ALBUQUERQUE, NM— A desperate emergency call to help a 17-year-old who was shot and killed is causing controversy after a 911 dispatcher got angry and hung up on the woman who needed help, even after she pleaded her friend was dying.
“I’m keeping him alive,” the caller can be heard telling the dispatcher.
“OK, is not breathing?” the dispatcher replies.
“Barely! Take one more breath, one more breath. There you go Jaydon. One more breath. There you go, Jaydon,” the caller said.
The call came the night of June 26 when star athlete and Manzano High School student Jaydon Chavez-Silver had just been shot.
His friend was desperately trying to keep him alive.
But it’s what fire dispatcher Matthew Sanchez said that is causing the controversy.
Caller: “Good job. Just stay with me, OK? OK? There you go. Good job, Jaydon.”
Dispatcher: “Is he breathing?”
Caller: “He’s barely breathing. How many times do I have to f------ tell you?”
Dispatcher: “OK, you know what ma’am? You could deal with it yourself. I’m not going to deal with this. OK.”
Caller: “No, my friend is dying! I …”
Sanchez then hangs up. His boss, Albuquerque Fire Chief David Downey, said he’s taking the incident very seriously.
“After learning of the alleged misconduct, driver Matthew Sanchez was immediately removed from the dispatch center and placed on administrative assignment,” Downey said in a statement. “An internal investigation has been initiated.”
Late Tuesday, the Albuquerque Fire Department said Sanchez had resigned.
According to officials, at the time the dispatcher hung up the phone, ambulances were already dispatched to the home.
No suspects in the shooting have been identified.
