The operator initially thought it was a prank and suggested that the woman had dialed a wrong number.
Domestic violence in abusive relationships remains a major issue across America, but there are times when women are not able to speak up out of fear. But on November 13, 2019, 911 dispatcher Tim Teneyck received a call from a woman saying that she wanted to order a pizza. At first, Tim thought it was a prank, but when he noticed the woman’s shaky voice, he asked some quick questions that confirmed his suspicions. He quickly reported the case of domestic violence and dispatched officers to the address she provided for her “pepperoni pizza order.”
Over the last few years, this chilling real-life story has been making rounds on social media, and people are thanking Tim for his quick thinking and rapid action, according to NBC News. As per the transcript of the call, the 911 caller first said, "I would like to order a pizza," and gave Tim her residential address. "You called 911 to order a pizza," Tim asked her. "Yeah," the woman responded, giving an apartment number. A baffled Tim said, "This is the wrong number to order a pizza." The woman on the other side interrupted him, "No, no, no, no... you’re not understanding."
The subtle panic in her voice and a sense of urgency in her tone caught Tim’s attention and he realized something was wrong. He paused and then asked, "I’m getting you now, OK? Is the guy still there?" The caller responded by saying, "Yeah, I need a large pizza," and added “pepperoni.” Tim quickly confirmed, “How about medical? You need medical?” The woman said “No,” before repeating “with pepperoni.” Assuring her, Tim said, “I’ll get them going,” before the call was disconnected.
Making a swift decision, Tim alerted the officers, gave them the address, and advised them to turn their sirens off before approaching the apartment. He declared, "Caller ordered a pizza, and agreed with everything I said that there was domestic violence going on." As it turned out, the caller was a 38-year-old woman, who had called 911 to report that her 57-year-old mom was being hit by her live-in boyfriend, who was drunk at that time. The woman revealed in a report that before getting caught, the man told her mom that “he was going to beat her a**." Her mom told the outlet that he even punched her and pushed her so bad that her head hit a wall.
Meanwhile, her boyfriend denied all the claims, but he was arrested, and was held at the Lucas County Corrections Center on a domestic violence charge. Mike Navarre, the chief of police in Oregon, Ohio, who had been listening to the call while driving home in his car, praised Tim for acting in an understanding way. "He utilized his training and his experience to recognize that a woman was in distress." Navarre told NBC News.
No one knows where this strategy of reporting violence originated, but according to BBC, a very similar scenario was used in a campaign by the Norwegian Women's Shelter Association in 2010. It may have inspired support groups to teach this method.
Apart from this, the 2015 Super Bowl ad also depicted a similar scene titled “Pizza Call.” The ad was created by “No More,” an organization that raises awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault. The ad features a woman who calls the 911 operator and pretends to place an order for a pizza. As the woman continues to speak in her quivering voice, the operator gets the entire scene and sends officers for help. The ad wraps up with the slogan, “When it’s hard to talk, it’s up to us to listen.” A spokesperson for No More told NBC News this PSA was based on a real-life scenario.
At the same time, experts have warned that this kind of “pizza call” is not a standard practice for reporting domestic violence, and cannot be generalized. Typically, operators are not trained to receive these kinds of calls for help and they cannot always understand what’s going on on the other side of the phone.
In 2018, the LAPD Communications Division also wrote on X that this kind of practice is false. “#LAPD Communications has seen this graphic circulating on various social media channels. This is false. Text to 911 is a much better option. Your exact location & the nature of your emergency is what’s needed to send the right resources.”
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