A couple years ago there was a house party that turned mini-riot a couple houses down from mine. I called 911 when a guy started yelling “I am going to kill you” while holding his arm out, I presumed he had a gun, but at 2am, i couldnt tell for sure. The 911 operator started asking me personal questions, including, are you on drugs? are you in a gang? are there any warrants out for your arrest? before she assured me that the cops were on their way. It seemed to me that she was more concerned that i was involved with illicit activity than the fact that i was hiding in my bathtub hoping not to get hit by a stray bullet. It still took 15min for a squad car to show up even though there is a copshop & donutshop less than half a mile away.
Huh??? That was not the way I was trained! Despite training, each 911 operator is a human being ... some are smart, some are "street-savy", some are old pros (seen & heard it all), some are wet-behind-the-ears 20 somethings with no life experience. I hate to say it, but it truly depends on who you get. If I had you on the phone & you said someone was threatening you & you thought they had a gun, I would have hit the "send" button immediately .... and asked pertinent questions after. I would say that it is often very difficult for 911 to determine what is going on - folks under stress just do not communicate well & the only way you can figure it out IS to ask a lot of questions (but help should already be on the way) ... and when you answer a 911 call and someone is 'screaming' on the other end ..... it's one of the hardest jobs I've ever had. Unfortunately, 99% of the calls the media plays are the ones that are horrendous .... all the good ones where folks get the help they need as quick as humanly possible and the 911 operators are professional, compassionate, and save lives .... you rarely hear those.