I read the article and I see a problem with the article, the supervision and the system.
Everybody, even in the comments, are either blaming or defending the operators.

The thing is the Supt who is saying his operators were sarcastic is the one who is supposed to be responsible for their behavior.
This sounds like another case where somebody is enjoying the perks of their position of authority without facing the obligations of responsibility.
The supervisors in this case all need to be taken to the town square and publicly flogged, with the initial of their sin branded into their foreheads after their public flogging.