God, this 911 recording of a little 5 year old girl breaks my heart...

[givemebackmycountry]

And guess where this happened. Volusia County, Florida.

She was in her room sleeping, and the sound of gunshots woke her up.
She went into her parents room and found them both.
Her Mom was dead, and her Dad was on the floor bleeding from his mouth.
He died last night.

Tia Herlen (sic) was so composed, and her little voice telling the 911 dispatcher that "she knew what to do" had me choking back tears.

And the 911 dispatcher was so kind to her, keeping her relaxed and calm.

David Johnson (asshole), who had been harassing the family for months, was found dead of a self inflicted gunshot wound at his residence shortly after wards.
He suspected the family had turned him in for a indoor pot-growing charge. He was wrong.

The family had tried to get a restraining order against this asshole, but the judge turned them down.
He had threatened the little girls mother as late as Monday night, telling her that he was going to do exactly what he DID do.

Kill both of the little girls parents.

At one point the little girl actually says "Can you send a deputy? I think they're dead"

You could tell that the little girl had been told what to do in case something happened.

The dispatcher tells her that the officer should be outside and tells the little girl to unlock the door and let the officer in.

"But, I'm naked" she says.
The dispatcher says, "Oh, sweetie that's OK, grab a blanket and let the officer in, they won't mind"

Seconds later you can hear the police entering and asking her if she is talking with the dispatcher and then the call ends.

I've heard this three or four times tonight and it still chokes me up.

We live in one fucked up country let me tell you, and it appears that Florida is the armpit of the nation, with DC not all that far behind.

God, I hate these people who think it's OK for EVERY nut case to have access to a gun and be able to kill someone on a whim.

[rigel99]

1. can you post a link

this sounds like an incredible little girl. she will save our country one day.. little kids will one day have to deal with the mess that bush is making.. why don't we put DC and florida into guantanamo bay for politicians.. the more they talk, the more the citizens just ignore them and hand them their bible and put them in little boxes to just shut up and pray...... bread and water.. that's all they get for the rest of their sorry little criminal lives...

[magellan]

3. Here's a link to the story and audio

Girl's Dad Dies from Shooting - Orlando Sentinel

Incredible that the restraining order was denied, though it appears it wouldn't have done much good. The police are so hamstringed by laws that they can't do anything until a crime is committed.

Edited to add, I understand we don't arrest people till a crime is committed, but in these stalking/threat cases that just isn't good enough.

[givemebackmycountry]

4. God, it's been on all the cable news shows...

Olberman, Abrams, CNN etc...
I'll see if I can find a link.

I've checked all the major news sites, I can't find a thing.

It's coming up right now on MSNBC at 1:00 am central

[Selteri]

2. Dangerous, nasty person, the Judge should be admonished

It's a sad case all around, it sounds like this guy had been a menace for a while if they had to place a restraining order onto him.

His thinking that they had ratted out on his pot grow sounds like he had a fair number of them and was growing for a personal profit. Who knows on that part, either way, you have to have something seriously wrong with you to do any action like that.

[gumby]

5. I saw that segment on MSNBC

where they played the call.

It was indeed very heartbreaking. Unbelievable, really.

The media keeps us plied with these highly-emotionally-charged stories. Of course there's the sensationalism-for-ratings aspect, but sometimes I wonder how much of a deliberate psy-ops plan it is.

It is a great benefit of the Overloards to keep the masses in an agitated, emotional state about things that don't really affect the way the society functions. Bread and Circuses.

[givemebackmycountry]

8. That's an interesting point, and I must admit I agree, to a certain extent

Usually, I ignore most of the "bleed it leads" stories.
Hey, bad shit happens all the time to good people.

But, you got to admit.
Something in this little girls voice just haunted me all night.

"There's no one here 'cept for my dog and three cats"

God.
I hate this freaking country for what they are doing to us, and for what they are letting us do to each other.

