Dispatchers Recall Scariest 911 Call, Shoot-Out

The two Washington County (Ore.) dispatchers who handled a critical incident one year ago were affected in different ways—calltaker Jessica Newell later listened to the 82-minute 911 call during a debriefing. But radio dispatcher Nate Roder has never heard the logging tape of his broadcasts coordinating the response from several agencies. The two recalled their work during a recent interview with a news reporter, providing a rare and revealing glimpse into how a critical incident affects dispatchers both during and after an incident. Newell fielded a 911 call from the wife of an off-duty police officer. She said her husband was intoxicated, armed and threatening. The wife had locked herself in a bathroom with her 5 year-old daughter, and spoke to Newell during the entire incident. Roder coordinated the initial response by sheriff’s deputies and later other officers from around the county. It was tense, emotional and eventually successful—the man surrendered, despite several periods of gunfire exchanged between the suspect and officers. For Newell, “Exhaustion hit her after she hung up. She felt relief, then anger,” the reporter wrote. “But that anger mixed with sadness. Her emotions went up and down, changing and evolving.” Her involvement was complicated by her husband’s involvement in the incident—he’s a sheriff’s deputy. “Roder’s stress lifted,” after the incident, the story says. “He focused on the fact that no one was seriously injured. He took a lunch break, returned and started working.” Read the full story here.