The Israel Police Disciplinary Court judges recently ordered a demotion to Sergeant Major A - a dispatcher at a district control center - after it was found that she systematically disconnected dozens of calls from citizens seeking assistance.
According to a report by Shimon Ifergan on the Mako website, the ruling indicates that the dispatcher disconnected 132 calls in a period of only two weeks, and at the height of her impudence, she reported to the system that "the caller disconnected," without even clarifying the nature of the call.
The case was revealed following complaints from citizens who felt that their calls were intentionally disconnected.
According to the report in Mako, the disciplinary department's investigation revealed that out of the 564 calls the dispatcher received during that period, almost a quarter of them were hung up on by her "in her face.".
A police source said: "It turns out that some of the calls concerned a real danger to life. People called to get an answer and it simply hung up on them. This is a very serious case.".
During the trial, A. admitted to the offense of negligence in the performance of her duties. The prosecution revealed that among the calls she hung up were reports of violent incidents, fires, fears for human life, and even suicide threats.
In her defense, A. claimed that the disconnections of calls were due to a severe mental state of depression and despair, which she said was caused by harassment from her direct commander, who even prevented her from going to her grandmother's funeral.
The judges rejected her claims outright - and ruled that there was no justification for taking human life and turning their backs on citizens crying for help, and defined her conduct as "intolerable and outrageous.".
In addition to being demoted for seven months, she received a serious reprimand in her personnel file.
