Baby called 911 and father was busted for pot

An 11-month-old toddler in his pajamas was playing with a phone and a ball when police, responding to a suddenly aborted 911 call, burst through the front door of his home in a Vancouver, Canada suburb.

The police found a quiet domestic scene. The boy's father was with the toddler in a bedroom, watching television. There was no emergency. But once the police were inside the house, they picked up a distinctive odor and quickly discovered an indoor farm with 500 marijuana plants.

Police arrested the father for production of a controlled substance, but he has not yet been formally charged. Constable Janelle Canning said police did not have any indication prior to their arrival that they would find a marijuana growing operation. "We were going simply for a 911 hang-up," she said.

The father was startled to see the police standing in his bedroom. "He said to us, 'I did not call the police, why would I call the police?' " Constable Canning said. "We said, 'Well, here we are. We got a phone call.' "

The police suggested the baby may have called, but the father insisted that would be impossible because the boy didn't know how to use the phone. "And a minute later, the baby is playing with the cordless phone and pushing all the buttons. So, he had inadvertently called us," Constable Canning said.

The marijuana plants were behind a locked door and the baby had no access to the area. Nevertheless, police called child-welfare officials, who took the child and placed him with his mother, who was separated from the father.

The mother told police she had no idea that marijuana plants were being grown in the home. She had dropped off the boy at his father's place earlier that morning on her way to work. (info from The Globe & Mail)

911 call liar convicted of murder

The former owner of a dart shop in Anaheim, California has been convicted of second-degree murder, despite his claims that he acted in self defense. The Superior Court jury on Tuesday found Robert Desylvia guilty of shooting Cecil Atkins outside his shop on April 14, 2007.

Defense attorney Joe Dane had argued his client and Atkins had been drinking and got into an argument. Desylvia called 911 and initially told investigators that Atkins broke into his shop, but a videotape shows both men walking into the store.

Desylvia faces 40 years to life in prison. Dane says he will appeal. (info from San Jose Mercury News)

Emergency caller claims mistreatment by 911 staff

A man whose family was facing a medical emergency in Chester, California says they were mistreated by 911 dispatchers. Robert St. Clair says dispatchers transferred his calls to an automated message while his father, Guy St. Clair, was unconscious on the floor.

Guy St. Clair fell backwards and hit his head on the corner of a pool table. Robert St. Clair called 911 from the house phone line but couldn't hear anything from the 911 staff.

Plumas County Sheriff's deputies say the call registered at their dispatch center in Quincy and a deputy was there within a few minutes.

But, Robert St. Clair did not know that so he called 911 again from his cellphone. Cellphone calls in the area go to the California Highway Patrol dispatch center in Susanville.

St. Clair says the dispatcher he spoke with didn't tell him that help was on the way and even transfered him to an automated message designated for non-emergency calls. Frustrated, St. Clair called back at least four times and every time he was switched to the automated message.

All this took place over a time period of about five to ten minutes. An ambulance arrived within that time period. By that time, Guy St. Clair had regained consciousness. He has fully recovered. (info from KHSL TV)

Accidental 911 call led to drug arrest

A 911 call was made from a home on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina on January 2, but no one spoke when a dispatcher answered.

When a deputy arrived at the house, a woman whom he had previously arrested met him at the door and tried to keep him in the front yard, saying there were no problems at the house. The deputy smelled marijuana and asked to search the house.

The two men inside the house also tried to keep the deputy in the front yard, but eventually let him in. The deputy found a bag of marijuana in the hall. The woman walked with the officer during the search and said, "Whatever you find, it isn't mine."

The deputy also found crack cocaine. All three were charged with possession of crack cocaine and possession of marijuana. (info from IslandPacket.com)

911 prankster calls in fake hostage situation

(text removed to preserve privacy of a family involved)

Teen with knife called 911 and was shot by cop

Police in Bloomington, Indiana said Friday that the 16-year-old who was shot by police made the 911 call that led police to him. His cellphone number is the same as the number recorded by the 911 system when the call was placed,

The 16-year-old called 911 and said that a man was "threatening to kill the police" at the Bloomington Transit bus terminal. He described the person as "a black guy with an army outfit on" and said the man was yelling at random people and pulled out a knife.

Officer John Coleman was the first to arrive on the scene. Coleman spotted the suspect standing with his hands in his pockets. Coleman then commanded the suspect to remove his hands from his pockets.

Officer George Connolly arrived on the scene, and when he was several feet behind the suspect, the teen revealed a knife in his right hand wrapped in a “kind of plastic material,” which the suspect started to shake off.

The suspect then charged at Coleman, who fired his weapon twice when the boy was within five feet of him. Paramedic crews arrived on the scene after officers immediately called 911. The boy underwent surgeries for two shots in his chest and abdomen. The injuries were reportedly not life threatening. Police refused to confirm the identity of the boy who was shot because he is a minor.

Police said they interviewed eight witnesses who confirmed the story and recovered two shell casings and the knife, which apparently belonged to the suspect. (info from IDSNEWS.com)

Nice, not wacky: 911 operator helps deliver baby via phone

On Sunday morning, Jessica Portugal's mother called 911 in Tucson, Arizona, and said that her daughter, Jessica, had gone into labor.

911 dispatcher Lani Dzicek received the call. A mother of three herself, Dzicek was prepared for the baby that just wouldn't wait, with a set of instruction cards. "We just go from step to step, and depending on how they answer, the instructions let us know where we have to go next."

"From the time the call was sent to the time the baby was born, it was like three minutes," says Dzicek.

When the paramedic's arrived, the baby was already born. The dispatcher-turned-doctor says that when the baby was born, all the other dispatchers let out a loud cheer. "Everyone was excited and saying congratulations to me, like I had the baby."

"There's a lot of tragedy that goes through this room and it's really nice when you get one of those feel-good calls. And this was a feel-good call," says Dzicek. Mommy and baby Joshua are fine. (info from KVOA) (photo shows a different baby)

Man tried to kill wife, then called 911

A Clarksville, Tennesse man is in jail and accused of trying to kill his wife. Investigators say Timothy Atnip shot his wife Von on Saturday night, then called 911 to report it.

When officers arrived they found Von Atnip lying on the floor bleeding. She is now in critical condition at a hospital. Timothy Atnip is charged with attempted homicide and is being held without bond. (info & photo from WTVF)

Teen died because of delayed 911 response

The death of an 18-year-old British Columbia man who called 911 from his cellphone while lost in the woods on New Year's Day is the latest in a string of incidents that highlight serious problems plaguing Canada's 911 system.

Matt Armstrong's body was found about 10 hours after Mounties received a 911 call from him on Jan. 1. The high-school student had told a dispatcher he couldn't find his way out of the dense forests south of Williams Lake.

A newspaper investigation recently found that last year alone, there were at least four fatal or near-fatal incidents in Canada involving cellphone or Internet callers who had trouble getting help after dialling 911. The probe discovered that a lack of federal oversight, regulatory loopholes and outdated technology have left Canada's emergency dispatchers scrambling to find callers who place 911 calls from a cellphone or Internet phone.

