Debbie Stevens was out delivering newspapers in Fort Smith, Arkansas when floodwaters in the riverfront town swept up her car. A distraught Stevens called 911 for help.

Instead of receiving help, she was mocked by the 911 operator, who told a panicked Stevens “You’re not going to die. I don’t know why you’re freaking out” as water slowly filled her car. Stevens later drowned.

Police released audio of the disturbing 911 call Friday but not the name of the dispatcher. Stevens can be heard pleading for help, repeatedly saying, “Please help me. I don’t wanna die.”

The 911 dispatcher replied to Stevens in a mocking tone, flippantly telling her authorities will get there when they get there.

Dispatcher: “You’re not going to die. I don’t know why you’re freaking out. It’s OK. I know the water level is high.”
Stevens: “I’m scared. I’m sorry.”
Dispatcher: “I understand that, but you freaking out — doing nothing but losing your oxygen up in there, so calm down.”
Stevens: “When are they going to be here?”
Dispatcher: “As soon as they get there.”

At one point the 911 operator berates Stevens for driving into the water.

Stevens: “I’m scared. I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before.”
Dispatcher: “This will teach you next time don’t drive in the water.”
Stevens: “Couldn’t see it, ma’am. I’m sorry, or I wouldn’t have.”
Dispatcher: “I don’t see how you didn’t see it. You had to go right over it, so.”

The full audio of the 911 call and police bodycam footage can be viewed in the video below, but a warning to readers, some might find it disturbing.

Authorities responded to the scene 12 minutes after Stevens first called 911, but because of the floodwaters, it took more than an hour for anybody to reach Stevens’ vehicle. By the time police and firefighters were able to secure the car, Stevens had drowned.

Forth Smith Interim Police Chief Danny Baker said he understood the angered reactions to how the 911 operator treated Stevens in her dying moments. Baker said the dispatcher had given two weeks notice and that Stevens’ phone call for help came during the dispatcher’s last shift.

“I understand that listening to a person going through the panic that Ms. Stevens was in those final moments of her life, we would all hope that we would get a little bit better response than perhaps she was given,” Baker told KHBS after the 911 call was released. “I don’t want us interacting with anyone in that way, whether it’s a life and death situation or not.”

When asked why Stevens’ call wasn’t elevated, which would have put in place a certain set of procedures, Baker said the dispatcher likely wasn’t aware of the severity of the situation. Baker told KHBS there’s an ongoing investigation into the dispatcher’s behavior, but then went on to say the 911 operator did nothing wrong.

“She did nothing criminally wrong. I’m not even going to go so far as saying she violated policy,” Baker told KHBS.

“I am heartbroken for this tragic loss of life and my prayers are with Debra’s family and friends,” Baker said in a statement released to the media. “All of our first responders who attempted to save Ms. Stevens are distraught over the outcome. For every one of us, saving lives is at the very core of who we are and why we do what we do.”

Stevens was 47-years-old at the time of her death. She was called a “model of being servant” by friend Neal Martin.

“She was a hardworking woman who was very dedicated to her job; she would deliver in the snow and ice when almost no one else would,” Latonya Stolz told Times Record. “This goes to show just how dedicated to her job and to pleasing others she was.”

via: https://start.att.net/news/read/article/newsweek-arkansas_woman_dies_as_911_operator_mocks_her_dont-rnewsweek/category/news

Photo Credit: newsweek.com

This little piggy needs to get off the market and stay home.

The newest bizarre — and frankly hideous — footwear trend called “big-toe” heels has quite unfortunately descended upon us, and they’re giving other ugly shoe front-runners like Crocs, Birkenstock and the dreaded Vibram Fivefingers a real run for their money.

The unsightly shoes — which loudly expose the big toe while the rest are covered, like in a regular heel — debuted on the catwalk for Paris-based brand Y/Projects’ spring/summer 2018 collection. But the heels really turned heads at last year’s spring/summer 2019 show, paired with the designer Glenn Martens’ whimsical designs.

