On Monday, August 10, at about 7:15 in the evening, Marshall County Central Dispatch received a 9-1-1 text message from a female subject in the LaPaz area. The female subject stated that her boyfriend had battered her. She advised that he was still there with her and that she feared he would do worse. Dispatchers were able to give the female instructions, receive information for officers and maintained contact with her through text messaging until Marshall County Deputies arrived on the scene.
Text messaging allowed the female to contact 9-1-1 without alerting her assailant, 27 year old Jacob White of 115 Troyer Street in LaPaz. He was transported to the Marshall County Jail and booked in for Domestic Battery in the presence of a child younger than 16 and held on a $1,505 cash bond.
Marshall County Central Dispatch has been able to receive 9-1-1 text for about a year. We have received many texts to 9-1-1 and daily initiate text conversations with callers. This is one of the first Text-to-911 messages that Marshall County Central Dispatch has received from a caller that was such a potentially hazardous situation. Text to 9-1-1 allowed the caller to stay safe and to have a positive outcome.
We would like to remind everyone that a voice call is best but in potentially volatile situations, such as the one described, a text message is appropriate. Never text while driving, not even 9-1-1.
Listeners and readers are reminded that charging information supported by an affidavit of probable cause is merely an allegation that a crime has been committed and that there is only probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. They are presumed innocent throughout the proceedings and are entitled to be represented by counsel and entitled to a trial by jury at which the State is obligated to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt before a judgment of guilt may be made.
