Crime & Safety
911 Caller in Novato: I've Been Shot. Can You Send a Cab?
Man who called from convenience store appeared intoxicated, clerk said. Officers respond, but man is gone.
A man who called 911 struggled to get his priorities straight on a recent afternoon.
First, he asked for a cab.
Second, he said he'd been shot.
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The dispatch center received the call at 4:19 p.m. May 1 and the man was told that 911 was not the appropriate number to call for a taxi. When he said he'd been shot, the dispatcher asked where he was. He said he didn’t know.
The dispatcher identified the caller’s location as the 7-Eleven store on Diablo Avenue. The operator told the responding officer that the caller sounded intoxicated. When the officer arrived, the man could not be located.
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According to the clerk at the store, the man was white, about 70 years old and appeared intoxicated. The clerk said the man did not appear to be injured.
Any person who knowingly allows the use of or uses the 911 telephone system for any reason other than because of an emergency is guilty of an infraction (Penal Code 653y-911). Penalties can range from a written warning to a fine of $250 for repeat offenses.
