A 911 Dispatcher Answers a Call for Help. It was Her Daughter.
When a 16-year-old girl called 911 to report an armed robbery, she discovered the dispatcher was the perfect one to take the call: her mother. According to a report from CNN the girl was held at gunpoint at a McDonald’s in New Orleans. Her mother was supposed to be off work already. But luckily, she stayed late just in time to receive her daughter’s call for help.
WDSU’s report says on Oct 17 an armed woman came into the restaurant and locked Tenia Hill and other staff members inside the freezer. However, Tenia remained calm and was able to call 911 from inside. When the line picked up, it was her mother, Teri Clark. Clark, an assistant operations manager at Orleans Parish Communication District said she was shocked when she heard her daughter’s voice on the other line.
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“Mama, please hurry up, she got a gun,” said Tenia in the call recording.
“We’re going to hurry. Give me a description,” Clark responded.
“Where it broke me down was when my child said ‘We are in the freezer.’ While I was taking the call, tears were coming down my face. I am still trying to do my job, and I did the job to the best of my ability,” said Clark to WDSU.
The New Orleans Police Department arrived to the restaurant, per the report. It’s unclear if an arrest has been made, but Hill was confirmed to be safe. Even after a traumatic experience of fearing for her daughter’s life, Clark got up and went back to work the next day.
Read more about the incident from WDSU:
“If I could clone Teri I would,” OPCD executive director Tyrell Morris said. “I would remind everyone we have people under the headset that have feelings and emotions. We are committed to your safety 365 days a year even when it’s our own child. Our staff vacancy rate has dropped by 25 percent and for the first time in over a year we are seeing an increase in the improvements of call answer times to meet national standard times over the prior year.”
In her 24 years with OPCD, Clark said she has never received a call from a family member.
“When you call 911 do not hang up, give us a chance to answer all the questions,” said Clark.
Black mothers don’t get enough credit for the work they do. In my head, my mom is Superwoman. If you heard about all she’s done for me, you might be convinced too.
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