Armstrong's friends and family are adamant he'd still be alive if Canada had technology that allows emergency workers to quickly pinpoint the location of a caller using a cellphone or Internet phone. The service is already available in the United States and Europe.

“This didn't have to happen,” Deidre Cahoose, Armstrong's girlfriend, said during a tearful interview. She was the last person to see him alive. The young couple, who lived together, had left a house party on the south edge of Williams Lake around 3:40 a.m. They parted after getting into a fight. Deidre said she called his cellphone and that he told her he was walking home and would be there soon. The last time they spoke was at 4:30 a.m.

At 5:06 a.m., police received Armstrong's frantic call that he had become lost in the forest. Police quickly began to piece together his final moments and by 6:30 a.m., they were at Deidre's home looking for clues. They also interviewed people who attended the house party in an attempt to figure out where Armstrong could have gone.

According to police, officers tried several times to make contact by phone with Armstrong but calls went unanswered. A helicopter and dog unit were eventually called in, and around 3 p.m., searchers found his body.

An official cause of death hasn't been released, but it is believed Armstrong died of hypothermia.

Charlie Sinclair, Armstrong's great-uncle, said that money shouldn't be an issue when it comes to upgrading Canada's telephone emergency system if lives are at risk. Adding the ability to locate cellphone callers if the person on the line can't speak or identify a location would cost an estimated $50 million. There are now nearly 21 million wireless subscribers in Canada. More than half of all 911 calls placed each year are made on cellphones. (info from Toronto Globe & Mail)

Elderly woman held robber at gunpointduring 911 call

Sunday night, a 70-year-old woman in South Bend, Indiana stopped an intruder in his tracks, holding him at gunpoint until police arrived. The woman called 911 about 9 p.m. sounding frantic, but prepared.

“I’ve got my gun out. Somebody’s trying to get in my house,” she told a dispatcher. “I’ll have to shoot him if he comes in.”

“What kind of weapon do you have?" asked the dispatcher. “I have a .38," the homeowner responded.

Minutes later, the intruder was inside, breaking through a window, but was stopped by the homeowner.

“I don’t want to have to kill anybody, but I will,” she said.

“She felt threatened by a man entering her home illegally by breaking the window and she was going to protect herself,” St. Joseph County Police Sgt. Bill Redman said.

After holding her intruder at gunpoint for almost five minutes, police arrived and arrested Cyrus Brown on preliminary charges of burglary, resisting arrest, and intimidation.

But Brown told police and the homeowner he was just looking for help. Police said he crashed his car near this woman's home because he said he was being chased by gang members trying to kill him. Authorities took Brown to the hospital for a broken leg before being booked into jail. Police are still looking into the story. (info from WSB TV)

Cop fired five bullets in wrong house after 911 call

A deputy in Scott County, Minnesota, responding to a 911 call of a domestic dispute, burst into a house and, when the occupants yelled that they had a gun, fired several shots. The house, however, was the wrong house.

The call had come from a second small building on the property. No one was injured in the shooting.

"My impression is they thought that somebody was breaking into their house," Scott County Sheriff Kevin Studnicka said. "They didn't realize it was a deputy."

Studnicka said the deputy was sent to the address to respond to the disturbance call. A knock on the door of the house went unanswered, so he forced his way. Two men living in the house announced they had a gun, and the deputy fired.

The deputy then left the house, and the residents called 911 to report a break-in.

A patrol sergeant en route to the address realized the miscommunication and spoke to the two men living in the house when he arrived. The men in the house did not know that people in the other building behind their house had called 911.

Joe Toivola said Monday that his ex-girlfriend, who had been staying with him in the small house, had called 911 to report a domestic dispute. But instead of responding to that residence, the deputy went to the house in front of it.

Toivola's roommate, Justin Ashton, said he noticed that the deputy had gone to the house and tried, unsuccessfully, to wave him toward the other residence. Toivola said it was at least half an hour later before anyone from the Sheriff's Office came to the right home.

Toivola said he saw five bullet holes in the walls of the house, including three going up the stairs, when he visited the men Monday. "They went through hell up there," Toivola said. "I would have felt really bad if something bad had happened to them."

The deputy, whose name Studnicka would not release, is on paid administrative leave pending the results of an investigation by the Dakota County Sheriff's Office. Studnicka declined to speculate on why the deputy fired but said it seemed logical that he would go to the house, not the outbuilding, when called to the address.

"I don't know exactly what it is that he saw," Studnicka said. "If he felt that at some point in time he may be in a dangerous situation, he's going to draw his weapon."

Neither Toivola nor his girlfriend were arrested in connection with the domestic dispute call.

The incident comes just weeks after the city of Minneapolis agreed to a settlement of more than $600,000 for a raid on the wrong residence in 2007. In that instance, the SWAT team, acting on wrong information, exchanged fire with Vang Khan in his north Minneapolis home. Khan thought the officers were criminal intruders.

Toivola said he saw five bullet holes in the walls of the house, including three going up the stairs, when he visited the men Monday.

"They went through hell up there," Toivola said. "I would have felt really bad if something bad had happened to them."

Neither Friedges nor the occupants of the house could be reached for comment Monday.

The deputy, whose name Studnicka would not release, is on paid administrative leave pending the results of an investigation by the Dakota County Sheriff's Office.

Studnicka declined to speculate on why the deputy fired but said it seemed logical that he would go to the house, not the outbuilding, when called to the address.

"I don't know exactly what it is that he saw," Studnicka said. "If he felt that at some point in time he may be in a dangerous situation, he's going to draw his weapon."

Neither Toivola nor his girlfriend were arrested in connection with the domestic dispute call.

The incident comes just weeks after the city of Minneapolis agreed to a settlement of more than $600,000 for a raid on the wrong residence in 2007. In that instance, the SWAT team, acting on wrong information, exchanged fire with Vang Khan in his north Minneapolis home. Khan thought the officers were criminal intruders. (info from Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

Man called 911 to confess to murder

Sheriff's officers arrested a man in Rancho Cordova, California who called 911 Sunday to report he'd killed someone inside a mobile home.

Officers arrived at the mobile home park around 11:30 a.m. Sunday to find the suspect and victim, Sacramento County sheriff's Capt. Scott Jones said. Victim Darrel Cadinha was pronounced dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. "The (911) caller stated he had just shot somebody," Jones said.

Jones said the suspect, identified as Kenneth Mulligan, surrendered to officers without incident. The suspected murder weapon was found by officers. The circumstances surrounding the shooting were under investigation. (info from News10.net)

Man arrested for murder during 911 call

Police in Melbourne, Florida arrested a man and charged him with murder after he stabbed his roommate while on the phone with police. Kunta Grant was arrested Tuesday afternoon after he called 911 to report a dispute at his home. The argument escalated while Grant was on the phone and Grant stabbed Daniel Amore in the chest.

