Chicago Teen Called 911 Three Times Before He Was Fatally Shot By Police
New recordings from the December police shooting that left a mentally ill college student and his neighbor dead show the teen tried to call 911 three times, only to be be hung up on by an impatient dispatcher.
According to the New York Times, 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier first called 911 at 4:18 a.m. on Dec. 26. But when he declined to give identifying information, the dispatcher hung up on him.
Pressed three times to explain what was wrong, Mr. LeGrier finally said, “Someone is threatening my life,” then pleaded for an officer to be sent, as the dispatcher continued to seek his last name.
“There’s an emergency!” Mr. LeGrier said. The dispatcher answered: “O.K., if you can’t answer the questions I’m going to hang up.”
“I need the police!” Mr. LeGrier said.
“Terminating the call,” the dispatcher responded.
LeGrier placed three calls in all within a three-minute period and his father placed a fourth call, which was made public earlier this month. Police units responding to the call fatally shot LeGrier, who was holding a baseball bat, and his neighbor, a 55-year-old grandmother who had just gone to answer the door. Police have already admitted her death was “accidental.”
It’s unclear why these new calls weren’t released earlier this month, though Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s office says he only learned of their existence on Monday.
A spokesperson for Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications tells the Times the initial dispatcher violated protocol by not sending assistance when LeGrier said his life was in danger. That employee is reportedly in disciplinary proceedings but remains on the job pending a ruling.
