Another night at work
May 18, 2011
9-1-1, geek, Personal dispatcher, Jim Reeves, visalia Leave a comment
The things they ask us…
February 5, 2011
9-1-1, commentary, Humor, News, Personal 9-1-1 marijuana, Connecticut, Farmington, Robert Michelson 2 Comments
21 year old Robert Michelson of Farmington, Connecticut called 9-1-1 to ask if he would get in trouble for having a marijuana plant. The 9-1-1 call can be heard at KFSN TV ABC30’s website, here.
The answer was “yes”. He has the right to remain silent. He should have availed himself of that right before calling 9-1-1. Apparently Robert is not one of the brighter lights of the Farmington area.
He might have gotten away with it, if he’d only used a pre-paid or basic model cell phone. Those can’t be traced. He used, apparently, his wired phone at home. We know EXACTLY where those phones are…
Think of the dumbest question someone might ask a 9-1-1 operator (other than the one Robert asked), and I can assure you someone has already asked it of a dispatcher recently. You’ve heard about the chicken nuggets lady, I’m sure. Or the Whopper not done his way guy. People will call about anything. Most do not end up in jail.
The oddest thing I’ve been asked on 9-1-1?
“When is the fog going to be turned off?”
What’s YOUR emergency??
They Said WHAT?
January 21, 2011
9-1-1, commentary, Personal 9-1-1, dispatcher stories, police dispatching Leave a comment
Sometimes you just wouldn’t believe some of the things I hear on the radio at work.
What’s even more fun is some of the things I get to say!
Don’t Bring Your Pistol To A Shotgun Fight
January 14, 2011
9-1-1, commentary gang wars, guns 1 Comment
Crazy night last night, with two shootings going down within minutes of each other.
The first one was handled by one of the cities we dispatch for, so we weren’t calling out our detectives and such, but anytime there’s an incident like this the dispatch center becomes quite active. It’s not helpful when the reporting party is not answering your questions during the 9-1-1 call, and the shooting victim is trying to leave the scene! Getting enough officers there to secure the scene, allow emergency medical units to roll in, and then figuring out what happened and whether or not there is a suspect to locate all make for a busy time.
It doesn’t help when ANOTHER shooting happens shortly afterwards! At least it was at the other end of the county, so that one dispatcher wasn’t having to handle two critical incidents on one channel!
Details are sketchy at this time, but the first incident has the victim with a couple of gunshot wounds being treated. The second is a bit more head shaking…
Initial reports suggest (and don’t quote me on this since the reality at these scenes tends to be somewhat different from what was originally reported) that someone tried to shoot up a rival gang member’s home. With a handgun. Rival came out shooting with a shot gun. Guess who won? The shotgun wielder was not the one transported to the hospital.
Hell of a night. And on a Thursday, too. 2011 is getting off to a real bang up start.
Santa BOLO and Radio Silliness
December 25, 2010
9-1-1, commentary, geek, Humor, Personal, podcast radio silliness, Santa BOL, Santa broadcast, TCSO Leave a comment
Sometimes we get to have some fun. Here’s our annual BOLO (be on the lookout) for Santa. People stay up till after midnight to hear this every year, and every year it’s a bit different.
Many hours later, after a typically busy night (yep, Christmas is non-stop running from one call to the next)(did you hear the phones ringing constantly in the background?) one of the units cleared a loud music call in a slightly different than usual manner… so I responded in kind.
We were busy from 7pm till I left at 3am. And dispatch was short handed all night long. It’s been a long, tiring shift, and I’m ready for bed! Then I get to get up and do it all over again tonight.
It’s Really Not My Fault
December 9, 2010
9-1-1, commentary, Humor, Personal 9-1-1 dispatcher stories, I don't know where I am, not my fault Leave a comment
Lady, don’t be getting exasperated with me because YOU don’t know where you are! You’re walking on a street in a town you’ve lived in for some time, there are signs on the corners with the street names, and houses nearby with their numbers! You should be bright enough to figure out where the hell you are if you can manage to work the damned cell phone! And you’ve reproduced! I can hear your kids whining and crying in the background because of the drama you’ve induced!
Yeah, call me back when you get to where you going, even though you don’t know the address of that residence, either!
I love my job. Really.
Oh, she did call back. Actually, the people at the house she was going to called, because the drama that started at the first place followed her over to the other place. It took the cops to defuse the situation.
I love my job. Really.
Some of the people I deal with… not so much. It’s job security, though. Remember what I said? She’s reproduced already. Very likely ‘same song, second verse’ in a few years.