When police arrived at the residence they found Amore unresponsive and he was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Detectives said that Grant and Amore fought a lot and they had responded to the home on several occasions. Although Grant and Amore moved in recently, since 2000 police have been called 25 times to the address where the stabbing occurred.

Grant was charged with second degree murder and is being held in jail. Police said that Grant had just gotten out of jail in October after serving six months for driving on a suspended license; he was on supervised felony probation for that charge. (info & photo from WOFL & Florida Today)

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Nice story: 911 staff saves Christmas for poor kids

Chicago's 911 dispatchers rescued Christmas last week for a family whose distraught grandmother had called for help. Shirley Bell called 911 on the day before Christmas for her very upset 8-year-old grandson, Malik Parish.

"It was something about that grandmother's voice, and that child and his candidness. He said, 'I don't have any toys for Christmas,'" said 911 dispatcher Pamela Jenkins.

Bell, who has custody of five children, said she recently suffered a stroke and a heart attack, and support checks from the state had not arrived. Jenkins alerted co-workers and dispatched police officers, who found a nice, clean home without a single sign of Christmas.

Within hours, the 911 dispatchers and their families had gathered $200 for new presents to go with toys and clothes donated by their own children. Malik got a G.I. Joe and a PlayStation, and groceries were delivered on Christmas Day.

"There are countless times we want to help," Jenkins said. "I enjoyed it, and I wish we could help people more than we do." (info from UPI)

Man died after misdagnosis by 911 responders

Washington DC Fire Chief Dennis Rubin asked the city's inspector general to investigate his agency's handling of an emergency call in which a man complaining of chest pains and trouble breathing died hours after paramedics told him he had acid reflux and did not take him to a hospital.

Edward Givens was not breathing when a relative found him lying in a hallway in the early morning of Dec. 3. Paramedics who responded to a 911 call about six hours earlier instructed Givens to take an over-the-counter antacid for what they assessed as acid reflux and left, family members said. Givens's mother, Lolitha Givens, said she wanted her son taken to the hospital but that paramedics said he did not need to go.

"It was the department's view that, because of the public scrutiny in this case, it required us to seek an outside, independent review," said a spokesman for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.

Rubin's decision to involve the inspector general appeared in contrast with his predecessor's actions in the case of journalist David Rosenbaum, who was fatally beaten in a January 2006 street robbery near his home in Northwest Washington. Paramedics mistakenly treated Rosenbaum as a drunk and of low medical priority. Days after the initial 911 response, Fire Chief Adrian H. Thompson declared that "appropriate measures were taken" and that rescuers met "all standards of care." But a report issued months later found "multiple failures" in Rosenbaum's care and "alarming levels of complacency and indifference" among the city's emergency responders.

Rosenbaum's family filed a $20 million lawsuit against the city for a series of missteps but decided on a settlement in which the city vowed to improve emergency care. An EMS task force was chaired by Rubin, and in recent months he has said the department has implemented many of the group's recommendations. Etter said the department will fully cooperate with the inspector general. "Our goal is to maintain the public's trust at all times," Etter said. (info from The Wahington Post)

Wacko shot by cop responding to 911 call

A Maitland, Florida police officer shot and critically wounded a mentally ill man Monday night after the man attacked his caregiver and lunged at police. Ronald Btesh tried to lock the front door when they responded to a call for help from his caregiver, Nohemy Castelblanco.

On a 911 call recording, a panicked Castelblanco is heard telling the operator about the attack. "The man is crazy," Castelblanco said. "He attacked me."

"Ma'am, you have to calm down and talk to me," the operator said. "Did he rape you?"

"Yes," Castelblanco answered.

Lt. Jeff Harris of the Maitland Police Department said Castelblanco had been struck several times, but Btesh never raped her as initially reported.

Officers forced their way into Btesh's residence about 11:15p.m. and confronted him at gunpoint. They shouted several orders at Btesh, but he did not comply and lunged at Officer Rebecca Denicola, police said. She fired her gun, striking Btesh three times. Denicola was placed on paid administrative leave.

Btesh was in critical condition Tuesday at a hospital.

Btesh's caregiver told authorities he is mentally ill and that she has been caring for him since he was a child. (info from The Orlando Sentinel)

Cable theft kills 911 service

About 800 Lane County, Oregon residents were unable to report emergencies via telephone land lines on Monday after metal thieves stole about 470 feet of Qwest phone line west of Junction City.

Affected residents with emergencies were urged to report them in person to a Fire Station. Volunteers were available to take emergency reports at the two fire stations and then relay them to the 911 Center by radio.

The value of the stolen wire was estimated at $18,000, said Sgt. Fred Swank of the Lane County Sheriff’s Office. Because the first-degree theft involved the disruption of a public utility, it rises to the level of a felony crime, he said.

The wire hung from telephone poles about 30 feet to 40 feet above the ground. “Someone had to physically climb up the pole to do this,” Qwest spokesman Bob Gravely said. “When someone knows what they’re doing, they can definitely do some damage.”

Gravely said people who steal telephone wire tend to work in rings. The recent arrest of a suspect in the Kelso, Wash., area led to the arrest of nine other people also accused of participating in a series of metal thefts, he said. The thieves almost certainly stole the telephone wire for its copper content, he said.

Swank said authorities have contacted local metal recycling companies to alert them to anyone trying to unload quantities of copper wire. “But they were probably smart enough to take it out of our area,” he said of the thieves. “It had to be somebody with a pretty significant truck to load it up.”

Swank said the crime put people in jeopardy. “If you live out where there’s no cell tower for your cellphone, and a land line is your only contact for police, fire or medical emergency, then this puts you at risk,” he said.

Swank said the thefts reflect a broken criminal justice system in which criminals know they will see little if any jail time if apprehended. “As thieves become more and more brazen, this is the kind of stuff they’re going to pull,” he said. (info from The Register-Guard)

911 money saving policy may not save money

The unpaid furloughs ordered for Stockton, California city employees over a month ago were intended to save money, but at the police and fire departments, furloughed emergency dispatchers are replaced by others who are then paid overtime.

At the Stockton Police Department's dispatch center, civilian employees field 911 and non-emergency calls, and direct officers to respond to those calls. The center never closes, must maintain staffing to handle Stockton's call volume, and is short seven dispatchers from a full strength of 39.

That necessitates calling in dispatchers on their days off to fill in. The practice is called "hire back." "We were already at the point that if anyone took a vacation, we had to hire back," Stockton police Capt. Trevor Womack said. "The furloughs didn't change any of that."

The furloughs, which will close city offices - but not dispatch centers - over the holidays, were adopted this fall to close a roughly $23.5 million municipal budget deficit. The furloughs and equivalent reductions by labor units are estimated to save the city about $1.1 million through June 30, the end of the current fiscal year.

Since police and fire dispatch centers can't close, their workers can't be furloughed all at once, but in small, short doses. Womack said that under current conditions, it is not possible for the city to save money by sending dispatchers home without pay.

