Police arrest 911 operator who reportedly hung up on thousands of emergency calls

A Houston 911 operator has been arrested, and for good reason: She wasn't doing her job, and may have put people in danger in the process.

Court records from Harris County show Crenshanda Williams, 43, was charged with two counts of interference of an emergency phone call on Oct. 5 after being accused of hanging up on thousands of emergency calls. She was freed on $2,000 bond and will appear in court next week.

Williams, according to court documents, was heard telling one caller, "Ain't nobody got time for this. For real," during an emergency call. She has been placed under police investigation because her supervisors noticed an abnormally large portfolio of calls that lasted less than 20 seconds.

A review of the Houston Emergency Center discovered "thousands of short calls have been attributed to the defendant" between October 2015 and March 2016. So why did she do — well, not do — it? Williams told police she just didn't want to talk to anyone at the times she was called.

And her refusal to do her job has had real consequences.

In one case, she was the 911 operator who handled a report about an armed robbery at a local gas station that left the store owner dead, according to KPRC-TV.

Buster Pendley, a one-time 911 caller, told the news outlet that Williams hung up on him on March 1 when he called the emergency number because his wife collapsed and passed out. He said he dialed 911 with one hand while trying to give his wife CPR with the other.

"The 911 operator answered the phone, and she said, 'This is Crenshanda, may I help you?'" Pendley recalled, adding that he told Williams his wife had passed out and she needed an ambulance. In response, he said, Williams told him, 'OK,' and hung up.

Thankfully, when Pendley called a second time, a 911 operator who was actually doing their job was on the other line. His wife, Sharon Stephens, survived, but the experience still left her frustrated.

"I would have gotten from my hospital bed and gone to 911 and find out who did that to me," she said.

If convicted, Williams could spend up to one year in jail and be required to pay $4,000 per count. According to documents, she does not have an attorney.