Consider this #1: calling 911

[Robin]

Since Rob Pincus suggested it, I'm starting new threads to discuss specific topics raised by the show. Hopefully each thread will stay focused on its topic and will yield productive discussions.

This first one is about what to say when calling 911. The whole point of calling 911 is an emergency has happened and you want a quick response. Giving a rambling explanation like "I got home from work and noticed my front door was open. I went in and saw a man in the kitchen" defeats the purpose.

When calling dispatch, give the most important information first. State the nature of the emergency and if it's in progress. Saying it's in progress tells dispatch to route it as a high priority call. Then give your location and number of suspects. Pause to allow dispatch to notify/send units and be prepared for followup questions.

In a home invasion, that would be something like "Home invasion in progress at 123 Some St. Two intruders, male." Followup questions would be things like suspect descriptions, how many residents are there, where you are and the fact you're armed. The last bit is very important.

[Rob Pincus]

Some Good ideas, Robin.... not sure about the "neat trick" titles...    but....

As we said in the other thread, some of these topics are going to be covered in future episodes.... but someone may need the information tomorrow!

The call to 911 was touched on in the first episode this week and I think we should keep in mind that the reason the roleplayer was acting the way she was is that people are very likely to upset and somewhat panicked when they are making such a call. This was the reason articulated by Janich for having a script near the phone with all of the consistently pertinent information or prompts for the variables.

For outside the home calls, one thing that is often overlooked is the importance of accurately descirbing both the bad guy(s) and yourself. The responding officer on their way to a "shooting" is going to keyed up as well. The only information they have is what they get from dispatch.... dispatch gets the information from you. If you plant the seed that the guy wearing bluejeans and a brown leather jacket is the GOOD GUY, then that is what the officer is likely to recognize when he shows up and sees you. If you tell him nothing, his priority is to always look for bad guys..... if you get his attention first he'll have to figure out who you are. Responding officers will always defer to their own safety as a priority and assume anyone is a potential threat. Right or wrong, planting the seed that the person matching your description is not a threat will make it more likely for the officer to react positively towards you.

Another thing that should be stressed is to stay on the line with 911. Do this right up to the point that you can describe the responding patrol vehicle and/or officer to dispatch.

On a related topic: as for your own firearm, there are obvisouly many variables, but for the generic immediate aftermath of defensive shooting ina public environment, I recommend staying in a compressed ready position with the firearm in oriented in a safe direction until you either feel extremely confident that there is no longer a threat or you have the first clue (visual or audible) of the presence of law enforcement personnel. At either time, I recommend holstering the firearm and keeping your hands visible and away from it.

You will see much of this detailed in a futur episode.

-RJP

[Robin]

Some Good ideas, Robin.... not sure about the "neat trick" titles...  

I wanted a uniform set of subject titles so people could recognize they came from a single source and read or ignore them appropriately. 

As for "neat trick", that comes from "here's a neat trick that you may not know about which might be useful". To my mind "neat trick" implies a tip that's useful to some but may not work for you. I am not an authority or subject matter expert. I have learned some things, have some experience and based on that offer my opinions and some reasoning behind it. If others can add good points I didn't cover (like you did about describing yourself to dispatch) or provide good reasons why I'm wrong then we're all better for it. Me especially, since I'm always looking for self-improvement.

[tombogan03884]

The one about positioning a book case or other heavy furniture in the direction you might have to fire IS a "neat trick", I'm sure your neighbors will appreciate your thoughtfulness