"No way; that's obvious," he said. "We're going to have to hire back for every single one of those hours." There's no relief pool in the dispatch center. Any time someone's sick or on vacation, they have to hire back.

The Police Department did alert the city that furloughing dispatchers would lead inevitably to overtime and, possibly, to officers being brought in to work the phones instead of the streets, Assistant Chief Blair Ulring said. "We're 24 hours, 365 days. We can't close down," Ulring said.

In an October e-mail to Human Resources Director Dianna Garcia, Deputy Police Chief Mark Helms wrote: "You should also know that furloughs in the Communications Center will not save money." City Manager Gordon Palmer said he wasn't certain whether dispatcher furloughs would save money, but he said the program as a whole will. (info & photo from RecordNet.com)

Better than 911.Give or get a Batphone for Christmas

Now everyone can have a flashing red phone like Batman

When there’s trouble in Gotham City, Police Commissioner Gordon calls caped crusader Batman, the secret alter ego of millionaire Bruce Wayne.

At Wayne Manor, the flashing red Batphone is answered by Alfred the butler, who tells Wayne about the trouble. Then Wayne and his young ward Dick Grayson put on their superhero costumes. As Batman and Robin, they race from the Batcave in the Batmobile to battle evil-doers, or rescue citizens in distress.

Now everyone can have a bright red flashing Batphone just like a superhero. When an emergency call - or even an ordinary call - comes in, a bright red light centered in a shiny chrome ring starts flashing to attract attention.

The Batphone has classic sixties styling, with heavy-duty construction, a two-year warranty, and is made in the USA. It gets all of its power from the phone line, and doesn’t require a power cord or batteries. It can work on an ordinary home phone line, or on an "analog extension port" in a business phone system.

The phone rings when the light flashes, unless a purchaser prefers the bell to be disconnected for silent signaling, or an optional high-pitched "BatSignal" or buzzer to be installed instead of the bell. Price with the bell is $122, including "ground" shipping to all 50 states. Fast shipping for delivery before Christmas is available at an extra charge.

Order online at www.GetABatPhone.com, or call toll-free 1-888-225-3999.

Woman called 911 TEN THOUSAND times!

A judge in Canada still isn't sure that a Montreal woman deserves only a suspended sentence for inundating 911 operators with a whopping 10,000 calls over a 15-month span. Quebec court Judge Serge Boisvert said he is willing to give Marie-Eve Dean more time in therapy before handing down a sentence.

A police investigation revealed that Dean and her ex-brother-in-law overwhelmed 911 operators with so many calls between January 2006 and April 2007 that on some days real emergency calls couldn't get through.

The government said the acts were perpetrated in part due to a hatred for authority figures, including the police. Boisvert said he wants Dean, who was convicted on mischief charges in October, to get more psychiatric help. Dean, who is 21 weeks pregnant, started therapy at the end of October, about a week after Boisvert called her actions immature and irresponsible.

"There has been progress, serious progress that has satisfied Judge Boisvert," said Claude Boucher, Dean's lawyer. Boucher said the therapy aims to curb Dean's anger towards society.

Boucher said Dean is committed to the therapy for 21 weeks, but he also emphasized that the co-accused in the case, Salim Omar Sheik Abuu, received a nine-month suspended sentence even though he made more than half the calls. Boisvert responded that there is no guarantee Dean would get the same sentence as her co-accused.

A report revealed that Dean was a high-risk to re-offend and Boisvert wasn't convinced that she'd owned up to her actions. "I'm pleased with your progress and hope it continues," he told her on Wednesday.

Boucher said outside the courtroom that Dean does realize the impact of her actions. "We can't change the past, but she realizes what she's done is wrong," Boucher said.

In October, Dean, who was accompanied by her mother and sister, swore as her family gave television cameras the finger while leaving the Montreal courthouse.

Boucher said he warned Dean's family he would rather not have them there if they weren't able to respect the right of journalists to be at the courthouse. This time Dean and her family were escorted by courthouse security without incident. Dean returns to court on Feb. 27. (info from TheStar.com)

Sad story: woman stuck on tracks called 911, but was killed by train

A Lake Forest, California woman who died from injuries suffered when her car was struck by a freight train in Anaheim dialed 911 to report her predicament and was being urged by a dispatcher to get out of the car when the phone went dead.

Linda Kruger-Small was in a Honda Civic that got stuck on Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks and the car was struck by a freight train traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez said police received a 911 call from a woman asking for help because she was stuck on railroad tracks. A dispatcher who was advising her to get out of the car was able to hear a man trying to help the woman -- but then the line went dead.

Motorists who stop at the signal have to cross the tracks before turning right or left. Martinez said the woman may have miscalculated and instead of driving over the tracks to turn on the street, turned right or left on the tracks, the sergeant said.
Had that happened, "the car could have become disabled on the tracks," he said. She may have not been able to move the car forward or back up.

The bystander, who unsuccessfully tried to get the woman to get out before the train struck the car, pulled her out after it was hit. The woman was taken to a hospital where she died.

Martinez emphasized that until a full investigation is complete police will not know for sure what happened. Lena Kent of BNSF Railways said Monday that the crossing is in a designated quiet zone, where the conductor does not normally sound a whistle, but he did when he saw the car on the tracks.

To qualify for quiet zone designation, the crossing has enhanced safety equipment including a concrete median. The equipment is maintained by the railroad and was working, Kent said.

"Why it was sitting there, we don't know," Kent said, adding that the woman would have had to drive onto the tracks before the gate arms lowered. Martinez did not know how much time Kruger-Small would have had between getting on the tracks before the arms lowered and when the train struck the car. He said he has driven it and it appears to give ample warning, but once events were set in motion, "things happened very fast." Police were still searching for additional witnesses, Martinez said. (info from NBCLosAngeles.com)

Mother's 911 call prevents son's suicide

Three plainclothes Norwalk, Connecticut police officers tackled a man threatening to jump off a ledge of parking garage on Monday afternoon. The man's mother had called 911 after she spoke to him on his cellphone and became concerned that he might harm himself.

Police began searching the downtown area for a car matching the mother's description of her son's "rusty Toyota missing a gas cap."

Officers had put in numerous calls to the man's cellphone, Deputy Chief Rosemary Arway said, but he did not respond. They were able to locate the "despondent" 25-year-old and multiple police cars and a fire engine responded.

According to Arway, police set up a perimeter around the entire city block. The three officers approached the man from behind, grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground. He was transported to an ambulance and taken to a Hospital. (info from The Hour)

Not wacky, just surprising. Someone called 911 about TV store burglary

Cheektowaga, New York Police say General Garett of Lewiston broke a window at the Rosa's Home Store in Cheektowaga and took three flat-screen TVs. But a vigilant neighbor heard the noise and called 911.

Once Cheektowaga Police arrived, Garett sped away with the TVs in his Suburban. Police followed, and Garett led them to a parking lot at the Walden Galleria, and then to Buffalo. The chase ended with a crash in Buffalo. The Suburban hit another vehicle and cops apprehended Garett.

