911 Operator Realizes Girl Is In Trouble, Uses Tapping As A Code To Communicate

Dec 06, 2019

Emergency operators can be the difference between life and death for the desperate people who call them. They answer 911 calls from people with emergency health issues, people stuck in fires and even citizens at home during ongoing robberies. In this story from March 2013, a California teen was at home alone when a group of criminals broke in. Luckily, seasoned 911 phone operator Angie Rivera was on the other end of the line when this young woman called. It was Rivera’s quick thinking and calm demeanor — not to mention her ingenious way of silently communicating with the high schooler — that may have saved this teen’s life.

When 15-year-old Doyin Oladipupo heard a group of men break in while she was home alone in Chula Vista, California, she hid in her parents’ closet and dialed 911, as ABC News reports.

"I took off my shoes because I didn't want them to hear me, and I grabbed (the) phone," Oladipupo told ABC News in 2013.

Rivera, a veteran police dispatcher who had collected 12 years of experience on the job at the time, answered Oladipupo’s call.

“...(M)y parents are both at work. OK, please hurry,” Oladipupo can be heard saying on the 911 call.

“Yes, we are on the way. We also have a helicopter on the way too,” Rivera told Oladipupo.

Rivera had to keep Oladipupo calm as the situation escalated. Eventually, the intruders got so close to Oladipupo’s hiding place that you can hear them talking on the 911 call.

“We’re all trained to just stay calm, to get her the help that she needs, let her know she’s not alone,” Rivera explained in an interview with ABC News.

As the intruders came increasingly close to Oladipupo, Rivera began to whisper so that she wouldn’t attract attention to the young girl’s position. And then, thanks to a bit of quick thinking, Rivera had an idea. Instead of having Oladipupo respond verbally, she instructed the teen to simply tap on the phone to communicate.

"My daughter's strong," parent Adebisi Jinado told ABC News. "I didn't even know how strong she was, and the police told me what happened. She's got an inner strength and it showed yesterday."

Rivera kept calm the entire time and became Oladipupo’s savior. She instructed the teen to use those taps to answer "yes" or "no" to a series of questions that would allow Rivera to send the police to Oladipupo's home.

After a short amount of time that likely felt like an eternity, the burglars decided to flee the scene of the crime. Thanks to Oladipupo, however, the police were already on their way. Miraculously, law enforcement was able to catch the thieves red-handed as they attempted to make their escape.

Rivera stayed on the phone with Oladipupo until police officers arrived at her home, helping her to stay calm even while the intruders approached her hiding place. Oladipupo says that without Rivera’s reassurance, she might not have had the bravery she needed to survive the ordeal.

"She helped me a lot because if I wasn’t on the phone with somebody, I probably would have freaked out," the brave teen told ABC News.

What do you think about this remarkable story? Have you ever been in such a frightening situation? Have you ever dialed 911? Let us know — and be sure to pass this story on to friends and family members.