HOUSTON, Texas – A Houston Emergency Center (HEC) 911 operator appeared in a Harris County courtroom Monday to answer for charges that she intentionally disconnected callers seeking emergency services.
Crenshanda Williams, 43, is currently facing misdemeanor charges of Interference with an Emergency Telephone Call, according to court records obtained from the website of Harris County District Clerk. Williams was charged after hanging up on a caller in March 2016 who was reporting a robbery, according to the criminal complaint Breitbart Texas reported on October 12. The document reveals that Williams reportedly told police she hung up on the callers because “she did not want to talk to anyone.”
Court records show that Williams appeared before Harris County Court at Law #8 Judge John W. Clinton on Monday. Houston Attorney Abel Izaguirre was appointed to represent the woman who may face additional charges as more callers are coming forward reporting disconnected emergency calls.
KTRK reported that Williams did not answer any questions in the courtroom or when confronted by reporters after the hearing.
Harris County Assistant District Attorney Claire Morneau told the Houston Chronicle that police investigators have identified approximately 825 calls where Williams allegedly disconnected the caller and they called back within five minutes to speak with another operator.
“Since the case has been filed more people have called and of course we will be following up with those individuals,” Morneau told the local newspaper. She stated Williams could face additional charges if they can verify the callers reached Williams and she disconnected their calls.
The HEC uses a system called MagIC to log all calls into the center. It records each call processed by the operators and can tell whether the call was disconnected by the caller or operator. The MagIC database report shows “thousands of short calls” that were attributed to Williams between October 2015 and March 2016. Williams began working for the HEC as a 911 operator in July 2014.
Williams received calls from two different numbers in connection with the March 12 robbery/homicide call. The first call was hung up on by the defendant immediately, the report shows. A second call came in from the same number about a minute and a half later. Williams reportedly answered this call normally. After the caller, with an “accented voice” said “this is a robbery,” Williams is reported to have made an audible “sigh” and terminated the call. About ten seconds later, she received another call from a different number. This call was taken by a different operator who took the call. The caller told that operator that a man “had fired multiple [shots] during a robbery and people may be hurt,” investigators said.
The March 13 call about the speeding vehicle actually came from an “officer.” Williams received the call and reportedly answered normally. The caller said, “This is Officer Moten. I’m driving on [Interstate]-45 South right now and right now I am at –.” The call was disconnected by Williams, investigators stated. The system continued recording her terminal and recorded Williams’ comments when she said, “Ain’t nobody got time for this. For Real.”
The criminal complaint quotes investigators as stating Williams admitted to disconnecting the calls because she just didn’t feel like speaking with anyone at the time.
The former 911 operator was terminated from her position. She was arrested last week and released on a $1,000 bond. She could face up to one year in the Harris County jail for each of the two Class A misdemeanor charges currently filed if she is found guilty. Additional charges could bring additional jail time.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX
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