A Cheektowaga police car was also damaged in the incident. None of the drivers were seriously injured. The manager at Rosa's says it's fantastic that a neighbor alerted police by calling 911, a sign that there are indeed people looking out for others. (info from WKBW TV)

Fireman charged with false 911 call

A firefighter who was thought to have been angry about department budget cuts and station closings was arrested for falsely reporting a fire at a public school on City Island in the Bronx, New York. Nicholas Vrettos, who joined the department in 2002, is charged with a felony count of falsely reporting an incident.

Fire officials said that on Dec. 4, a fire was reported — but not found — in the cafeteria of a school. The 911 call followed an announcement by Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta that Ladder Company 53, where Vrettos worked, would be partly closed at night.

The Department of Investigation, which was notified by the Fire Department that a firefighter was implicated in the false alarm, traced the call to a business that Vrettos operates. He faces up to seven years in prison.

“Calling in a false alarm to 911 is not the way to protest a budget cut that prompted a partial closure,” Rose Hearn, commissioner of the Department of Investigation, said. “The timing of the calls suggests a deliberate attempt to tax the Fire Department’s ability to respond.” Hearn said that it “defies belief” that a firefighter would risk the safety of fellow firefighters and the public by calling in a nonexistent emergency.

Scoppetta called the acts “unforgivable.” He said, “Anyone who shows such blatant disregard for our firefighters’ time and the safety of the public should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

A firefighters’ union spokesman said that because Vrettos was not on duty at the time of the call, he would not be represented by a union lawyer. (info from the New York Times)

Shooting victim disappeared after calling 911

A man from South Arlington, Texas disappeared early Wednesday after telling a 911 operator that he was being followed by men who were shooting at him. The man, Jose Lira, 41, also pounded on a neighbor's door, asking her to call police.

Lira called 911 about 1:30 a.m. while he was driving toward his home. When officers arrived at the house, they found neither Lira nor his pursuers. "We don't know if he ran off, or they took him or what happened," Lt. Blake Miller, a police spokesman, said.

Evidence of a struggle was found at Lira's residence, Miller said. His wife and children were home; none was injured. Lira's cellphone was found and his vehicles were parked outside when officers arrived.

In the 911 call, Lira, speaking Spanish, identified himself and told the 911 operator that he was using a cellphone. The operator tried to determine his location while he told her about gunshots. In the background, popping sounds could be heard, as well as the sound of dogs barking. Lira told the operator that he was being followed home by four people with pistols riding in a car and a truck.

"My children are here," Lira said, apparently as he arrived home. As the 911 operator tried to get the address, the call was disconnected.

A neighbor said he heard dogs barking early Wednesday but heard no gunshots. Another said she heard a man screaming, and then a frantic knock at the door. Lira was yelling for someone to call the police, she said. "But he didn't say why he wanted us to call the police," the neighbor said. She did not open the door, she said, but someone called 911.

Lira is about 6 feet tall and weighs about 240 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Ben Lopez at 817-459-5373 or Crime Stoppers at 817- 469-8477. All tipsters can remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward up to $1,250. (info from the Star-Telegram)

Lucky, not wacky: woman called for rescue from bottom of well

An 82-year-old Swanzey, New Hampshire woman was rescued Sunday afternoon after she fell into a 12-foot well in her back yard. Frannie Guion was able to call for help with her cellphone after she fell into the well while she was doing her laundry. The well was hidden by grass and dirt.

"I think it was just a miracle we were able to get the call and help her," said Swanzey fire Chief Norm Skantze.

Guion called 911 and initially said that her legs were stuck. But rescuers found that her head wasn't visible from the surface. "I'm not even sure she fully realized what happened because it happened all of a sudden," Skantze said. "It was not what we were anticipating when we were responding."

Twenty rescuers responded. They used a tripod system that spanned the hole, allowing a rescuer to be lowered. Guion was then lifted from the well with an oversized belt.

The rescue took about 15 minutes and was done before dark. Guion's grandson, Josh Guion, said that he hadn't seen his grandmother since the fall, but he said she's a tough woman.

"She had knee replacement surgery and walks around, gets around fine," he said. "She's in good shape for her age." He said that she broke a rib, but it could have been much worse. "She could have died last night if she didn't have her cellphone," he said. (info from WMUR TV)

Drunk arrested for eight calls to 911

A drunken man in Sea Pines, South Carolina faces a criminal charge for allegedly calling 911 eight times over a seven-hour period to report that his ex-girlfriend had stolen his dog, according to a Beaufort County sheriff’s report.

Dispatchers told the man several times that he needed to call the non-emergency number. Sea Pines security had already written a report about the alleged theft of the dog and told the man how to get a warrant.

Deputies responded twice, and arrested him the second time Friday after learning he was “harassing and annoying” the dispatchers by “cursing, demeaning and criticizing them,” the report said. He was charged with unlawful use of 911 and taken to the county jail.

His ex-girlfriend has an active restraining order against him. (info from The Island Packet)

Man killed after threatening to kill cops when father called 911 about him

A Sonoma, California man who vowed never to go back to prison was fatally shot Saturday. Craig Von Dohlen threatened to shoot police officers who responded to a 911 call, apparently from his father. The caller told police that Von Dohlen had a loaded .22 caliber rifle and was threatening to kill others and commit suicide.

On the 911 recording, Von Dohlen can be heard threatening the two deputy sheriffs and two Sonoma police officers dispatched to the home. The officers encountered Von Dohlen in the backyard of the home, and multiple shots can be heard on the tape.

Von Dohlen was struck by gunfire. Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Lisa Banayat confirmed Sunday that officers at the scene fired their weapons, but it wasn't clear whether their shots killed the man. She said she didn't know if Von Dohlen fired his weapon.

He was pronounced dead at Sonoma Valley Hospital. The deputies and officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave, following protocols for officer-involved shootings. An autopsy is scheduled. (info from The San Francisco Chronicle)

Gun victim died after neighbors delayed 911 call

For nearly an hour, neighbors watched a man lying in a parking lot outside their windows, but during that time no one called 911. Now that man is Kansas City's latest homicide victim.

Police said Amir Muhammad died of a gunshot wound to the head. Police said he laid in the parking lot of Friendship Village, gagging on his own blood. A woman who wants to be known only as Sybil said people nearby saw him in the parking lot. "They apparently thought he was drunk, or on drugs, whatever. But it's none of my business," she said.

Others in Friendship Village said as horrible as it sounds, they aren't surprised that no one was willing to call police, and instead watched Muhammad lay on the pavement in plain sight. "They live in fear of getting involved. They're afraid to get involved because it connects them in some kind of way," neighbor Crystal Knickerbocker said.

But community activists say such fear is not justified. They believe the unwillingness of ordinary citizens to help police by simply calling 911 shows why Kansas City is expected to have more homicides this year than any other time this decade.

"It says a bad thing about this village of people here. We should have citizens that at least be good samaritans," anti-crime activist Ron MacMillian said. "A call to police to say, 'Hey, somebody's out there bleeding to death,' is not snitching if that's what you're worried about. It's showing concern for your brother."

