A few weeks ago, a story was going around about an Ohio 911 call taker receiving a call with a pizza order. After a short time, the call taker figured out that the caller was really reporting a domestic violence situation and it was not safe for her to talk openly.
There have been stories that calling 911 to order pizza is a code that signals call takers of a dangerous domestic violence situation. A check with two local 911 agencies reveals that neither uses specific code words as an alert of a domestic violence situation.
Snohomish 911 says that it does not train dispatchers or call takers on specific code words. They did say that dispatchers/call takers do pick up on nuances of calls that do not seem right. Snohomish 911 does recommend calling 911 when it is safe to do so to report what is going on. An alternative, if the it is dangerous to speak freely, is to send a text to 911.
The King County Sheriff Office 911 Communications Center reports that it has received calls from people in dangerous situations asking for pizza. Also, they have had people act like they are talking to a “friend.” It does not recommend any code words for the public to use. If a caller seems like they may be in a dangerous situation, the call taker will ask if they are free to talk. If the answer is no, then the call taker will ask yes or no questions. King County Sheriff’s 911 also notes that you can text 911 if you are not free to talk.
The important thing to remember is to protect your safety if you need to call for help from 911. The ideal situation is that you separate yourself from any potential for harm or violence then call 911. If you cannot remove yourself, use your best judgement in how you discretely call or text 911.
USA Today:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/11/22/ohio-911-dispatcher-recognizes-911-call-pizza-dmestic-violence/4271985002/
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