Law Dispatcher

Each call that a Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) responds to has the potential to be deadly.  The unknown is the worst enemy.  As a 911 calltaker, we are trained to listen to the caller, determine within a few brief seconds what to code the call and proceed to answer the appropriate questions that are attached to that code.  One of the first questions will be “Does anyone have any weapons?”  It’s an important question that can save an officer’s life and potentially any other first responder.  If the question has a positive response, the next question should be “What kind of weapon is it…a gun or knife…”  Weapons come in all forms.  I entertained calls where vehicles were used as the weapon.  It is important for the LEO to know what he’s up against.  Arriving on scene to granny holding Billy Bob at gun point is going to cause the officer to draw his weapon on granny until he determines that he and Billy Bob are no longer in danger from the deranged granny.  Even if granny is no longer on scene when the LEO arrives, it’s important to know that granny is packing heat in her bloomers and that it’s a .9mm Smith & Wesson.  That way, when backup is enroute to the call and spots an old lady on her moped fitting the description of granny, he knows what kind of goodies she’s holding.  The more specific a caller can be about the type of weapon and the location of it, the better.  For instance, it would be highly unlikely that granny would be packing a musket gun in her bloomers, but a small .32 cal would not be unreasonable.

If you’re a caller, remain calm and clearly tell the 911  operator what you know.  If you don’t know, it’s ok to say “I don’t know.”  The questions may sound unreasonable or out of the ordinary but there are good reasons for these questions.  I will attempt to go over these questions in further postings.

As for now, stay safe.