Tapes Reveal Deputies’ Response Before Shooting

Two sheriff’s deputies who responded to a report of a “riot” in a Washtenaw County (Mich.) neighborhood drove past a crowd of people and took no action, about 45 minutes before a shooting at the same location that wounded a woman. Dashboard video of the sheriff’s response, along with 911 logging tapes show that deputies weren’t dispatched for an hour, and then took no action when they arrived. On the dashboard camera video, one deputy told her partner, “We’re not doing anything…Yup.” The AnnArbor.com Web site obtained the tapes and pieced together a timeline of the incident, starting with a 12:56 a.m. 911 call that first reported the huge party. Two deputies arrived at 2:06 a.m. in response to that first call and another five minutes later, but chose to take no action. A third 911 call at 2:26 a.m. reported someone was being threatened with a gun, but deputies weren’t dispatched. Finally, at 2:48 a.m. callers began dialing 911 to report a shooting. During one call a woman is yelling into a cellular phone, and in the background there are the sounds of other people yelling and screaming. On the logging tape, the dispatcher tells the caller, “Can you shut your mouth and answer my questions, please?” The caller immediately becomes more coherent and begins to answer specific questions (call #2). Deputies reached the victim at 2:59 a.m. Read more and listen to the 911 calls here.