Dispatchers get a lot of strange calls, but there was one that Tondaleya Bagby just couldn’t ignore.
She is a dispatcher in Camden County, New Jersey. She didn’t take the call, but she overheard another dispatcher on the phone with a desperate mother, and she knew she had to do something.
The conversation went:
“I had went to local churches and everything trying to find food for my children,” the woman said in the 911 call. “My kids have not eaten since yesterday.”
“Well this is for police only,” the dispatcher said. “It’s not for this.”
“I know, and my phone is off,” the woman replied. “I can’t call nobody.”
The mother told the county dispatcher that they wouldn’t receive their food stamps for at least a month.
The children could also be heard crying in the background. Bagby’s heart sank, so she sent over an officer with some fast food to hold the kids over until more help could arrive.
She said:
“I overheard it. It made me sad. I couldn’t imagine not being able to provide for my child.”
Bagby wasn’t done, though; she asked the officer to let her know what he had found. He called her after delivering the food to the family and explained that all five family members were living in a one-bedroom apartment. She knew the family needed more help.
She, her mother, Camden County Sgt. Tracy Seigel, and a few other officers all got together and bought groceries for the family.
They delivered the groceries to the family themselves. Bagby added:
“I went to two stores to just get as much as I could.”
Bagby said that the children were very excited to get the food items.
“The kids came down the steps in excitement. And she thanked us,” Seigel said.
The county is currently looking for more ways to help the family get back on their feet and avoid problems.
Bagby is happy that she could help and is glad she was working that day. If a mother is willing to call 911 because she can’t feed her children, she must really be desperate.
For their help with the call, Camden County Police Department named Officer Hinton and Sgt. Seigel the Officers of the Week.
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