PA man says 911 operator hung up on him as residents complain of no answer

By Web Staff

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — When you call 911, you expect the call to be answered and help to be on the way in a hurry. But some Fairmount residents dealing with rising crime in their neighborhood say that’s not necessarily the case.

Fairmount residents say this is not the first time 911 has failed them, which begs the question: What do you do if you call 911 and no one answers? Or in this case, they hang up.

A Fairmount man who did not want to go on camera says a man harassed and threatened him as he was leaving his home early Thursday morning.

What made the situation scarier, he says when he called 911, the operator hung up on him before sending help.

“Well, it makes me angry, really angry,” Melissa Brannon said.

Brannon says a number of her neighbors have complained that when they call 911 there’s no answer. It’s one of the main reasons she organized Fairmount’s first town watch meeting on Tuesday night.

“How could we not have people answering a 911 call? Like, pull from some other department that isn’t as important. 911 is like the most important thing we have, most important. We’re trained to dial that number when there’s an emergency. And if you dial that number and nobody answers, what are you supposed to do?” Brannon said.

Residents were ready to raise the issue at Tuesday’s town watch meeting but didn’t get the chance because officers left without taking questions.

“Getting through to 911 to be able to report issues, making sure we’re getting quick response times from the police,” a woman said.

“Thank God none of the issues were serious. We’ve had issues happen right in front of our doors. You know, you just feel helpless like what can we do?” a woman said.

Eyewitness News reached out to Philadelphia police requesting an interview but have not heard back.

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