Emergency texting might lead to dispatchers receiving videos of crimes
A Colorado Springs woman who was choked by her boyfriend Tuesday night sent a desperate, two-word text message to her friend’s cell phone: “Help me.”
It worked.
Police found the badly injured woman and took her to a hospital after the friend called 911.
Sending text, photo and video messages directly to 911 centers to summon help in an emergency isn’t possible in most of the country, but a trial run of the technology in Waterloo, Iowa — population 68,747 — has created a buzz among emergency dispatchers nationwide who believe texts could serve as a last resort, but aren’t a substitute for a conversation.
