"911, what is your emergency?" says the operator calmly, on Sunday, June 1, 2008.

"Hi, This is Mayor Wilson, I'm down here at the Courthouse, we've got solicitors that are not on the sidewalk, I'd like somebody to come down here and take a look at them," says the voice on the other end of the line.

"Ok, are they threatening, or causing a hazard?" the operator asks.

"No, they're not on the sidewalk. They're supposed to be on the sidewalk to solicit signatures," says the person claiming to be Mayor Wilson.

A long pause. "Ok, we'll send somebody down," the operator says.

The truth of the matter is, that it really was Mayor Jack Wilson calling 911. He was downtown on the Courthouse Square, attending the Antique Show, when evidently, he saw someone trying to collect signatures on the petition. Prescott eNews wasn't able to get any details about the event, because when Mayor Wilson was asked about his 911 call, he simply replied tersely, "No comment."

A Primer on 911

From the time we're very young, we are all taught to call 911 - in an emergency. Was this an emergency by typical police standards? Hmmm... it appears that it's time for a Primer on 911.

We asked Prescott Police Department Deputy Chief Mike Kabbel what is considered an emergency.

"911 is for emergency - any emergencies that are out there. Non-emergency numbers are for non-emergencies," explained Kabbel. "Anything that is life-threatening, that could cause injury to somebody, as an example, an accident that just occurred. If it's a minor fender bender, where somebody backed into another car and there are no injuries, that's not an emergency. If the injuries are unknown, that's an emergency, because we want to respond and get there as fast as we can to an incident that we are unsure of when it comes to injuries."

"Protection of life is an emergency, that's when you would call 911," Kabbel continued. "Protection of property, in the case of a burglary in progress, that would be considered an emergency, that would be another instance where you would utilize 911."

And if you witness a crime in progress, such as a burglary, what should you do? Kabbel gives instructions, saying, "What we would like you to do as a civilian, is be the best witness you could be. Gather as much information visually as you can, stay in a safe area, don't intervene. Description of the suspect vehicle, direction of travel, things of that nature."

At the same time, Kabbel urges that the caller use judgement, "Each situation is a little different... you have to make that evaluation the time of your call. If there isn't a life-threatening emergency, then you would use a non-emergency number."

So, then, once the call is made, what happens next? What if the dispatcher doesn't think it's an emergency? Kabbel explained the process, "If the dispatcher can discern that it's not an emergency, what I have seen in the past, the dispatch will ask them to call in on a non-emergency line, so that they would address their issue. But, they'll try to ascertain whether it's an emergency or not before they continue the call."

Why not just take the call and get it over with? Kabbel replied, "If it's something that's lengthy, and it's a non-emergency, they want to free up the emergency line for any emergencies that may come in. Because you don't want to tie up those lines. So, if there's more conversation that needs to be taking place than the initial assessment, then we'll ask them to call the non-emergency number."

So, who decides whether or not to dispatch? The dispatcher or the police department? Kabbel explains, "The dispatchers will dispatch that if there is an emergency. But the police department doesn't look at each 911 call and determine whether we go or not. The dispatch center does. So, the dispatch center will evaluate the 911 call and if the dispatcher evaluates it as an emergency based on the telephone call that came in, they will dispatch as such."

But, Kabbel stresses, use the 911 service when appropriate, "If there's a life-threatening emergency, don't be afraid to call 911. If they can't make a decision whether it's a life-threatening emergency, as in an accident, where they can't discern whether there are injuries that may be life-threatening, then make that call. And we'll send somebody out to determine whether it's an emergency situation."

Is There An Ordinance?

So, ok, maybe Mayor Wilson's call doesn't exactly fit the definition of 'emergency'. But, was he right about the rules? What's interesting is that the Courthouse Square isn't actually City property - it belongs to Yavapai County. So, we asked Julie Ayers, Yavapai County Administrator whether there is an ordinance that prohibits people from attempting to get signatures on a petition if they're not on the sidewalk.

No, Ayers replied, referring to the Courthouse Park Rules and Regulations. As a matter of fact, Ayers explained, "It's a 1st Amendment issue - freedom of speech, even if it's someone standing with a clipboard."

Questions

So, was the Mayor just peeved about something? What in the heck were the petitions for, to make them so annoying?

And, would the police have sent out an officer if the call had been anyone but the Mayor?

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written by Gary G., June 10, 2008

I remember a school board member did a questionable 911 call last year and ended up getting sited for it. It's pretty obvious that they just sent an officer because it was the mayor, she told the officer it was the mayor up front. It's also pretty obvious that it wasn't an emergency. She should have told him to call a different number like they did to the school board member. After all, not everyone knows what 911 is for, not even the mayor.

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Mayor Jack (rookie) Wilson should go.
written by Adam L. Rowling, June 10, 2008

Mayor Wilson is no good for Prescott. He should have been checked for public intoxication after this cowardly call to 911.

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Pot vs Kettle
written by Mike B, June 10, 2008

Last July Mr. Wilson spammed me. He sent emails, near as I can tell (and it is my business to tell), to every email address he could buy in any Prescott zip code. He certainly sent one to me unsolicited! When I called his then campaoign to inquire why they fely spam was a valid political tactic, they were very rude and then hung up. I still have the email with headers. I dropped the issue, feeling that anyone so rude who would resort to a spam campaign to further their personal ambitions could never get elected in Prescott...Guess I was wrong-welcome to the 21st century! He needs to look to his own ethics before pointing at some citizen auguring for political participation...what if the person was trying to get people to register to vote????

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written by Jan S., June 11, 2008

So, was the Mayor just peeved about something? What in the heck were the petitions for, to make them so annoying?
I'd like to know the answer to that. Does the editor know and could they addendum this article with the answer. That may shed some light on why call 911 because of some lightweight issue like this.

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Mrs.
written by Kay Harlan, June 11, 2008

Wow Can't not believe this, is this America or not? I wonder what is next with the Mayor and what he deems not correct according to him. I hope the people see this for what it really is. A elected official getting into the rights of every day people. This is not why we moved to Prescott. I hope this awakens the mayor that he is not god and keeper of Prescott, they people are.

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Adam L. Rowling - Remember drunken Mayor Rowle Simmons?
written by William Francis, June 13, 2008

Mr. Adam L. Rowling,
Speaking of public intoxication, previous Mayor Rowle Simmons was arrested for "driving while intoxicated" about 3 or so years ago. He was caught for drunken driving in downtown Prescott.
This is the same Mayor (Simmons) with the help of Steve Blair & others handed over millions of dollars to corporations in incentives. Good riddance to Simmons & Blair.

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