Daughter saves her domestic violence victim mother from abuser by calling 911 and pretending to order pizza
- The mother’s boyfriend, 56-year-old Simon Lopez, was at the family’s apartment in Oregon, Ohio, when the couple got in an argument that turned violent
- The victim told police that Lopez screamed at her and repeatedly punched her in the arm so hard that she fell into a wall
- The woman’s 38-year-old daughter alerted authorities by telling a 911 dispatcher she wanted to order a pizza
- Dispatcher Tim Teneyck caught on and sent officers who arrested Lopez
The daughter of a domestic violence victim covertly alerted authorities about an incident unfolding at her home by calling 911 and pretending to order a pizza.
The mother’s boyfriend, identified by police as 56-year-old Simon Lopez, was at the family’s apartment in Oregon, Ohio, on Tuesday night when the couple got in an argument that turned violent.
The victim, who has not been named, told police that Lopez screamed at her and repeatedly punched her in the arm so hard that she fell into a wall.
As she watched the attack unfold, the woman’s 38-year-old daughter came up with a plan to contact police without raising the alleged abuser’s suspicion.
The daughter of a domestic violence victim covertly alerted authorities about an incident unfolding at her home by calling 911 and pretending to order a pizza. Tim Teneyck, the dispatcher who picked up the call and figured out what was going on, is seen above
Police released a recording of the 911 call on Tuesday
Police released a recording of the 911 call to local TV station WTVG.
The daughter is heard telling the dispatcher: ‘I would like to order a pizza.’
‘You called 911 to order a pizza?’ the dispatcher, Tim Teneyck asks.
‘Uh, yeah,’ she replies nervously.
‘This is the wrong number to call for a pizza,’ Teneyck says.
‘You’re not understanding me,’ the daughter presses, finally prompting the dispatcher to catch on and ask her the apartment number.
Teneyck also asks whether she needs medical assistance, to which she replies: ‘No. With pepperoni.’
The dispatcher is then heard advising responding officers to turn off their squad car lights and sirens when they get close to the home.
The officers arrested Lopez on domestic violence charges.
Officers dispatched to the scene arrested the alleged abuser, 56-year-old Simon Lopez
Teneyck said it was one of the strangest calls he’s ever fielded in his 14 years as a dispatcher
Teneyck said it was one of the strangest calls he’s ever gotten in his 14 years as a dispatcher.
‘You see it on Facebook, but it’s not something that anybody has ever been trained for. We’re just trained to listen,’ he told WTVG.
‘Other dispatchers that I’ve talked to would not have picked up on this. They’ve told me they wouldn’t have picked up on this.’
Oregon Chief of Police Michael Navarre praised Teneyck’s patient response to the odd call.
‘Excellent dispatch work on the part of our dispatcher. Some dispatchers may have hung up,’ Navarre said.
‘He handled the call beautifully and it had a happy ending.’
The police chief said that while he’d never seen the pizza tactic in his 42 years with law enforcement, it was a good idea that others should take note of.
‘Somehow or another convey to that police dispatcher that you are in trouble, and this woman did that. She did that not with her words, but with the tone of her voice,’ he said.