Muhammad was rushed to the hospital Monday night, but died Tuesday morning. Some wonder if that hour he lay in the parking lot could have meant the difference between life and death. (info from Fox TV)

Prison escapee arrested after calling 911

A man listed as an escapee from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania for more than two years was arrested Wednesday morning after he called 911 to report a domestic argument he was having with his girlfriend in a hotel room.

Patton Township police responded, and a routine check revealed that in September 2006, Darren Dixon failed to return to Luzerne County Prison from a work release program.

He was taken into custody without incident and placed in jail to await extradition. (info from Centre Daily Times)

911 caller is suspected of elder abuse

Yesterday, police in Texas City, Texas were still searching for the person who made a 911 call that led to the discovery of a woman who was barely clinging to life.

Police said they are “very confident” the man who made the call was the woman’s son and confirmed he had lived in the house where the woman was found.

Linda Sue Sainz remained in a hospital on Tuesday, four days after police found her on the floor of her home. Police said her home was filthy, that she was malnourished and that maggots were feeding on open sores on her back.

Police were tipped through a 911 call late Friday night by a man claiming to be Sainz’s son. When officers arrived, they found Sainz alone in the house. Police are treating the case as one of neglect of a disabled person.

A state agency, Adult Protective Services, is conducting its own investigation.

Gwen Carter, a spokeswoman for the agency, said Adult Protective Services conducted 8,366 investigations of confirmed cases of abuse or neglect of either elderly or disabled people in the 12-county region that includes Galveston County last year. That’s a 55 percent increase from the 5,400 cases investigated in 1997.

Many cases could be prevented if friends, neighbors or family members paid closer attention. The most important thing is to constantly communicate with a neighbor, family member or friend who is elderly or disabled. Talking to that person or checking up on him goes a long way in preventing possible abuse or neglect.

“It’s everybody’s responsibility to look out because when something happens, (the consequences are) horrible when it does,” she said.

Some of Sainz’s neighbors indicated they noticed unusual behavior or changes in lifestyle.

“She would just drive her car frequently, but then all the sudden she stopped driving it and I noticed her son was driving her car more often,” said neighbor Pascual Valdez. “I was assuming she moved away because we hadn’t heard from her in awhile.”

While not commenting on the Sainz case specifically, Carter said neighbors or friends who notice a change in behavior should check on the person. “There’s no harm done just to ask someone how he or she are doing,” she said. “If you do, you may just save a life.”

Carter said people should look out for signs of trouble. “If you see them and they are unkempt or unclean or if they have pets and they begin to accumulate lots of more pets, you should ask,” she said.

Not seeing a person for a long time is also an indicator something is wrong, Carter said. She also said cases of neglect are not necessarily criminal cases. Sometimes, a person just doesn’t have the means to care for the victim. (info from the Galveston Daily News)

Man busted after calling 911 for gas

A man in Watertown, New York man faces drug and alcohol charges after he called 911 to report he was out of gas.

Christopher J. Munn Jr. was charged with Unlawful Possession of Marijuana and Open Container of Alcohol when State Police investigated a complaint of an illegally parked van.

While investigating, the trooper at the scene was informed that the driver had called Jefferson County 911 to report he was out of gas.

The trooper also noticed a glass pipe and a device commonly used to grind marijuana, in plain view in the vehicle. The pipe was found to contain marijuana residue.

Munn was issued appearance tickets for court. (info from Newport Television)

Blackout kills 911 service in Florida

Most small business bosses and even home computer users know they need a back-up battery system to keep their computers running when the juice stops flowing from the electric company. Hospitals, hotels and government buildings often have big diesel generators standing-by to provide emergency electricity.

But apparently the folks who run the 911 center in Broward County, Florida (including Fort Lauderdale) had too much faith in the power company.

The outage occurred around 9:45 a.m. on Sunday and affected the 911 call system and the computer aided dispatch system. The department's non-emergency phone line was also affected. Within an hour, the 911 and computer aided dispatch systems were operational again. The non-emergency phone line was restored around noon.

A sheriff's office spokesperson said Florida Power & Light caused the outage. There was no estimate of how many calls may have been missed when the systems were down. Reports that the center was seeking proposals for the installation of a generator powered by gerbils on a treadmill could not be confirmed. (info from CBS4.com)

Man arrested for 37 fake 911 calls and threats

Jesse Miller called 911 in Minneapolis 37 times on Thanksgiving, threatening the lives of the people who answered the phone and the president.

Sounds of yelling woke up Richard Washpun, who lives upstairs from Miller. Miller usually lives at the home with his wife and three children, but on Thanksgiving morning, he was alone. "There wasn't nobody here but him," Washpun said. "He wasn't arguing with anyone because there was nobody here but him."

Miller began calling 911 around 4 a.m., with fake calls of assaults. Over the next three hours, he called 37 times - an average of once every five minutes. Miller threatened to kill police officers, the 911 dispatchers and George W. Bush.

When police arrived, Miller barricaded himself inside, so officers broke down the back door, confronted Miller, tazered him and arrested him.

"The phone calls, barricading himself, threatening himself, all of that together caused us to go out there and take him away," said Sgt. Jesse Garcia of the Minneapolis Police Department. Miller has a history of drug, alcohol, assault and burglary convictions. He was on probation at the time of the incident. (info from KAAL TV)

Man arrested for wacky 911 calls, and threatening

A man in Fort Pierce, Florida was arrested Monday for threatening to kill children at a bus stop and improperly using the 911 system. Richard Dibernardini faces charges that include assault and misuse of the wireless 911 system.

A 15-year-old boy on Monday was at a bus stop when a man later identified as Dibernardini made threats. "If you come to the bus stop, I'll kill all of you," Dibernardini is quoted as saying.

The boy ran home and told his mother, who called 911. The teen also provided the suspect's address.

Dibernardini also is accused of calling 911 five times before this, "reporting non-emergency calls and just talking to the dispatchers." (info from TCPalm.com)

HazMat emergency INSIDE a 911 center

About 20 operators who dispatch Seattle police to emergency calls had to be evacuated Monday afternoon after a potentially hazardous material was found in the 911 center. A few dispatchers remained to handle calls.

About a half-hour later, dispatchers began returning after emergency crews found nothing wrong with the air in the center.

A spokeswoman for the Fire Department said the unknown liquid was discovered on the first floor of the 911 call center. Medics treated three people on the scene for minor symptoms, including watery eyes. An ambulance took one person, with asthma, to a hospital.

A second group of firefighters checked the center, but found nothing hazardous. Nearby streets were closed for awhile. (info & photo from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

(serious, not wacky) Mother couldn't reach 911 through Vonage about baby with pills

A South Austin, Texas mother was looking for answers from broadband phone service provider Vonage, after she was unable to make a 911 call in early November after finding her 3-year-old son with an open bottle of vitamins. "I didn't know if he put any in his mouth, didn't know what happened, but just saw all these vitamins on the floor and was very concerned," said Mrs. Pope. She ran to her phone to call for help, "I got a dial tone at first, I called 911 and I just got dead air."

