911 Dispatcher: Boy's Call "Unbearable"

(CBS/AP)  What ended on a happy note for a California family started out as an almost "unbearable" ordeal for a sheriff's dispatcher.

When a 7-year-old boy, identified as Carlos, called 911 from a locked bathroom as armed robbers held his parents at gunpoint, sheriff's dispatcher Monique Patino fielded the call.

"I felt the fear in his voice, both of them," Patino told CBS' "The Early Show" Thursday, referring also to Carlos' 6-year-old sister, who he had pulled into the bathroom with him.

"There's some guy. He's gonna kill my mom and dad. Can you come?" Carlos said over the phone, even imploring Patino to "bring soldiers, too!"

Patino said she felt terror at the sound of the 7-year-old's voice.

"I'm shaky, I'm nervous. I'm scared," Patino recalled. "I'm more scared for them and it was a little unbearable."

Even though the intruders broke down the bathroom door, to the terrifying screams of the children, they fled once they learned Carlos had called 911. On Wednesday, Patino and Carlos got to meet.

Carlos, sporting a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept. baseball cap, gave a hug to Patino, who called the boy "my little hero."

"I said he was very brave and I'm very proud of what he did," Patino said, occasionally dabbing tears from her cheek.

The boy told reporters at a news conference that he remained calm during the ordeal because his mother used to make him practice dialing 911 in case of emergencies.

How did his mother say he did?

"Excellent!" the second grader said.

Captain Patrick Maxwell, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, told "The Early Show" that Carlos did "a fantastic job … better than most adults." He added that the episode offers a valuable lesson for parents.

"We'd really like parents out there to have this as a learning experience to teach your children how to use 911."

Maxwell said police are still searching for the three suspects and are trying to determine the motive.

Maxwell said the 6-year-old girl had left the front door open after running to the family's car to grab her lunch box. The assailants burst in soon after.

"We don't know if it was random, we don't know if it was targeted," Maxwell said.

Carlos' parents declined to appear at the news conference and were "still pretty traumatized" by events, Maxwell said.

Deputies were on scene within three minutes, but the assailants had escaped in a green or gray two-door compact car, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Douglas Jensen said.

"When one of the cops cars came, they just ran," Carlos told reporters.

[FinnSmith]

Wow!kid you're a hero,you're a gift from god to your family. I would just like to recommend this safety service that I'm using when danger comes. It's SafeTREC mobile application that has a panic button by just pressing the button, simultaneously alerts and mobilizes a select group friends and family members that you are in trouble, and if needed gets the emergency to the nearest emergency services dispatcher. This application also gives the exact location where the incident takes place using GPS, for more knowledge on how to use this application just check on their website http://safetrec.com/

[bobnjersey]

[Even though the intruders broke down the bathroom door, to the terrifying screams of the children, they fled once they learned Carlos had called 911.]

these sound like some pretty whimpy 'intruders' ... running from a seven year old screaming and claiming to have called 911? where are the parents ... they seem strangely absent from the whole aftermath. it almost looks like it could be a scam ... ala balloon boy.

i hope it's not ... kudos to the young lad if it's legit.

[jerryjo12]

That is why every citizen need a Home Security System. ADT even offers free systems check http://ow.ly/1fQ5b

[petesis]

Good for carlos. I hope they don't come back. I am a little suspicious the parents would not come on.

[debinok1]

This is the perfect example of why children need to be taught some important facts. Children need to learn as young as possible that the phone is not a toy, they need to be taught how and when to dial 9-1-1, they also need to learn their full name, address, city, state, phone number and the full names of their parents. This should be taught to children between 2 and 3 years of age and it needs to be repeated often.

[ge556]

"Maxwell said police are still searching for the three suspects and are trying to determine the motive."

I don't think there are any suspects, are there? I think they mean "perpetrators", but it's hard to know.

[ThisAtmosphereIsTaken]

I'd move, just so the attackers wouldn't come back in retaliation of going on TV. It's worth the peace of mind to find a new home.

[Nikos_Retsos]

Surely, Carlos' story is inspiring, and his training for emergency cases by his mother also shows that the family is well disciplined, well organized, and it has a Plan B for emergencies. But what is missing from this inspiring story is the response by the police dispatcher that that was absolutely naive, and totally inappropriate.

I watched the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric yesterday, and she played Carlo's call to the police department where this audio was heard to say: "There is some guy. He is gonna kill my Mom and Dad. Can you come? Please bring the police. And bring many. Bring soldiers too," on quote.

And here is the absolutely idiotic response of the dispatcher: "Calm down; take a deep breath!" This response may be okay for an adult caller who should try to calm down and offer the dispatcher additional information, which can then be transmitted to the responding officers. But telling a terrified 7 year-old to calm down? It is absolutely preposterous, and that shows the poor quality of police training to deal with young children in emergency situations. The correct response by the police dispatcher should have been: "Don't worry, we are coning right away. The police is coming fast. Stay on the phone and tell me what happened." A terrified child want to hear that help is coming, and not to be
told to calm down and be quiet under extremely stressful situation! A 7 year old child that sees the death of his parents as imminent needs comforting, not a lecture!

The late legendary Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko had written dozens of times about similar abject stupidity in the Chicago Police Department dispatching practices, one of which I remember was like this: "A senior woman living alone sees someone broking her window, and coming into her apartment. She calls the police, and tell the police dispatcher that a burglar had broken the window, and was coming in. And the Chicago Police dispatcher told the woman to "calm down, and put the burglar on the phone!" And the dispatcher insisted to the caller: "Put him on the phone, I want to talk to him!" And what excuse the Police Department had - after Mr. Royco published his castigating article: "We just tried to establish the facts!"

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's dispatchers need urgent retraining on how to deal with children in emergencies or under extreme stress and anxiety situations- period! I hope the Sheriff review the tape and concur that the standard dispatcher's response shall be different to any emergency call by children under 10 years old. Nikos Retsos, retired professor

[mysteryroche]

Seems like a great kid. Hate to be cynical but I am betting it wasn't random. Worse yet, I hope everyone in the house is a citizen or legal immigrant...

[KeithDrippingSprings]

Why does their immigration status matter. Are you a racist?

[agarwal1]

You are not cynical, YOU ARE RACIST AND MUST BE REMOVED FROM USA.

[extremophil]

A smart young man who will do well in life, I bet.