AndrewBlakeCleveland, OH – A Cleveland 911 operator has been suspended after being caught sleeping on the job twice in two days.
Cleveland police said that one of dispatcher JaTilya Troupe’s naps lasted 29 minutes, and was recorded, WJW-TV reported.
WJW reported that on the first occasion, Troupe answered a 911 call but there was no one on the line. Less than 20 seconds later, heavy breathing can be heard, and then eventually, snoring.
The phone line stayed open for nearly half an hour while the dispatcher slept, WJW reported.
Then Troupe woke up and said, “Hello? Hello?” into her recorded line before she realized no one was there.
The very next day, the dispatcher fell asleep on the job again.
But her second nap only lasted five minutes before it was interrupted by a supervisor, who woke her up by saying “Hey, you’re on a call.”
“My thing’s not beeping in my ear,” Troupe told her boss on the recorded line.
“You were knocked out. So you gotta be careful of that. Have to turn the volume up. Showed you were on a call for five minutes. So be aware of it,” he replied.
Records showed no one was on the other end of the line during the two calls when Troupe was sleeping, according to WJW.
Police union president Jeff Follmer told WJW there was no excuse for sleeping on the job; however, he said more staffing in the dispatch center would help.
Follmer said that dispatchers were often forced to stay and work overtime shifts, and that some worked as many as 60 hours a week at the call center.
Troupe received a six-day suspension for sleeping while working, and pled guilty to internal charges, according to WJW.
Last year, another Cleveland police dispatcher was caught sleeping on the job. Dispatcher Jasmine Thomas was also suspended for six days for sleeping while working.
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