LISBON, Conn. (AP) – A state trooper on Monday was suspended for 15 days without pay after he was recorded on a 911 tape saying “too bad” to a caller seeking help for a young man who crashed his motorcycle last summer.

State police say the dismissive answer by Trooper Robert Peasley did not affect the response time to the accident involving Justin Sawyer, 21, who died of a severe head injury a week after the Aug. 17, 2004, crash in Lisbon.

Russell Shepard, a friend of Sawyer’s, called 911, which was routed to the state police barracks in Montville. When he reported the accident, Peasley said, “Yeah … too bad,” and hung up, according to a tape of the call obtained by WTNH-TV.

Shepard said he was shocked, believing he reached a wrong number.

Another friend, Liz Niegel, made a second call.

“Yeah,” the officer responded. “Help will get there. Shouldn’t be playing games.”

A third emergency call was answered by a different dispatcher who assessed the situation by asking about Sawyer’s condition and advising those nearby to not touch him.

Niegel was upset with the first two responses. “Just the fact that my friend was there laying there helpless and it seemed like they didn’t even care,” she said.

Sawyer’s father, Jim Sawyer, is much angrier.

“I am absolutely outraged every time I hear that too bad’ and then click,” he said. “I only know that I would have felt a whole lot more comfortable if I had heard people responding on the end of that 911 call with some heart and caring.”

State police told WTNH-TV that the comments by Peasley, an 18-year-veteran, were unprofessional and inappropriate, and the agency apologized if “our actions added to the family’s pain.”

The Sawyer family said a 15-day suspension is insufficient.

Peasley could not be reached for comment.