Firefighter hangs up on 911 caller while teen dies
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – An Albuquerque firefighter could be in trouble for what he said to a 911 caller after a 17-year-old was shot at a party. The firefighter then proceeded to hang up on the caller as Jaydon Chavez-Silver was dying.
Chavez-Silver was shot and killed during a party in the Heights back on June 26. He had only been there for five minutes when someone started shooting at the home. During the 911 call, frantic attempts to save the Manzano High School student’s life are audible in the background.
Albuquerque Fire Department says the firefighter on the line is Driver Matthew Sanchez, who was working in the dispatch center that night. He repeatedly asks if Jaydon is breathing, but when the caller gets annoyed with the questions and snaps at Sanchez, the firefighter tells her she’s on her own and hangs up on her.
Here is the 911 call.
911 Call:
(To protect patient privacy, portions of the 911 recording had to be redacted. The redaction is for the first 2:54. AFD units were dispatched prior to the disconnect.)
Dispatcher Matthew Sanchez: “OK, is he not breathing?”
911 caller: “Barely” (inaudible) “Stay with him” (inaudible) “Stay with him, good job. Just stay with me, OK, OK. There you go. Good job Jaydon.”
Sanchez: “Is he breathing?”
911 caller: “He’s barely breathing. How many times do I have to f***ing tell you?”
Sanchez: “OK, you know what ma’am, you could deal with it yourself. I’m not gonna deal with this, OK?”
911 caller: “No” (inaudible).
Albuquerque Fire Chief David Downey released the following statement:
“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.”
Jaydon’s mother heard the call shortly after it was released to KRQE-TV. She says she’s heartbroken by the way the firefighter acted on that 911 call.
“They’re beyond belief about what happened,” said Dan Sparago, a spokesperson for the family. “But at the same time they want to focus on [catching] the people who did this.”
His family is asking anyone with information to come forward and they say a reward fund has been set up at Bank of the West.
“They have complete confidence in the Albuquerque Police Department and they’re sure that the detectives are doing all they can to find the people who did this,” Sparago said.