News

Teen Dies After 911 Dispatcher Tells Caller To 'Deal With It' Herself

by Eitan Levine

An Albuquerque Fire Department dispatcher is on administrative leave after he told a female who witnessed her friend get shot to "deal with it" herself.

Jaydon Chavez-Silver, 17, was reportedly at a party when he was shot during a drive-by shooting on June 26.

One of his terrified friends called 911 for help and was connected to 10-year New Mexico department veteran Matthew Sanchez.

The following exchange took place.

In the call, you can hear Sanchez repeatedly ask the unidentified woman if Jaydon is still breathing.

The clearly shaken woman, who was seemingly trying to keep Chavez-Silver awake during the call, got annoyed at Sanchez's line of questions and yelled back at him,

How many times do I have to f*cking tell you?

Sanchez replied,

OK, you know what ma'am? You can deal with it yourself. I'm not going to deal with this.

You can hear the woman yell back, "No, my friend is dying!" right before being hung up on.

Jaydon later died at the hospital.

New Mexico Fire Department released the 911 call to KRQE though parts of the original conversation between the woman and Sanchez have been redacted to "protect patient privacy."

In a statement, Albuquerque Fire Department Chief David Downey said,

After learning of the alleged misconduct, Driver Matthew Sanchez was immediately removed from the dispatch center and placed on administrative assignment. An internal investigation has been initiated. As the Chief of the department, I am taking the allegation very seriously.

The fire department did say emergency services were sent to the scene before the phone call ended.

No arrests have been made in relation to the shooting.

Jaydon's mother, Nicole Chavez, told KOB,

We heard rumors about the 911 operator hanging up on the caller when Jaydon was shot but had no other information. After hearing the call today, it is heartbreaking to listen to. Right now, we just want to find the people responsible for this violent, deadly crime. We have set up a reward fund at Bank of the West and it is up to $4,000. Anyone with information can call 242-COPS.

A memorial Facebook page for the Manzano High School student was set up.

Facebook

On the one-month anniversary of the shooting, the page posted,

So for all of you praying for our family, thank you and please continue to keep us in your prayers and lift us up. This is truly the hardest thing we have ever had to live through. I know it will take years to recover from and we are trying our hardest each and every day. Thank you for all of your love and support in every way.

Citations: New Mexico 911 dispatcher on leave after hanging up on caller reporting her teen friend got shot Deal with it yourself (NY Daily News)