******Not for the Faint of Heart******
******Trigger Warning******
Hi everyone! Welcome back! I apologize for the delay! It has been extremely busy at work, and I’m just now finding the time to write an article for all of you!
The following article is somewhat tricky. It is yet another story that has haunted me for quite some time. You’ll see why.
Here it goes…
About seven months into the job, I was cleared to take 911 calls independently. I showed up for my shift around 14:00 (2 p.m.). It was pretty busy, and that was normal for it being summer.
The 911 calls were back to back. Some were being put on hold. That means it’s starting to pick up, and the life-or-death emergencies must come first.
The next call I took was something I will always remember.
I pick up the line, and a person is on the phone reporting that they have found a dead body.
I had to take a deep breath because I couldn’t believe what I heard. I was trying to process everything quickly to get help immediately.
I asked, “Okay, where are you? What address?”
They said, “There is no address; it’s a park.”
On a side note, I can’t name the park, and I’m using ‘they’ to protect the privacy of the individual that called in.
I was given the park's name and immediately put the call on the screen so the dispatchers could start officers toward the park.
The next question I asked was, “How do you know this person is dead? Can we start CPR?”
They said, “No, they're dead. I think it’s a gunshot wound to the head. The person is by a parked red car on the park's west side.”
I was getting some good information for the responding officers. But how has no one else called this in yet?
The next question was, “Did you see who did this?”
There was a brief pause after I asked that question.
They said, “No, no. But the car looks like it has many papers in it and on the front seat. There are bags of belongings.”
I began to type the information in as they gave it to me. I thought those papers could be essential and lead to the person that shot this individual. I could be helping detectives right at this very moment. I was excited about this. Maybe this was a puzzle piece for another case or a brand new one I didn’t know about, but only the detectives knew.
I asked, “Do you see the gun anywhere near this person, or is it missing?”
They said, “No, it’s not missing. It’s here; you’ll see it.”
All the answers were concise, and I was starting to get red flags. Was I talking to the person that killed this other person?
I asked, “Will you be able to meet officers and tell them everything that you saw? They're going to want to know all this information.”
They said, “I’ll be here, but I have to go now.”
I said, “Okay, that’s fine, but please call us back if anything changes.”
The phone disconnected.
More thoughts came racing through my mind. Was I talking to the killer? They gave much detail about the deceased person, the car, and the papers and bags in the car. Along with the gun still being there. What was happening with this?
The next thing that happened was a shots fired call dropped on my screen and all the other dispatcher’s screens.
I quickly mapped the call to determine where the shots fired came from.
I came to find it was right next to the person I talked to about reporting the dead body they found. Honestly, I didn’t know what to make of it.
The first lines of notes were coming on the shots fired call. It read: Multiple callers advising someone just shot themself. It’s right in the park, right next to a red car.
I kept reading the notes, my heart dropped, and I thought, what happened?
Finally, it hit me. The person calling in to report a dead body was the person I was talking to. They weren’t dead yet, but they were intending to commit suicide. They didn’t say anything about it on the phone with me. All they did was drop subtle hints of where to find all the information about their will and any other information the police or the family might need.
At first, I didn’t know what to think. I waited for the officers to arrive and tell me what happened. I didn’t want to believe all the callers saying this person just shot themselves. I couldn't
Officers arrived at the park and confirmed this person was DOA (Dead On Arrival). There was a gunshot wound to the head, a gun was found close to the body, and they were lying next to a red car.
That is precisely what they told me on the phone.
I was devastated, but I still didn’t want to believe it.
After about an hour, I had one of the responding officers give me a call.
He called, and I immediately asked, “Was this the person I was talking to on the phone? There wasn’t another dead body they were reporting?”
The officer said, “No, there is no other dead body. Yes, you were talking to this person. It’s okay; I don’t know what else you could have done.”
I said, “Okay. Yeah, Okay. Thank you for letting me know, Sir. I’ll let you get back to the call.”
I immediately thought there was so much more I could have done. If this person had told me they were about to commit suicide, the conversation would have been much different. I would have tried to talk them down and convince them not to do this. But the truth was, I didn’t know, and this person was not forthcoming for a reason. They didn’t want help. Their mind was set, and nothing was going to change it.
On a side note, it took a while for someone to convince me otherwise.
But I still thought I could have changed it. I could have helped them. I could have at least tried. But I didn’t have a chance, and now it’s done. That is something that I will always have to live with.
Thank you all again for reading and for your support! I appreciate it!
There will be more articles to come!
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Also, I have written a short novella entitled A Beautiful Curse by Nat NW for anyone interested. It just went live today on Kindle Vella. Each chapter is released in episodes. It’s fiction and the first book I have ever written. It is a teen/young adult psychological thriller. This book is controversial, dark, and ominous but also mind-bending with plot twists. It addresses mental health and violence that plagues this country.
This is the platform where I have the most support! Thank you so much! I hope you all get a chance to read the book! It would mean the world to me.
Here is the link. 👇
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
1-800-273 TALK (8255) OR Text TALK to 38255
Nat 🤍
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