Go to the previous page of logging tapes.
- Helicopter crash – In July 2011 a small helicopter crashed near South Brunswick (NJ), and witnesses called 911, including one person who walked over to the chopper to check on the occupants during the call.
- Officer shooting – In August 2011 a San Diego police officer was shot and killed in his patrol car by a suspect in a previous shooting. A citizen used Off. Jeremy Henwood’s radio to call for help. A local radio scanner Web site posted the logging tapes it made of the radio traffic. Click the main link for the one-hour tape, or listen to 3-minute clips of the initial shooting response, and suspect capture.
- Multiple murders – In August 2011 a man in Copley (Ohio) shot eight people, killing seven of them, and then killed himself. Police believe the shootings stemmed from a dispute with family and neighbors. The first 911 call was from a neighbor about someone shooting a gun, and a second caller reported that gunfire had come through her window.
- Stabbing murder – In August 2011 a Lorain County (Ohio) corrections officer dialed 911 to say that he had stabbed his wife to death. Dispatcher Joy Sanchez answered the call and handled the tense situation, audibly affected by her personal acquaintance with William Dembie.
- Hoax kidnapping – In August 2011 a 15 year-old in Aurora (Colo.) allegedly dialed 911 and falsely claimed an intruder was at her home to kidnap her. Police believe Jasmine Fike made the call to cover up her leaving home with a known criminal.
- Train accident – In Sept. 2011 a 17 year-old girl and three friends tried to hop a freight train in Longmont (Colo.) back to Fort Collins. The friends were successful, but the girl fell and both legs were severed by the train’s wheels. A passing former EMT and nurse rushed to the girl aid and treated her until EMS units arrived. The former EMT dialed 911 to describe the scene.
- iHop shooting – In Sept. 2011 a man walked into a Carson City (Nev.) iHop restaurant and began shooting with an AK-47 type weapon, killing four persons and wounding seven, some of them National Guard members. He then killed himself. Several people dialed 911 for help. (First call above link, subsequent calls here.)
- Murder 911 – In Sept. 2011 a Wilmington (NC) man dialed 911 to report he had accidentally shot his wife in the head. Police responded and later charged Davis Ray Belton with murder.
- Murder 911 – In Sept. 2006 an 83 year-old Eddmonton (Canada) man dialed 911 and immediately reported, “I have smothered my wife.” Noel Lavery was charged with murder and went to trial in Sept. 2011, where the call was played in court.
- Shark bite – In Sept. 2011 a group was fishing off Manatee (Fla.) when a man was bitten by a shark. A woman in the group dialed 911 and reached A-shift Manatee County dispatcher Amy Todd.
- Burglary shooting – In April 2011 two men burglarized a Seattle (Wash.) business, where a worker was sleeping in response to several prior burglaries. The employee shot and killed one suspect, and then dialed 911 for help.
- Multiple shootings – In Oct. 2011 a man entered a Seal Beach (S. Calif.) beauty salon, fatally shot his wife, and then shot several other customers. Eight persons were killed and Scott Dekraai was arrested nearby by police.
- Murder 911 call – In Oct. 2011 a Mountain Lakes (NY) man dialed 911 to report he had just killed a co-worker. Leonardo Parera explained he was now sitting in a car and armed. He fired on arriving police and was killed by returning gunfire.
- Runaway car – In Oct. 2011 a woman driving in La Cañada (S. Calif.) had her accelerator stick, and dialed 911 for help. The call was fielded by Los Angeles County sheriff’s dispatcher Richard Engersbach, who helped her stop the car.
- Mass shooting – In Oct. 2011 an upset employee at a Cupertino (N. Calif.) cement factory shot 10 people, killing two, and then fled. Several employees dialed 911 for help. Hours later Shareef Allman shot and killed a woman several miles away and took her car. The next day Allman killed himself when confronted by deputies.
- Murder-suicide – In April 2011 a man in Elyria (NY) dialed 911 to report he had killed his wife. However, the 911 calltaker talked over his confession and did not hear what Virgil McCoy said. The call was then transferred to Elyria police, and the cellular connection was dropped. McCoy and his wife weren’t found until 14 hours later.
- Murder – In August 2011 a University of Idaho professor shot and killed one of his students, with whom is was having a relationship. Katy Benoit was on the back porch of her apartment, and the gunshots prompted roommates to run from the building, get in a car and drive away as they dialed 911.
- Home attack – In Oct. 2011 unknown suspects fired a shotgun several times at a family’s home in Charleston (SC), wounding the father and fatally wounding a 5 year-old girl. The mother dialed 911 for help first, and the wounded father also called.
- Double murder – In Oct. 2011 a man stabbed his daughter and granddaughter inside their Chicago apartment. Miguel Renteria dialed 911 to confess the crime and was arrested by police.
- DUI call – In Nov. 2011 a man in Jacksonville (Fla.) dialed 911 to report a possible DUI driver, and stayed on the call for 12 minutes, reporting his location. Police officials are concerned the call wasn’t handled properly: the man told the mostly-silent calltaker that he had run a red traffic signal to continue his pursuit of the vehicle.