Pope said she tried 911 several more times and still nothing. She was eventually able to call her husband on his cellphone, who then called 911 for her. Emergency responders came to the home and after checking the son, determined he did not swallow any of the pills. "It was definitely a very scary false alarm," said Pope. "Especially knowing that had something else happened that wasn't a false alarm, I wouldn't have any way of contacting anyone."

Pope said she has taken all the steps required to sign up for 911 service as a Vonage customer. Vonage was the subject of a 2005 lawsuit by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott for not making those steps clear enough to its customers. Pope was still working with Vonage technicians to determine why her 911 call would not go through. One technician told her it was a "modem corruption" and worked with her to unplug and restart her computer, modem and router to her phone. Pope said she was able to make a practice 911 call after that but that the rest of her phone service has been erratic since. Another Vonage technician then told her it appeared she had a "bandwidth issue".

Vonage spokesperson Steve Seitz said the company processes 100,000 911 calls nationwide each day. "We obviously need to do the technical background on this," Seitz said, "We can't resolve something if we don't know what all the elements of the problem are." A spokesperson with the Texas Attorney General's office said this is the first complaint they have had about Vonage since 2005. (info from KXAN)

Sad, not wacky, call to 911 after man killed wife

A man in Avon, Ohio placed a call to 911 on Wednesday morning and told dispatchers he had “just killed his wife to put her out of her misery.”

Paramedics tried to save the woman’s life, but she was pronounced dead a short time later. “She was not a healthy 84-year-old,” said Coroner Paul Matus, who had not yet ruled late Wednesday on the exact cause of death.

He said it appears the woman had suffered from ailing health for a long time. Neither police nor Matus released the victim’s name. The husband was questioned by Avon police and taken to a hospital for evaluation. Matus said the man “is not a well person.”

Police are investigating the circumstances of the woman’s death. (info from The Chronicle-Telegram)

Man arrested after fourth phony 911 call

Donald Parson, an employee of a Huntington, New York business, was arrested last week and charged with anonymously calling 911 to make a false report of a shooting at his workplace. Parson made at least three other anonymous, false emergency reports.

The most recent call came last Wednesday at around 5:35 p.m. reporting "a man firing a gun at an employee." The caller also stated that the gunman and employee were still locked inside the Four Way Pallet building where Parson works.

Police blockaded the area around the building, diverted traffic and evacuated or secured nearby buildings and prepared for a possible hostage situation. Emergency officers then entered the building and found that there was no gunman and that the report was false.

Police officers investigated and concluded that Parson had made the phony call, and found that in the past six months Parson had made at least three other 911 calls reporting nonexisting emergencies. Two of those calls also reported men with guns.

Parson pleaded not guilty to four counts of falsely reporting an incident. He was ordered held on $400 bail and is due back in court today. (info from Newsday)

Vodka-drinking gun cleaner killed daughter,and called 911

A man in Washington state told police that he accidentally shot and killed his six-year-old daughter Sunday after drinking double vodkas while cleaning guns. Stormy Peters was shot in the head and died after being flown to a hospital.

Her father, Richard Peters, was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree manslaughter, a felony and was held on $250,000 bail.

Police say Peters called 911 about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. He told police he had asked his daughter to get his Colt pistol from a nightstand. Peters said he had unloaded the weapon's magazine but that somehow the gun fired. He told a detective that he "must have" pulled the trigger. The girl was knocked to the ground and instantly turned blue.

About 20 minutes after the shooting, detectives with the Sheriff's Office went to Peters' home and arrested him.

Peters said he had been drinking "double vodkas" while he and his wife were cleaning guns. Peters, who has a concealed-weapons permit, said he didn't notice whether the hammer was cocked when the gun was fired. He told police that the gun has a double action, and had a "hair trigger," according to court documents. Peters said he was uncertain whether the girl had pulled back the slide, which would put a cartridge in the chamber.

Peters' wife told police a different story. She said she went upstairs to get the gun. She told police that Peters emptied the gun, then pulled the slide back and it fired. The woman said she didn't notice until just before the gunshot that her daughter was in the room.

The girl's 8-year-old and 3-year-old siblings were not in the room. Child Protective Services removed the other children from the home.

When deputies arrived at the home, Peters was sitting out front with a neighbor, uttering that he had "just killed his little girl." He made statements about "harming himself."

Peters told detectives he'd been handling guns since age seven, often goes shooting with friends and that all his children had handled guns. Peters told police he was "very proficient" with firearms, but that while shooting pumpkins the day after Halloween he had accidentally fired a shotgun. Peters told officers he didn't know the friend he was shooting with had handed him a loaded shotgun.

Jack-o'-lanterns often are used for target practice at post-Halloween pumpkin shoots. The shot went downrange, and no one was hurt. People there apparently talked to Peters about the incident. (info from Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Unknown wacko keeps reporting fake fires to 911

One man in Indianapolis is responsible for at least four false 911 calls since June, leading firefighters to nonexistence blazes at the same house.

In one call, the man claimed to be driving by a home on fire, in another he said it's his home and that his children are inside.

"I need the fire department at 2731 N. Baltimore, fast. My house is on fire and my son is in there and my baby is in there," the man tells an operator in one call. "They cannot get out and I can't get back in. The whole front of my house is on fire."

In each case a fire station dispatched at least six fire trucks. Firefighters who work there say it's a high-stress situation that can turn dangerous. "It puts all of us in danger and all the people that are on the street driving are in danger. So, it's a bad situation for everybody," said Capt. Mike Fagan.

Others said it's clear that the caller is the one who needs some help.

"Actually, I kind of feel sorry for them, that they need to do that on a daily basis or they have nothing better to do," said Pvt. Steve Ross. "They're putting people at risk."

Indianapolis police said they are actively pursuing the case. "It's very disturbing and it's not good. We need to find out who this individual is so it can cease immediately," said Indianapolis police Lt. Jeffery Duhamell.

False reporting is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. (info from The Indy Channel)

Time Out

I'm taking a few days off

Over-reaction to 911 call: six cops, no arrests

With 911 reports indicating that a man had kicked in the door of a home in Stanhope, Iowa Monday afternoon and then assaulted a woman by hitting her with a vehicle, a fleet of area law enforcement officers rushed in to help.

There were six squad cars with their warning lights flashing outside the home.
Responding to the scene were two Webster City Police officers, two Iowa State Patrol officers, the Ellsworth/Jewell/Stanhope Police Department, and one Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy.

Steve Butler, chief of the Ellsworth/Jewell/Stanhope Department reported that the incident was verbal only and no charges would be filed. (info from The Daily Freeman-Journal)

Woman called 911 to get cop to open her beer

An elderly woman who had trouble falling asleep bought a few bottles of beer, which she thought would make her sleepy.

Unfortunately, she did not have the right kind of bottle opener, so she called 911 to request help.

