Has anyone ever been "saved" from a human threat by using 911 or cell phone?

G

Glamdring

New member
I know people here on TFL and elsewhere that have stopped Goblins with guns, knifes, or even empty hands. Or simply thru attitude.

I don't know anyone who has ever used 911/cell phone to defend themself or someone else.

I think it probably does happen, but I wonder just how commen it saves people. I am not talking about getting medical aid after injury, but where you manage to evade or stay alive long enough that they come and rescue you.

***
I have called LE to back me up (security work) before going into situation and have been able to call and let them deal with a things that were getting out of hand before it crossed the line and I stepped in personally.
 
Depends on how you define it. If you consider calling the po-po to deal with someone trying to get into a house (a burglary in progress), then yes, this happens every day.

Robberies-in-progress? This too happens, but at a rate so low that it distresses gun-control advocates enough that they don't like to publish such figures.

The difference being that the burglar has to spend a few minutes (yes, optimistic estimate) getting into the house, giving 5-0 a chance to race to the scene. A robbery is probably over before the 911 call gets dispatched.

Mike
 
When I was in High School I developed a taste for rap music. (I have since matured) A lot of times there were references to 911 being a joke. With the police not showing up in poor neighborhoods.

I always thought it was a load of crap. I was still naive about the way the world worked.

Then in my neighborhood there was a drive-by shooting. No-one was hurt. In fact they just shot at an empty house. When it happened, half of the neighborhood dialed 911 to report the shooting in the middle of the afternoon. Our neighborhood had a lot of people involved in the local department's Citizen Patrol program. A lot of us did our best to support the cops in anyway we could.

When we called 911 that day to report a shooting the police department serving the city of Port Orange, Florida NEVER showed up.

911 really is a joke.

Sorry if I seem to be venting but in my experience 911 is better used to summon medical or fire assistance then police.
 
Cell phones don't stop aggressive human behavior.

They will:

A) Allow you to call for emergency medical assistance post-incident.

B) Allow you to call for authorities (thereby validating yourself as the "victim" in the eyes of said authorities since you were the first to report.).

C) Allow you to report information to authorities about an incident that you have just witnessed.

The presence of a cell phone is useful for it's ability as a mobile communication device, nothing more.
 
Good question, Glamdring, but pbarrick has it right. Cell phones are just communication devices and 911 is just a message service.

I've heard and read reports of aggressive drivers desisting when the other driver picked up a cell phone as though calling 911, but nothing further on that. I can imagine a 911 call cooling off a hot head, but it's just as easy to imagine it having no effect.

It's unfair and a great disservice to the public for grabber groups to promote 911 as an alternative to taking responsibility for your own security. 911 was intended to provide a faster link to emergency services than going through switchboards cluttered with other calls. It works, and the kind of emergencies it works for are fires, medical emergencies, accidents, and a multitude of other things where help is needed fast.

The police are not legally obligated to protect you as an individual, but they are obligated to protect "you" as a member of society. They protect "you" by arresting a speeding driver just as they protect "you" by shooting it out with armed felons. But, it's nothing personal.

Wouldn't be very efficient if it was. There would need to be 4.2 LEOs for every citizen since they can only be required to work 40 hour weeks....

You want protection from a personal threat? Take care of it yourself or hire somebody yourself. It's not the job of the police.
 
More than once in our family business did we get a 'customer' to vacate the premises after getting out of hand and threatening employees. An offer to have the police come sort things out via being on phone usually made the trouble makers leave without further incident.

One decided he would 'call our bluff' and the cops arrived a few minutes later, heard both sides of the discussion, asked for ID from the guy, then arrested him for an outstanding warrant.

911 is not a joke. It is an overloaded system in just about every area where it is used. Usually, taxpayers do not want to pay for the extra 911 operators, fire, and police personnel to make the system work to its potential.

Okay, so there is a driveby shooting with no known injuries. Is that really an incident that needs response by the police compared to those incidents going on where there are actual people getting injured? No. Sure, we would like to see the boys in blue roll out every time something goes wrong, but until we are willing to double or triple the size of the personnel and equipment in emergency response services, 911 is not going to be effective. And even when there are people hurt, just how many things are going on at that time where other people are hurt or resources have already been allocated. Unfortunately, each caller does not get immediate and total attention of emergency support services. There is no way for that to happen with the way things are right now.

Personally, I don't know which is the bigger joke, the folks who think 911 is their savior or those folks who tell you 911 is their savior. For some strange reason, between the two groups, there are those who think they are no longer responsible for their own welling being. There is a whole other group of people who feel that the police are there to 'serve' them for whatever needs they have from unruly dogs, loud stereos, etc.

911 isn't a joke, but just because you called it does not mean that you are now everybodies' top priority. That is reality and we all have to deal with it.

It amazes me. In Dallas, the mayor does not want to give raises to the PD and Fire Departments, raises that are long over due because that would cause a budget shortfall. And yet people blame the fire and police departments for not being johnny on the spot. Why we don't pay the people who risk their lives for us more money is beyond me. Why those people risk their lives for what they get paid is beyond me.
 
Just recently, my cell phone saved me from a serious incident.

I was at the airport in Philly. The security line was very long. Luckily, I had enough time.

There were two operating scanners. About 30 people before the scanner, Security separated us into two lines. When I was about 10 people from the scanner, it went down.

Surely they have a plan for dealing with a downed scanner. After all, the Feds just took over security at this airport.

No. The other line kept moving. We stood still. We asked if we could move to the other line, so we could get through. NO. We waited 15 mins while they tried to re-boot the scanner. Finally, I whilled out my cell and loudly asked for the area code here, so I could call directory assistance to get the airport's main number. When I got to directory assistance and asked for the number for Philly airport security, they magically decided we could continue moving. WHILE THEY CHECKED ALL OUR BAGS BY HAND. Everything out. Everything back in.

