Florida 911 dispatcher saves pregnant woman believed to be domestic violence victim
INDIALANTIC, Fla. - A 911 dispatcher in Florida is being hailed as a hero for helping a woman whose 911 call never went through.
Emergency dispatch centers have to deal with accidental 911 calls all the time. Usually, no one’s in danger, but that wasn’t the case in Indialantic last May.
Ashley Rodriguez noted a 911 call was dropped but made sure to look into what happened and whether someone was really in danger.
"The one time it mattered, I was able to help," said Rodriguez, who is part of the Indialantic 911 dispatch team.
While in the call center, she juggles several computer screens while taking emergency calls. Last May, a call for help could've gone unnoticed very quickly.
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"I’m constantly looking around, but I make a point to check my map," the dispatcher added.
Her attention to detail paid off when she said a woman appeared in trouble.
"When the officer got on scene, he determined that a domestic violence battery had occurred," said Indialantic police chief Mike Connor.
Rodriguez investigated the dropped call without talking to the victim or knowing what was wrong. She only saw a small circle on one of her maps showing where the call came from. It doesn’t make a sound, and it is up to the dispatcher to investigate.
911 dispatcher hailed a hero
"It’s something that can be missed very easily because if you’re having so many calls and you’re being hailed by other agencies," she added.
Her own agency is calling her a hero for her rapid response. She was just named the Telecommunication Officer of the Year.
"We made an arrest on that on a 7-month pregnant female, so it did exactly what it was supposed to do," said Chief Connor.
That catch could have saved a life when a victim couldn’t finish her call for help.
"My panic induced, I need to look at my screens at all times because I’m going to miss something; I caught something," Rodriguez concluded.
Chief Connor said it’s the agency's protocol to follow up on every single 911 call, even if the call is dropped. They usually amount to nothing, but someone could be in danger like this woman was.