"I went out and bought me some small bottles of beer. I thought that would put me to sleep," the caller says.

"What's the problem?," the dispatcher asks.

The caller says, "The problem is I can't open the bottle, can you send a man over?"

Although this was not an emergency, the compassionate 911 operator did send help.

CLICK to hear a recording of the call.

Homeless man called 911 to ask to go to jail

A homeless man in Fort Walton Beach, Florida called 911 from a payphone Thursday because he wanted to go to jail.

He called 911 but hung up. An officer went to the area anyway.

The man said he called 911 because he wanted to go to jail. "I informed (him) that I did not have a reason to take him to jail," the officer said. Then the man said he had marijuana, pulled it out of his sock and dropped it on the back of the patrol car.

He was taken to the police department, where officers also found rolling paper on him. The man was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. (Info from Northwest Florida Daily News)

Pennsylvania wireless 911 system failed test

Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner recently recommended that the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency improve its administration of the statewide Wireless E-911 Emergency Services Program, after a special performance audit determined that a fully operational statewide system was not in place by June 30.

Auditors found that 11 of 69 call centers could not pinpoint the location of cellphone users placing emergency 911 calls -- even though PEMA had invested $214 million to build the system. The funds were derived from a $1 monthly surcharge the wireless service providers collected from Pennsylvania cellphone customers.

Auditors determined that inadequate staffing played a central role in the program's shortcomings, including PEMA's inability to make sure that the $214 million in funding had been disbursed prudently to county call centers.

"Taxpayers have a right to expect that when they pay for something, it should work as intended and it should be completed on time," Wagner said. "This is not a civics debate; it is a matter of life and death. When every second counts, and with more and more people relying on cellphones as their only communications device, it's imperative that the wireless E-911 system fulfill its goal of providing a caller's precise location to emergency responders. I strongly recommend that PEMA implement all of the recommendations made in our audit." (info from Government Technology)

911 center screwed up a second murder call

For the second time this year, the Dane County, Wisconsin 911 Center neglected to dispatch police officers in a timely manner before a homicide.

According to a statement released by the Dane County Public Safety Communications, two noise complaint phone calls were received on the Public Safety Communication’s non-emergency line at 9:18 p.m. and 9:34 p.m.

Police were not sent to the scene until approximately 11 p.m. after receiving an emergency call from a cellphone reporting a dead body. The body was identified as Mark Gregory Johnson.

“The call was called at a non-emergency number but the 911 Center did pick up the telephone and process the call, but they didn’t follow the procedures as they should have,” said Alderman Larry Palm.

Last spring, the 911 Center was under fire for the mishandling of a phone call from University of Wisconsin junior Brittany Zimmermann’s phone on the day of her murder.

In September, then-911 Center Director Joe Norwick resigned from his position, and the center is still seeking a full-time replacement.

Palm said there were an ample number of officers on duty the evening of Nov. 3 when the calls were received indicating excessive noise and escalating violence. During both noise complaint calls, the 911 dispatcher agreed to send police to the scene of the incident.

“The irony is that the new policy adapted by the 911 Board wasn’t followed,” Palm said. “The first call is logged, and (after) the second call, police are dispatched. It is ironic that for both phone calls, the police said they would respond. Clearly, the management understands the incredible pressure at this moment,” Palm said. “They have clearly not been able to reform underlying issues.” (info from The Badger Herald)

House damaged after 911 call goes unanswered

Police in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada are looking for answers after a 911 call about an out-of-control Halloween night house party never got dispatched to the local police station.

The result, which came after a series of complaints about the party, left one home with multiple damages after it was pelted with rocks by suspected party-goers at a neighboring residence.

“It’s safe to say our officers have done inquiries in relation to all of the phone calls, and it would appear that the last phone call was never dispatched down to the Vernon detachment,” said Vernon Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman Gord Molendyk. “We are definitely following up on this. We want to find out exactly what happened in relation to how these calls came in. We’ve asked for transcripts of the calls in relation to the complaints.”

According to Molendyk, police received a complaint of a noisy house party shortly after 11 p.m. Friday. Vernon bylaw officers, who work evening shifts and handle noisy party complaints, were sent to the house. Molendyk said the bylaw officer told police the party was subsiding, and no police officers were sent out.

Ken and Melanie Westgarde, the homeowners whose home was damaged by vandals, say they placed four calls to RCMP. Melanie Westgarde said that her husband made the first call at 10:30, saying a firecracker had hit their home, and an officer called back at 11:15 to see how the party was going, and informed the Westgardes that he would not be attending because of a busy Halloween evening, but would still try to send somebody out to the party.

Between 11:30 and 12, the violence started to escalade, and Ken Westgarde called the RCMP non-emergency line for the second time and asked to have an officer sent out. The Westgardes say no officer showed up at their door that they are aware of.

After hearing an explosion outside, and with rocks being thrown at their home, through their home and at them, Ken Westgarde called 911 at 12:30 and asked to have a police officer sent out immediately. None came out, say the couple.

By 2:15, the crowd had dispersed, and the RCMP were phoned again, at their non-emergency number. And Westgarde was told that nobody was going to come out.

“At the time, I was shocked,” said Ken Westgarde. “The biggest thing was I called 911, I got a hold of somebody. What happened after that I don’t know. The police never came out.”

The Westgarde’s home suffered several broken windows and other damage, and rock damage to a vehicle.

The incident is not sitting well with the local police. “We as the police department for this community take our service to the public very, very seriously,” said Molendyk. “We do not like to have anyone who calls 911 not to get service. We’d like to know the answer as to what happened.”

This is not the first incident involving Vernon RCMP and an unanswered 911 call. A Vernon woman is suing the local RCMP after she was beaten by her then-boyfriend in June 2004. She called 911 during her boyfriend’s attack on her, but police did not arrive until 90 minutes after her original call. (info from Vernon Morning Star)

Kidnap victim called 911 from car trunk

Police in Kernersville, North Carolina are searching for two men accused of kidnapping a woman.

She called 911 around 2:11AM last Wednesday morning to report she was kidnapped. Deputies later found a wrecked vehicle that they determined to be stolen.

Deputies located the vehicle with GPS technology and found the kidnapped woman in the trunk. She was not injured. Police are searching for the suspects. (info from WFMY)

Florida woman made false 911 call about her shooting burglar

A Fort Pierce, Florida woman was warned that Halloween is not a day to trick law officers. She was charged with misuse of the 911 system after she allegedly made several non-emergency calls Friday.

According to an arrest affidavit, Sara Coyne called 911 saying she shot a person who was breaking into her home. Sheriff’s deputies responded to the call with flashing lights and sirens.

Coyne told deputies she fired a .357 magnum because “someone tried to get into my house so I defended myself.”

But none of her neighbors heard a gun shot and Coyne refused to show deputies the gun she used, the report states.

Earlier that day, Coyne had called 911 and said children were in front of her house “making noise” and she wanted a deputy to make them move. (info from TCPalm.com)