Posted on 03/04/2015 3:56:57 AM PST by marktwain
The quality of the operator that you contact with a 911 call varies greatly. Some departments start their officers as dispatchers, so that they understand what is happening on the other end of the line; in some jurisdictions, the job is a political plum to be awarded; in others the position is a heavily protected union job. In many departments, the person answering the 911 call is a dispatcher; in others there are separate operators that hand the call to dispatchers. In all cases, the operator or dispatcher is not there with you; they do not know what you know, and they do not face the danger that you face. All 911 calls are recorded, so know that everything that you say during a call, or that is caught by a phone mike, can and will be used both for and against you in a court of law.
Operator suggestions given over the phone are not commands backed up by the force of law. People often misunderstand this, as was seen in the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case, where many people claimed that Zimmerman did not obey police "orders". That was never the case. A dispatcher/operator does not give orders; and Zimmerman appears to have done what he was asked.
There have been many cases of dispatchers/operators giving bad advice. Many times an armed victim has been asked to "put down the gun" in the face of a deadly threat. In a recent case in Texas, an armed citizen was told to do exactly that. From click2houston.com:
"I grabbed my firearm and took after them and when I caught up to them I told them to get down," he said. "I shot one round into the ground… to show them I wasn't carrying a BB gun."In this case, no one was hurt by the "warning shot". I have known of cases where armed citizens fired shots to inform antagonists that what they carried was a real gun. I generally advise against "warning shots", but there are exeptions to every policy.
Meeks said while holding two of the three teens at bay with his gun drawn, he dialed 911, but when he told the 911 operator he had a gun on the kids, the operator told him to put the gun down. Meeks said when he did, one of the two teens bolted off.
Finally.A happy ending.With one sad note.The 911 operator being an untrained idiot.You got the bad guys under gun point?Well put the gun down,so they can all run off,or pull out their gun and kill you.Really?Remember, operator/dispatchers are not there with you. Their suggestions do not have the force of law. They may have valuable information and/or advice, but it is up to you, the person at the scene, to use it wisely.
They might be an idiot. Or they might be a liberal. But I repeat myself.
When the 911 operator asked me how many guns I had in my house is when I decided to no longer call 911.
Especially in this county!
My experience calling 911 mirrors my experience ordering at McDonalds. It is impossible to front load information to them.
Me, “I’d like a #3 meal, medium, with a diet coke to go”.
McDonalds, “Would you like a meal?, What size? What would you like to drink? For here or to go?”
911, “This is 911.”
Me, “There is an older black homeless guy threatening a woman and her children with a knife at the corner of Water and Jefferson. Get a cop here now.”
911, “What is the nature of your emergency? What does the man look like? Is he armed? Is anyone being threatened? What is your location?”
Its been like that every time that I’ve ever called 911.
Phil Robertson said it best when he said I am 911 where I live.
The appropriate response:
Dispatcher: put the gun down.
Caller: F**k you, lady!
CC
The fastest response I ever got from calling 911 is when she asked me if the guy was still in my store and I responded with, “Yeah hurry!” Four cops showed up with two minutes.
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