Police dispatchers are often unsung heroes, but quick thinking by one Bartlett dispatcher made all the difference to a potential sex trafficking victim in Bartlett.
In the middle of a hectic evening shift on March 1, Juliea Goodman took a confusing 911 call that was hard to hear clearly.
It sounded like it was from a juvenile female, one who communicated reluctantly and had to have information coaxed from her. At first Goodman wasn’t sure it was a true emergency, but something told her to persist.
Scared people in emergency situations are part of her daily job, and this felt real.
Describing the call later, Goodman explained that disconnected cell phones can still access 911 if they’re charged. This caller was using such a phone. She said sometimes dispatchers get accidental calls from children playing with old phones, and sometimes they get calls from adults who don’t realize the service has been cut off and don’t know that any number dialed goes straight to 911.
This caller was different, however.
In low tones, she reported someone missing from Nashville, and Goodman realized that the young woman was talking about herself. The dispatcher got her to reveal her first name of Angel and her date of birth, and colleagues began researching the information as Goodman talked on.
Eventually, the caller revealed she was in a Walmart bathroom, was 20 and was with “friends of friends” who were also in the store.
“For whatever reason, she thought she couldn’t get away from them,” Goodman said.
The caller’s voice broke when she said she didn’t want any trouble with the people who had her, but she just wanted to go home.
The call cut off in mid-conversation before Goodman could get more.
Luckily, the girl had called from a newer cell phone that could pinpoint her location within a few yards; she was at the Walmart at 8400 U.S. 64. But officers needed to be able to identify her too.
Goodman, a five-year veteran dispatcher, called the store’s security department and asked them to access the video showing the bathroom entrance.
With their help she got a description of the young woman’s appearance and her clothing. With that information, officers who arrived on scene were able to locate the woman in the store.
When she spotted them, she pressed one finger to her lips to warn them to not to approach immediately. When she stepped away from ther companions, the officers were able to whisk her away to safety.
The incident, viewed as a potential sex trafficking case, was transferred to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office’s organized crime unit.
Goodman explained that although the victim was picked up in Bartlett, whatever happened to the young woman was outside of Bartlett’s jurisdiction.
That didn’t matter to Goodman.
“When they found her, that’s all I cared about,” she said. “I felt like I did my job.”
Her colleagues thought so too, and they nominated her as the March employee of the month.
Her supervisor, Capt. Christopher Page, is a 23-year police veteran who spoke briefly Monday about the pride he takes in the quality of work performed by Goodman and the other Bartlett police dispatchers.
“They’re amazing at what they do. They’re the most under-appreciated aspect of public safety. Unless you’ve had to use 911, you don’t really know what they do.”
Dispatchers are the ones who are on the line with callers from the time they need help until fire or police officers arrive, he said.
“They’re the calm voice on the other end of the line.”
He added, “I can’t say enough about the respect I’ve formed for them in the two years I’ve been their captain.”
Written by Carolyn Bahm, Express editor. Contact her at (901) 433-9138 or via email to bartlett.editor@journalinc.com.
