting came after a white gunman killed 10 blacks at the Tops supermarket on May 14 in one of the worst mass racist shootings in the country in recent history.
Latisha Rogers, a supermarket office deputy manager, told The Buffalo News that she had called 911 while hiding inside the store and was whispering on the phone to avoid the gunman’s attention.
She said the dispatcher admonished her for speaking softly.
In 2018, a former 911 operator in Houston was ordered to serve 18 months probation after, according to prosecutors, he “systematically hung” callers to report emergencies ranging from robberies and homicides to to vehicles with speed.
Ms. Titchenell said she was frustrated because no charges were filed against Mr. Price until he filed a federal lawsuit against him and the county last month.
“I hope everyone learns from that,” he said. “If someone needs help, just send help. Let the EMS decide if they should go to the hospital. The dispatcher should not make that decision.”