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Switchboard

By Jonita Davis, published Oct 04, 2007
Published Content: 39  Total Views: 8,738  Favorited By: 4 CPs
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Switchboard

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Oh my God, he's coming after me. Help me please!"

"Ma'am, who is after you?"

"He broke in, he's got a... please help!"

"Okay ma'am, we'll send someone right over. Please stay on the line. Are you someplace safe?"

"Yes, I think so. He's coming up the stairs... please hurry!"

"The police are on the way. What is your name, ma'am?"

"It's... no, please, no."

"Ma'am, what's happening? Ma'am, talk to me."

Click. The line went dead.

Minutes later, four deputies of the Craighead County sheriff's department arrived at the address of the 911 call. They exited their vehicles, guns drawn, and bodies bent toward the ground. Immediately, however, stood erect, putting their weapons away.

Sheriff Privett pushed to the front of the small cluster of deputies. He walked up to the fence and stared at the spot where the house should have been. Turning back to his deputies, he asked, "which one of them do ya think made the call?" The deputies couldn't help stifling a laugh, when one of the residents mooed.

There were eleven calls to the 911 system before the real emergency came in. Paula Caddo, the dispatcher, handled it according to her training, which wasn't well, reading frantically from a protocol list. In the first few seconds of the conversation, Paula could tell that things were not right. The woman on the other end was breathing louder than she speaking. Although an address popped on screen, Paula could not pull up the portion of the system that activated the emergency response personnel. There was a eerie silence in the line, in the background, which was broken by crashing and screaming. Then, the line went dead. Paula immediately abandoned the protocol and called Sheriff Privett, hysterically pleading for help.

"Were there any suspicious calls before this one came in?" asked Sheriff Privett when he returned to the station.

"No," answered Paula.

"There are eleven calls on the screen, what the hell were they?" he bellowed.

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Scary stuff! ;0

Posted on 10/15/2007 at 10:10:00 PM

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