9-1-1… what’s YOUR emergency??
9-1-1 101
November 8, 2010
9-1-1, commentary, Personal 9-1-1, ambulance, dispatcher, emergency calls, fire, police Leave a comment
The 4-1-1 on 9-1-1
9-1-1 is intended to be used for emergencies. Barking dogs, loud music, and other routine calls should be placed on the seven digit number to your local law enforcement agency. Find those numbers, and put them in your speed dials and memory slots, and they’ll be available when you want them.
If you need an ambulance, or a fire truck, or see a crime in progress, THAT’s when you dial 9-1-1. If you’re in doubt, err on the side of caution, and dial 9-1-1. There is no charge, and you won’t get in trouble if you don’t really have an emergency but called anyway.
Here’s a little known fact about 9-1-1: it’s not one big room, with everybody’s 9-1-1 line going there. We can’t stand up and yell “Hey! Boston! Line 2!” (thanks, Linda – I love that image!) Another little known fact: in all but the biggest cities, the same people who answer the seven digit numbers answer the 9-1-1 lines. The thing is, 9-1-1 lines have priority. And they are limited in number. If you’re calling in on one for something that is NOT an emergency, you are tying up a line that someone else may need. You’re also tying up an operator who may be delayed answering the next 9-1-1 line for a real emergency.
When you call 9-1-1 about, say, a traffic accident, and it’s taking forever for someone to answer, it’s most likely due to everyone else around you also calling on their phones, and we’re working our way through multiple reports about the same incident. Don’t hang up and dial again, that just puts you at the end of the line. The phones are all computers now, and they line up the calls in the order they are received.
When you dial 9-1-1 from your cell phone, here’s the most important thing you need to know:
Call Of The Day – They be stealin’ walnuts!
November 4, 2010
9-1-1, commentary 9-1-1 calls, ag crimes, call of the day, crazy mom, walnut theft 1 Comment
Walnuts are a big crop in this area. Orchards spread out around the outskirts of Visalia, and throughout this region of Central California. I’ve always pretty much taken them for granted, they’ve been a staple of my life since childhood. With the advent of mechanized harvesting, walnut theft has taken on new dimensions. Part of the problem is the way most crops are harvested these days. A honkin’ machine rolls up and grabs the trunk of the tree, and proceeds to shake the hell out of it! Walnuts cascade to the ground, and once the operator is satisfied that he’s dropped all he can, he moves on to the next tree. The crop lays on the ground until the next guy (or the same one in a different machine) comes along with what amounts to a broom-and-vacuum machine to pick it up. Often times the crop sits on the ground overnight. This is the perfect opportunity for theft. The call of the night was an interesting twist on the walnut-theft capers we usually get.
Routinely, someone will see strangers in an orchard, and call the Sheriff to report possible theft. Often vehicles will be stopped for one reason or another, and we’ll find sacks of walnuts, but no receipts. Other times we simply catch them in the act, picking up walnuts in orchards they don’t own. It’s an ongoing thing, every year. Tonight’s call was a bit different.
Mom called this one in.
Hi There
October 31, 2010
9-1-1, Personal, Pictures 9-1-1, Jim Reeves, kc6yru, TCSO, visalia Leave a comment
JimmieJoe / KC6YRU 
A Tale of Two Leaders
April 10, 2011
Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary, Personal 9-1-1 dispatcher awards banquet, Fresno County Sheriff, Fresno Police Chief, Jeryy Dyer, Margaret Mims, National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, PSCA 2 Comments
Last night I attended the annual Public Safety Communications Association Dispatcher Of The Year banquet in Fresno. The yearly event recognizes dispatchers from area agencies, and highlights the often unsung heroes who toil behind the scenes to support deputy sheriffs, police officers, firefighters, EMTs and paramedics.
Last night’s event was started off by opening remarks from two of Fresno County’s top law enforcement officers. Fresno Sheriff Margaret Mims, and Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer spoke to the assembled dispatchers, family, officers, deputies, paramedics, firefighters, friends and supporters. This blog is about the difference between those two presentations.
Margaret Mims, Fresno County Sheriff
Police Chief Jerry Dyer, Fresno PD
One speaker used the entire time at the podium to talk about dispatchers, the other started off talking about dispatchers, but veered off the night’s topic halfway through and instead turned to speaking about themselves and their religion. I’ve not seen the first speaker in person before, but I have had to sit through the “god talk” from the second at previous banquets. You can probably guess who’s talk I preferred.
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