A Woman Called 911 And Pretended To Order A Pizza To Alert Them Of Domestic Abuse

BuzzFeed News spoke to the 911 dispatcher who claimed to have received the call.

I had a call that started out pretty dumb, but was actually pretty serious:

"911, where is you emergency?"

"123 Main St."

"Ok, what's going on there?"

"I'd like to order a pizza for delivery." (oh great, another prank call).

"Ma'am, you've reached 911"

"Yeah, I know. Can I have a large with half pepperoni, half mushroom and peppers?"

"Ummm…. I'm sorry, you know you've called 911 right?"

"Yeah, do you know how long it will be?"

"Ok, Ma'am, is everything ok over there? do you have an emergency?"

"Yes, I do."

"..And you can't talk about it because there's someone in the room with you?" (moment of realization)

"Yes, that's correct. Do you know how long it will be?"

"I have an officer about a mile from your location. Are there any weapons in your house?"

"Nope."

"Can you stay on the phone with me?"

"Nope. See you soon, thanks"

As we dispatch the call, I check the history at the address, and see there are multiple previous domestic violence calls. The officer arrives and finds a couple, female was kind of banged up, and boyfriend was drunk. Officer arrests him after she explains that the boyfriend had been beating her for a while. I thought she was pretty clever to use that trick. Definitely one of the most memorable calls.

BuzzFeed News spoke to the former 911 dispatcher who recounted the story of a woman who called to order a "pizza" but was in fact calling about domestic violence.

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Today, Weisinger is an environmental attorney with the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

"This call occurred almost 10 years ago," he told BuzzFeed News. "I worked the graveyard shift, 6pm–6am, and I remember this call being pretty late – close to midnight."

Weisinger said the woman – who he believed was in her 30s – was calm at first, but gave short, hurried responses. "I remember feeling relieved we had an officer close by who could respond quickly," he added.

"This is a part of the job most 911 dispatchers find frustrating. Beyond the immediate resolution – arrest, hospitalisation, etc – we rarely hear what happens to the people who call."

Occasionally, callers make an effort to meet the dispatchers who helped them through a traumatic experience, but Weisinger said that typically the only way dispatchers will know what happened afterwards is if officers or paramedics make a point of keeping in touch with the person.

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