911 call doesn’t belong on hold
On April 20, I was at the convenience store at Blackstone and Gettysburg avenues when a mentally deranged person ran into the store. As a retired police officer observing this person’s actions, I knew the severity of the situation. This was a volatile and life-threatening situation that needed an immediate response.
I told the store owner to call 911. He did and was put on hold. After about 10 minutes with this crazed person in the store, I told him to hang up and dial 621-7300. When he did, we finally got through to the Fresno Police Department. He gave the phone to me and the dispatcher got it correct. Immediate response. Thank you to whoever you were.
In the end, the crazed person went to another business, and police response escalated from there. There should never be a 911 call put on hold. This was an incident that could have ended much worse. As police officers, we depend on our support staff. Yes, they have been cut; now is the time to restore the positions. Thank you, dispatch.
Greg Ellis, Fresno
This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 7:23 AM with the headline "911 call doesn’t belong on hold."