We coulda just gone through the other line....

But if I hadn't made that call, we could still be standing there.
 
I wasn't "saved" but I did get decent response the time I called.

I was watching TV with the wife and heard some banging out by the garbage cans. I figured the cats were getting into mischeif. I went out the back door to look and then a guy comes past the back corner of the house by the patio where I had just come out of the house. (DANGER DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!) I could tell he wasn't quite together and told him to leave or I would call the cops. He left. I went inside, locked the back door, and loaded the shotgun while calling 911. I stayed on the line with the operator and within just a few minutes an officer showed up. He talked to the guy who was out at the front of the house by now. He was drunk and trying to get home. The cop sent him on his way, talked to me a bit then made sure the drunk made it home.

I was happy with the response from 911/the police. I was even more happy I had the shotgun. If it was to happen again, I would take the shotgun or the pistol with me to check on the "cats".

jhisaac
 
Yes,

In my much younger years, I had learned that often a quick mouth( a good bluff) was a good way to prevent physical injury. This was pre-cell phones, though, so I don't know if this counts, but here goes.....

I was out "in the field" doing house inspections, when I came out of a house, the realtor who had let me in for the inspection said that there was a "crazy man" out in the street. My inspection appointments were set by the office staff so I was due at another place in fifteen minutes...so I sat it out for five minutes then went outside.

I didn't see anyone in the street, so when I started to walk across the street to my car, I had my keys in my hand and my 5 D cell maglite in the other. But up popped the crazy guy who was laying down on the dirt near the passenger side of my car. He had a rock about the size of a bowling ball and he threatened to smash my windshield for me or me if I didn't give him some money.

I tried to close in enough to try to get him to throw the rock and lose his weaapon, but he was determined to stick near my car. That's when I figured I'd try " the bluff...." I grabbed my beeper/pager and said, "See this? It's a phone and I am going to call the police right now and give them your description."
To which, his retort, was," You're kidding."
Witty rapport..."Just stay here and in a minute, you'll find out when the cavalry arrives."

His response? Throw the rock down on the street and run a way.

A year later I got to try this ruse again, but with not so successfuly results...but that's a story for another time.

Does this one qualify?
 
Just last week in Taswell County IL, a sheriff's deputy responded to a 911 hang-up call. (Yes out here in flyover country the enhanced 911 system gives you the location of every call except from cell phones and an officer is dispatched to check out every 911 call that is disconnected before the operator makes contact.)

Upon arrival the deputy found a domstic disturbance in progress. An EDP (mother's boyfriend) was sitting on the bed holding her 15 month old daughter in his lap with a knife to her throat. As the deputy approached, the man stabbed the child in the throat, the deputy fired three times hitting the man in the leg and in the head, killing him. The child was rushed to the hospital where she was treated and then released the next day.

I have no doubt that in this case, if it wasn't for enhanced 911 15 month old Caitlin Rains and maybe her mother would be dead.

I will look in newspapers around Peoria, IL for a story with a link.

That said...you can't count on anyone but yourself when things go bad.

Jeff
 
911 really is a joke.
Click to expand...

No, it's not. There are jurisdictions that don't have a good police response. There are others that have pretty darn good police response. I live in a town with the latter; sounds like you may live in a town with the former.

Not too long ago, I was home during a weekday and noticed a young man carrying a bag in an odd way, cut through a neighbors yard, cross the street, cut through our yard, and continue on. He wasn't from the neighborhood, and it seemed a bit odd (besides the fact that I don't particularly care for tresspassers). So I called the police non-emergency line. I told the dispatcher that it was no big deal, but if they had someone free they might want to check the guy out since he seemed out of place. A cruiser came screaming down our street 2 minutes later. About 10 minutes later, the officer stopped by to get a better description. He continued looking for the guy, finally found him, checked him out, and nothing was amiss.

And then there was this occasion where two departments went to a fair bit of trouble to check on our welfare:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=117007

I have no doubt that if I call 911 in distress, the police in my town will come running and they will be there fast. It may not be fast enough, but it won't be for want of their trying.

M1911
 
A few months ago I was confronted by a road rage idiot, who had taken offense that I was driving on the same busy road as he was, and I had the nerve to only go 10 miles over the speed limit,
and get in his way while he was attempting to break the sound barrier in his RACE TRUCK ( a toyota with toyota racing development on the rear)

We stopped at a red light and I had cars in front behind and to both sides of me, and my 5 year old daughter in the back seat.

He jumps out and starts yelling and threatening me (I was 2 cars behind him at that point) and walks up to my drivers side window.

I cracked the window enough to tell him that I had called the police on my cell phone, which I held up for him to see in my left hand.

Fortunately that was enough to encourage him, after he uttered two curse words to get back in his truck. ( he did not attempt physical contact)

What he did not see was plan B, in my right hand behind my leg was my Glock 26 loaded with 11 federal hydra shoks.

So threatening to call 911 and displaying my cell phone was enough.

I suspect that the individual was intoxicated, and he was wearing his DuPont Co id with his picture and name on his waist.
A large belligerent idiot.

My cell phone probably saved HIS life that day. With my daughter in the back seat crying, I would have most likely shot him had he made any attemt tp get into the car or assault me.
 
Pepper spray is a good response to that kind of threat, Master Blaster. It also helps to have your car parked so you can see the wheels of the car in front. That gives you enough room to go around or push 'em out of the way.

I'm glad the cell phone worked as a deterrent in this case. It's not something I would rely on in future situations, though.
 
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