Teen Dies After 911 Dispatcher Hangs Up On The Woman Trying To Save Him

Seventeen-year-old Jaydon Chavez-Silver was at a house party in Albuquerque, NM, when he was caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. A female friend dialed 911 and was on the line with a dispatcher while attending to Chavez-Silver and attempting to perform CPR. The dispatcher — Albuquerque firefighter Matthew Sanchez — asks if the victim is breathing, as heard in the wrenching audio of the 911 call. “Barely,” says his friend, all the while coaching Chavez-Silver to stay with her. Sanchez asks again if he is breathing. “He’s barely breathing, how many times do I have to fucking tell you?” she responds this time, obviously panicked. That’s when the dispatcher tells her that he’s hanging up the phone. “Okay, you know what, ma’am? You can deal with it yourself. I’m not gonna deal with this, okay?” he says. “No, my friend is dying!” exclaims the woman, right before the call is disconnected.

Albuquerque fire officials told BuzzFeed News that emergency responders were already on the way prior to the call being disconnected. Sadly, the injured teen died from his injuries hours later. The identity of the shooters have not yet been released, nor have any arrests been made. But the devastated family is also dealing with the emotional aftermath of the emergency call placed on their son’s behalf. “They’re beyond belief about what happened,” Dan Sparago, a representative for the family, told local news station WRQE. “But at the same time they want to focus on [catching] the people who did this.” Sanchez has been relieved of his duties, pending further inquiry into the matter. “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,” said Albuquerque Fire Chief David Downey. Regardless of whether or not Sanchez's actions directly led to the death of this young man, it's clear that his willingness to extend courtesy to a terrified woman who used profanity during a tense moment was compromised. Certainly, that's not the saddest part of this tragedy, but his behavior only served to make things worse.