On September 7, Hamilton County 9-1-1 Telecommunicator (T/C) Amanda Miller answered a 9-1-1 call from a caller who advised a stranger was knocking on the door, possibly trying to break into the home.
The caller was Bre-Asia Marrow, a 12-year-old female who advised she was home alone with her 11-year-old sister, Azariah.
Bre-Asia became distraught when it became apparent that the party had entered the apartment. T/C Miller remained professional and spoke in a calm and reassuring tone during the call, which lasted about 10 minutes. Miller’s calm demeanor was an important factor in keeping Bre-Asia and her sister calm even when the suspects were in the same room as the girls.
Miller had the girls get into a closet to avoid detection by the suspects. During the entire call, Miller continued to obtain pertinent information from the caller which was relayed to the responding officers.
Officers from the Chattanooga Police Department responded quickly and arrived on scene in about two minutes. They set up a perimeter and moved cautiously, fully aware that there were two young girls hidden in the home along with the suspects. They were able to arrest two suspects inside the house and secure the two girls from the closet.
12-year-old Bre-Asia Morrow was recognized as the 2014 National 9-1-1 Hero at the 2014 National 9-1-1 Heroes Awards Ceremony & Press Conference presented by AT&T and 9-1-1 for Kids on Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the Music City Center in Nashville.
The 9-1-1 Local Heroes® Medal of Honor, is bestowed on an individual who distinguishes himself/herself by gallantry and intrepidity calling 9-1-1 to help save a life or property, or to report a crime.
Equally as important, this award is presented to the 9-1-1 dispatcher/call taker who processed the call, and dispatched the appropriate emergency response help. The 9-1-1 Local Heroes® Medal of Honor, was created in 1999 in collaboration with the California State Legislature. It is now an international awards program.
9-1-1 for Kids is the official voice of 9-1-1 caller training and endorsed by: APCO International (Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials), NG9-1-1 Institute, NENA (National Emergency Number Assn.), and NASNA (National Assn. of Nine-one-one Administrators), and the California Department of Education.
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