‘If you see something, say something:’ officials, activists speak on calling 911

Following a shooting in Lexington on Sunday, officials and activists in Kentucky are urging people in communities to call 911 if something concerns you.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – If you see something, say something.

“If you think it’s criminal activity, and it’s a non-emergency, you can call (859) 258-3600, and if it’s an emergency, call 911 and just tell us what you saw and just give us your phone number. If you’re scared, you can just have an officer just call you. They don’t have to talk to you on-scene,” said Lexington Police Sergeant Guy Miller.

Following a shooting in Lexington on Sunday, officials in Kentucky are urging people in communities to call 911 if something concerns you.

“If they do call 9-11 and there’s nothing there, it’s like, hey, thumbs up, it’s all good, we’re having a good day,'” said Irvine Police Department Chief John Sturniolo.

Lexington West End activist Stephen Overstreet also suggests calling if you see or hear something in your area.

“I’d just advise people, if you’re close to it, and you know it’s close to you, get someone out there to check it out.”

OneLexington Director Devine Carama agrees, posting to Facebook following Sunday’s shooting that no one called 911 after hearing the gunshots, taking officials more than 25 minutes to respond.

“We completely understand people’s hesitancy in some communities to call 911 because of the generational distrust of law enforcement,” said Carama, “So though we are encouraging for more people to call 911, we understand why many of them don’t and we are working with our friends in public safety to repair that trust with the ultimate goal of keeping our communities safe.”

Overstreet says due to this mistrust, some people don’t feel safe having officers investigating on their street.

“A lot of times, people don’t feel comfortable having the police on their street. Whether that be the fear of an actual agency on the street, or we’ve developed this no-snitch culture in our society,” said Overstreet.

Lexington Police say if you aren’t comfortable having an officer on your street, you can call the department and ask to speak with an officer on the phone, or submit a tip anonymously through Bluegrass Crime Stoppers.

“We’ll keep you anonymous. We’ll get the information out immediately to where it needs to go to an investigating officer. If it leads to an arrest, we’ll pay out in cash. From a Crime Stoppers standpoint, we understand that fear of retaliation so we have a way that people can still reach out to us,” said Lexington Police Detective Anthony Delimpo.

According to Overstreet, hearing gunshots often in some communities is a reality.

“Hearing gunshots becomes a norm. You can distinguish whether it’s a .22 caliber or 9 mm by the time you’re 15, that’s living in trauma, you’re living in a warzone…I can say I have heard gunshots and have not called the police. I can honestly say that I’ve done that in the year 2022, ” said Overstreet.

Overstreet explains how emergency situations, such as a shooting in the community, must be handled with care and empathy.

“A lot of times, the main goal is for us to be seen as human when you come on the scene…not in the light of someone who is being disorderly or a suspect, but in the light of someone who’s a resident who just witnessed some sort of trauma. We’re dealing with people who have dealt with current trauma. And so there are mental ramifications to that. Understand that when you’re showing up to a scene, you’re showing up to where someone’s just been through something life-changing,” said Overstreet.

According to Chief Sturniolo, you will not be reprimanded for making a legitimate call to 911, even if the situation turns out to be nothing.

“Here in our community, people know if they do call and it’s nothing. We always say, ‘thank you, thank God it’s nothing,’ so that they feel more confident. I think when you have that attitude, showing them that they’re not upsetting us, they’re more readily going to call versus being hesitant,” said Chief Sturniolo.

RESOURCES FOR REPORTING AN EMERGENCY:

Emergency line: 911

Lexington Police Dispatch: (859) 258-3600

Bluegrass Crime Stoppers: (859) 253-2020, or visit the City of Lexington’s website for Bluegrass Crime Stoppers resources here.

Irvine Police Dispatch: (606) 723-2221