Bodycam footage shows that police did not even get out of their patrol car when responding to the desperate 911 call of a teen being crushed to death in the back of his SUV.
Kyle Plush, 16, was found dead on April 10 – more than six hours after he first called police for help – saying he was stuck in the seats of his van and close to death.
Now bodycam footage from the two officers who responded to the first 911 call reveals the cops didn’t get out of their patrol car during their three minute search.
Bodycam footage shows that police did not even get out of their car when responding to the desperate 911 call of a teen being crushed to death in the back of his SUV
Kyle Plush, 16, (left and right with his family) was found dead on April 10 – more than six hours after he first called police for help, saying he was stuck in his van and close to death
Officers were dispatched to the area about ten minutes after his initial 911 call at 3.14pm, tracking his phone GPS to Seven Hills School but were unable to find him.
The teen called again at 3.35pm, begging for help and telling the dispatcher ‘I’m almost dead.’
But a couple of minutes later, Cincinnati police officers say over radio they believe the call was a prank and they close out the call for service.
A Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy performed a final check at 3.44pm, telling the communication center he’s only see one van in the area and it was empty.
Plush’s family recovered his body several hours later.
The bodycam footage from officers Edsel Osborn and Brian Brazile, who were riding double as Unit 2232, showed them driving around a parking lot, but never getting out of their vehicle.
Bodycam footage from the two officers who responded to the first 911 call reveals the cops didn’t get out their patrol car during their three minute search
The two videos, taken from their respective cameras, show the officers pulling into the parking lot south of the Seven Hills School Resale Shop.
Plush’s van was parked in the parking lot north of the shop – on the same side of the road.
The officers then make a U-turn and return to the road before turning into another parking lot.
‘I don’t see nobody, which I didn’t imagine I would,’ one officer said.
‘I’m going to shut this off,’ the other said towards the end of the three minute video. Police previously claimed officers had searched for the teen for 11 minutes.
Dash cam video from the patrol vehicle is currently with a prosecutor so has not been publicly released.
Police Chief Eliot Isaac has since launched an internal investigation into Plush’s death.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters has also launched an investigation, while the 911 responder who answered Plush’s second call, but failed to pass on crucial information, was placed on administrative leave.
The above graphic shows how Plush became trapped under the third row bench seat when he leaned back to grab tennis gear from the rear of the vehicle
Above: A view inside a 2002 Honda Odyssesy, showing the third bench row. This is not the car that Plush died in
She said she couldn’t hear any sound during the call, although Plush can be heard speaking in a recording of the call.
In the recording, the teen sounds desperate.
‘This is not a joke,’ he told Smith. ‘I’m almost dead.’
‘I probably don’t have much time left, so tell my mom I love her if I die,’ he added during the call.
Police revealed that the 911 dispatching system may have malfunctioned moments before he called.
Amber Smith was the call taker who allegedly flubbed the desperate call from Kyle as he was being crushed to death in his minivan.
But Fraternal Order of Police President Daniel Hils told Fox 19 the computer system may have been down while Plush was making his desperate calls to 911.
Smith said she tried to document the call when it came in but her computer screen had frozen, preventing her from entering information immediately, a preliminary review found.
A makeshift memorial was set up in the Seven Hills school parking lot after Plush’s death
In the second call to 911, Plush told the operator ‘tell my mom that I love her if I die’
‘Apparently there was some trouble on the line. She did press the tone to indicate she’s having trouble on the line that could possibly be a call received from a hearing impaired person but again those are things that have been conveyed preliminary,’ Chief Isaac said.
Kyle was crushed while reaching over the third row seat of his Honda Odyssey minivan to retrieve tennis gear.
A coroner found that Kyle died from ‘asphyxiation due to chest compression’ after he was trapped by a folding seat in a 2004 Honda Odyssey minivan while trying to grab his tennis equipment.
On Tuesday, furious relatives of Plush stormed out of a city meeting about his death after a councilman said no amount of money or finger-pointing would bring him back.
Kyle, pictured with his parents Ron and Jill and his sister, died after getting trapped in his minivan. He told an 911 operator to tell his mother that he loved her
Mourners embrace each other after the funeral service on Monday at St. Rose Church in Cincinnati
Kyle’s funeral was held on Monday at the St. Rose Church in Cincinnati
Cincinnati City council members held a meeting on Tuesday night – a day after Kyle’s funeral – to hear five hours worth of testimony regarding the teen’s death.
Kyle’s father, uncle and other family members stormed out after hearing Councilman Wendell Young’s remarks towards the end of the meeting.
‘On the day you lost your son, it seems to me everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. I don’t know that any level of finger-pointing or witch-hunting is going to change that,’ Young said.
‘I suspect that there will be attempts to do what the law allows to be done to try to, in some way, to make up for what happened with you. But there’s no amount of money that’s going to make you happy.’
At least three investigations have been launched to determine why 911 dispatcher Amber Smith did not relay details from Kyle’s call that included information about his car and location
Kyle’s father Ron Plush yelled out: ‘This isn’t about money!’
The teenager’s uncle Robert then got out of his seat while yelling and pointing his finger at Young.
‘You know what, stop this right here. This is the most insensitive thing I’ve ever heard,’ he yelled. ‘You guys were doing wonderful until this guy started talking. You’ve crossed the line. You have crossed the line.’
Kyle’s father, uncle, aunt and grandmother then stormed out of the chambers.
Young has since apologized to the grieving family, saying he never meant to offend anyone.