Even more disturbing is the fact that the shoes — that go for upward of $1,000 — are selling out like hotcakes, including a black-and-white floral leather open-toed mule version, according to Lyst’s website.

Strangely, the big toe seems to really be having a moment, while other high-fashion brands like Phoebe Philo’s Céline have also hopped on the freaky bandwagon, with a line of similar heels, Pirate Leather Sandals, that only cover the big toe and reveal the rest for $695.

Somehow, these are also sold out as the #BigToeShoe craze hits Instagram.

French veteran designer Maison Margiela was the first to introduce the toe-separation craze with his Tabi calfskin boots (which go for $980) in 1989, which cover all toes, but with a big divider between the big toe and its friends.

The cutting-edge approach was adapted from the traditional Japanese tabi sock, designed to be worn with thonged footwear like zōris and getas, which are pretty much flip-flop clogs.

“I wanted to create an ‘invisible’ shoe, the illusion of a bare foot walking on a high, chunky heel,” Margiela told Geert Bruloot, the first retailer who stocked Margiela’s pre-Gaultier shoes, in a rare interview about his creation, according to GQ.

The hoof-meets-woman hybrid footprint was first introduced into the fashion lexicon during Margiela’s debut spring/summer 1989 season, when models donning the shoes dipped in red paint left the alien footprints in their wake.

But regardless of the shoe’s acclaimed avant-garde origins, even Margiela’s centaur-ish boots made their way onto the widely followed @CrimesAgainstShoemanity Instagramwith a pair of boots with feet painted on top.

“You know how I feel about this,” the photo is captioned.

And the answer is “Yes,” we certainly do. When it comes to these heels, just say “No,” to the toe.

via: https://nypost.com/2019/08/29/big-toe-heels-are-the-new-ugly-shoe-trend-thats-selling-out/

Photo Credit: Getty Images

A North Carolina college student has been arrested and charged after authorities found two guns in his dorm room and he reportedly confessed to plans to carry out a shooting.

Paul Arnold Steber, a 19-year-old freshman at High Point University, faces two felony counts of weapons on campus or educational property and one count of making a threat of mass violence, High Point Police said. He’s being held without bond for 10 days, during which time he must have a mental evaluation, police said.

Steber’s attorney did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Steber, of Boston, is one of dozens of suspects arrestedover mass attack threats since mass shootings this month in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. In the week after the shootings, the FBI got more than 38,000 tips, up from the typical 22,000 tips per week this year.

Steber was arrested Tuesday after other students told school officials that Steber had two guns and ammunition in his dorm room, police and university officials said in news releases.

Steber had a 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a double-barrel 12-gauge shotgun, police said.

He confessed to having “a timeline to ‘kill people,’” CNN affiliate WXII reported, citing court documents.

Steber allegedly had been planning the attack since December, the district attorney’s office said, according to WXII. He had recently watched videos related to the 2015 shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine people were killed so he could learn “what to do and what not to do as it related to mass shootings,” the district attorney said, per WXII.

Steber decided to attend college in North Carolina because he said it was easier to obtain guns there, the district attorney’s office said, according to WXII. He bought the guns over the weekend, the prosecutor’s office said, and it was not immediately clear if they were purchased legally.

Steber has no known criminal history, per the district attorney’s office. He appeared Wednesday in court via video conference.

via: https://ktla.com/2019/08/29/guns-found-in-dorm-of-north-carolina-college-freshman-with-reported-plan-to-kill-people-police/

Photo Credit: ktla.com

EAST RIDGE, Tenn. – A Tennessee man is suing Popeyes over the “countless time wasted” unsuccessfully trying to score the wildly popular crispy chicken sandwich that sold out earlier this week, WTVC reports.

Craig Barr, of East Ridge, identified in Hamilton County court documents, accused the company of “false advertising, deceptive business practices by entity to public.”

