911 Operator Wanted For Deliberately Hanging Up On Callers: Police

Authorities are on the lookout for a 25-year-old Louisiana 911 operator accused of deliberately hanging up on callers who dialed the emergency response line for help, police announced Thursday.

Precious Stephens is wanted on charges of malfeasance in office and interfering with an emergency communication, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) said in a statement.

Stephens, while working as a 911 operator with the Orleans Parish Communications District, allegedly deliberately disconnected calls without obtaining necessary emergency information or relaying the emergencies to other dispatchers for aid, police said.

Authorities learned of the allegations following a report by the district on Aug. 24, newspaper The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate reported.

The communications district conducted an investigation into the quality of a random set of calls and detected problems with Stephens during her shifts between Aug. 20 and 21, officials were cited as saying by the outlet.

She was reportedly dismissed from her post following the discovery of the issues.

"(The district) has and will continue to cooperate with the... investigation into this matter and dedicated to providing any and all assistance to aid in (the) efforts," officials said in a statement.

Stephens was on the run as of Thursday. Police are urging people with information on her whereabouts to contact authorities. Tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward.

Call 504-658-6030 or Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111 with any information on Stephens' whereabouts.

"She may have been very mentally stressed and felt powerless. She needs help," one person commented on the NOPD's Facebook post.

"Overwhelmed or not, it was her job to take the calls she received seriously. Hanging up on people or disregarding their calls is in fact a crime. Asking for help or a supervisor would have been appropriate. But I can also understand the levels of stress she was probably under!" another person said.

Malfeasance in office, under Louisiana law, is defined as such:

A. Malfeasance in office is committed when any public officer or public employee shall:

(1) Intentionally refuse or fail to perform any duty lawfully required of him, as such officer or employee; or

(2) Intentionally perform any such duty in an unlawful manner; or

(3) Knowingly permit any other public officer or public employee, under his authority, to intentionally refuse or fail to perform any duty lawfully required of him, or to perform any such duty in an unlawful manner.

The offense can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.