Dispatcher Credits Victim For Doing Right Thing During Home Invasion
WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4)-A 911 dispatcher is crediting a victim of a home invasion with doing several things right during the break-in. Officers said a woman survived a bizarre home invasion on May 27.
The woman saw a man staring at her from across the street of her home. The man walked over and broke down the garage door. The woman called 911 after locking herself and her teenage son in their bedroom.
Police got to the woman's home in under 3 minutes and caught the intruder.
Officers struggled with Benjamin Davis Saffell, 23, inside the home. They suspected he was under the influence of drugs.
The homeowner was not hurt. She was on the phone with 911 dispatchers the entire time desperately pleading for help.
911 dispatcher Barb Tuholski said she had to try to keep the panicked woman calm.
"You just kick into gear and you know what you've got to do," said Tuholski, a supervisor with the Westminster 911 dispatch center.
"Hurry, hurry … he's getting in," the woman told Tuholski.
"I could tell my insides and everything just melted and I'm like, 'Oh, please don't let him get through the door,' said Tuholski"
Moments later police say Saffell can be heard yelling at the woman from outside her bedroom door:
Saffell: "Open up the door!"
Caller: "Tell me what you want! I'll give you, do you want money?"
Dispatcher: "I can hear him."
Saffell: "Okay I'll give you money. How much do you want?"
Saffell: "All of it!"
Caller: "Okay. What else do you want? Do you want jewelry?"
"All of a sudden, she starts yelling through the door to him," said Tuholski.
That's when Tuholski said when the woman started negotiating with the suspect, she had turned from terrified to confident and in control.
"She had a power about her and an ability to talk and get through the call, the perfect caller," said Tuholski.
Moments later Westminster police arrived.
Caller: "He's fighting them."
Dispatcher: "I know he is. I know he is."
Caller: "I don't even know who this guy is."
Dispatcher: "Okay, you did great, you did fantastic, the guy is in custody."
Police said Saffell is facing seven different charges that include first-degree burglary and assaulting a peace officer.