He went on to describe his alleged hardships: “countless time wasted driving to and from Popeyes. No chicken sandwich. Was told to come back this day – still no sandwich.”

According to WTVC, Barr added that he was “hustled” after responding to an ad on Craigslist from someone claiming to know an employee who could hide away sandwiches for those willing to pay extra, then exchange them for $24. Barr says he paid the person, but never got his sandwich.

Barr added in the complaint that he damaged his tire and rim while trying to track down the elusive sandwich, and suffered emotional damage after being humiliated by his friends.

“I can’t get happy; I have this sandwich on my mind. I can’t think straight,” Barr told the Times Free Press. “It just consumes you.”

The sandwich drew long lines at Popeyes locations across the country after a social media spat with competitor Chick-fil-A caught the attention of chicken lovers.

The paper reports that Barr owns a company in the automobile industry and believes that Popeyes should be held to account for not meeting the hype they helped create.

“It’s totally deceptive. Who runs out of chicken? It’s a big fiasco. Someone has to stand up to big corporate,” Barr said.

Barr is asking for $5,000 in damages.

Popeyes did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

via: https://pix11.com/2019/08/29/man-sues-popeyes-over-sold-out-chicken-sandwich-i-cant-get-happy/

Photo Credit: pix11.com

DENVER — A woman is suing the city and county of Denver, Denver Health Medical Center and six individuals after she said she was forced to deliver a baby alone on a bench in a jail cell at the Denver County Jail.

Diana Sanchez said she gave birth to the boy at 10:44 a.m. on July 31, 2018, and that she told Denver Sheriff Department deputies at 5 a.m. that she was in labor, according to a 47-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court.

She said her water had broken by 9:43 a.m., but, according to the lawsuit, Sanchez gave birth with no medical supervision or treatment.

Sanchez, who was booked into the jail two weeks earlier, alleges several Denver Health nurses and jail staffers knew she had been in active labor for hours, was days away from her due date and her water had broken hours before.

The lawsuit alleges nurses and Denver sheriff’s deputies “callously made her labor alone for hours, and ultimately give birth alone in a dirty jail cell without any medical care.”

“The failure to provide care to a woman who is in labor and a baby who is born without any medical assistance in a dirty jail cell, this is not civilized,” Sanchez’s attorney Mari Newman said.

Video from inside the jail shows moments after Sanchez gives birth, a male nurse is seen walking after he had been watching from outside the cell.

KDVR aired the video with Sanchez’s consent.

“(He) picks up the baby as though he’s never seen one in his life,” Newman said. “I mean, the lack of any sort of compassion is astounding.”

Besides the city and county of Denver and Denver Health Medical Center, individuals named in the lawsuit are Rachime Herch, Nina Chacon, Alexandra Wherry, Michael Hart, Tysen Garcia and Justin Albee.

“The care and well-being of our inmates is a top priority for the Denver Sheriff’s Department, which is why we contract with Denver Health to provide comprehensive medical care at both of our jails,” a sheriff’s spokeswoman said in a statement.

“After learning that Ms. Sanchez gave birth in a cell at the Denver County Jail on July 31, 2018, Sheriff (Patrick) Firman immediately ordered Internal Affairs to conduct a review to understand what happened. Denver Health was also asked to review this incident.”

The spokeswoman said after the investigation, it was determined the deputies “took the appropriate actions under the circumstances and followed the relevant policies and procedures.”

Policy has since been clarified that when an inmate is in labor, an emergency ambulance will be called.”

The lawsuit was filed to “hold to account the officials who cruelly chose convenience over compassion.”

“Any lay person can see that a woman who has been in labor for hours and hours and who is yelling, calling that she’s in labor and needs to call the hospital needs to go to the hospital, pick up the phone and call 911,” Newman said.

Denver Health said because it is a pending legal matter, it is not able to comment.

via: https://pix11.com/2019/08/28/woman-says-she-was-forced-to-give-birth-alone-in-denver-jail-cell-with-no-medical-treatment/

Photo Credit: kdvr.com