[misanthrope]

18. Now THAT'S sad...

...what's going to happen to those poor animals now? The girl will likely be passed off on some relatives, but what about those animals? Will they just be euthanized as a convenience?

[Floogeldy]

6. What drives you to immerse yourself in this happenstance?

Are you in need of pain and sorrow? No matter.

Just don't bury yourself in it too deeply. You might not be able to dig out.

[givemebackmycountry]

9. Thanks Floog, I'm cool, I really am.

Just the voice man, just the little voice.

When the innocent are hurt, it pisses me off.

[BuyingThyme]

7. That little girl reminded me

of what the world is like at that age.

Death is a completely foreign concept. I hope that works in her favor.

[American in Asia]

10. Hearbreaking.

She was so brave. And I agree the dispatcher did a wonderful job. I don't think I'll be able to get her out of my mind today though. Poor baby. How awful to lose your parents so young, and how traumatic to lose them this way. :cry:

[Window]

19. She certainly was brave.

Most adults wouldn't have done as well as this 5-year-old child. I was amazed at her calmness and the dispatcher handled that beautifully.

[Tactical Progressive]

11. Another casualty of draconian drug policy

People in prison and gun-toting nuts walking the streets, all to keep the self-annointed moralizers happy.

[givemebackmycountry]

12. BINGO! You got it! That has GOT to change. n/t

[gumby]

13. Thought that also.

This unfortunate tragedy happened to this little girl because of some pot plants? What is going on here?

[misanthrope]

17. Come now...

...You know damn well that's not the way it will be spun in the mainstream media. By the end of the week, the conventional wisdom will be that this is yet more evidence of the insidiousness of marijuana.

[fooj]

14. I heard that tape this afternoon and I cried my eyes out...

Now I'm just plain pissed! What a brave little girl! She will forever be haunted by this senseless violence. WTF is wrong with our legal system? What has happened to my country?:rant:

If nothing else...we need to start protecting the children! Sexual abuse, murders, kidnappings...:cry: :cry: :cry: It is heartbreaking!

Peace!

[queeg]

15. My 8 year old was enthralled with it

She and I watch the news a lot, and it really struck her that the little girl was incredibly brave and smart to do the thing she did.

We talked about it for quite a while afterward and she understood exactly what happened. And was very interested in the reasons that the sherriff could not grant the restraining order in the first place. She determined that it was not the sherroffs place to do what he could not do, and the entire episode was just the fault of the man with a skewed sense of someone doing him wrong.

[jbnow]

16. I don't recall exact words

but when the little girl said she was scared, that dispatcher said something like "Honey, we're not going to let anyone hurt you". Of course that could not be guaranteed, but it felt like just what that girl needed to hear.

What a trauma for the little girl and how well she handled it. Web don't always think to teach a child so young to call 911, we don't like to think our children would need to.

And while it is a trauma, I am so glad she wasn't killed as well.

My son's dad died when he was almost 5. We had lost a friend the year before and walked by a grave yard on our work day routine, so we had talked about death more then some young children have. But I still feel his pained response when I told him his dad died...his grief was so clear it is still etched on my heart and he is 31 now. So my heart aches for that little girl who not only lost them both...but found them. Thank God she knew to call and had such a wonderful dispatcher to talk to...helping her be a little less alone.

[Animy44]

20. That happened about 7 miles

from me. I live in Dayton Beach and this was in New Symrna Beach Little girl's name is Tia. Smart little one, huh? Heartbreaking.

[katinmn]

21. It's heart breaking and should have been prevented

:cry:

That little girl is amazing. So brave! I can barely believe it.

[Neecy]

22. I heard it too...

And what struck me, besides of course the tragedy of the entire event, was how articulate this 5 year old was. I'm not sure I even *knew* what a 'deputy' was at 5. This is one smart little kid - and very poised. I hope she's being well cared for now, and gets some grief therapy (and has her dog with her - pets can be incredibly calming).