911, What's Your Emergency?

A groundbreaking history and critique of a little-explored aspect of American law enforcement: the often deadly 911 emergency response system911 is largely promoted as a tool to save lives—yet too often, it puts people’s safety in jeopardy, especially for those in communities of color. We all know the tragic case of George Floyd, but what many overlook is that this calamity was put in motion not just by a police officer, but by a single 911 call. In this important book full of original research, Rebecca Neusteter, one of the country’s leading experts on emergency response, uncovers a shockingly unregulated system with deeply racist roots. Although fire chiefs had called for a universal emergency hotline for years, it wasn’t until Newark, Watts, and Detroit exploded in race riots in 1967 that federal authorities finally moved to create a system—one designed to summon the police quickly to quell civil unrest. Neusteter reveals that this legacy of racial social control continues today, with 911 calls defaulting to a response by armed police, whether or not they are well-matched to the need at hand. The book covers the all-too-frequent killings of unarmed mentally ill people as well as the “Karen” syndrome, in which primarily white women call 911 to report people of color engaged in harmless activities—endangering their lives in the process. In her final chapters, Neusteter highlights the difficult nature of the 911 profession and the dedicated public servants who show up every day to make the system run, details promising new models of emergency response, and outlines other changes needed to improve 911. Neusteter’s research is an urgent call to action that challenges us to transform America’s overburdened 911 system and make it safe, just, and equitable for all.