Biff_Poindexter
Diamond Member

Wife of slain Colorado man says police didn't respond to her 911 report that he had been taken hostage
A woman who received a desperate text from her husband indicating he had been taken hostage says she called 911 but that police didn't respond until about an hour later, by which time he had been shot and killed.

"A woman who received a desperate text from her husband indicating he had been taken hostage said Tuesday that she called 911 but that police did not respond until about an hour later, by which time he had been shot and killed. On its online police blotter, the Colorado Springs Police Department said it found two deceased adult males on Friday at the location that Talija Campbell said she feared her husband Qualin Campbell was being held by another man. It said the officers responded to a report of a shooting there at 2:09 p.m. Talija Campbell said she called 911 just after 1 p.m. when her husband, a father of two, l texted his location and a photo of a man sitting next to him in his car. Then he sent messages saying "911" and "Send Please!" She called the emergency number.
Campbell said she told one dispatcher that she believed her husband had been taken hostage, described his car and his location, which was about a mile away from the headquarters of the Colorado Springs Police Department. The dispatcher said an officer would check it out and get back to her but there was no sense of urgency, Campbell said, so she drove to the location herself. When she arrived Campbell said she immediately recognized her husband's company car in a parking lot. As other people gathered around, they debated whether they should open the car door after seeing a gun on the lap of the other man - Campbell said she decided to open the door to try to save her husband, who had been bleeding, but found no pulse on his neck or wrist. "I shouldn't have been the one there, the first person to respond," she said. Campbell's lawyer, Harry Daniels, said she wants answers from the department about why it did not respond to her call, saying Qualin Campbell might still be alive if they had. "I can't think of anything that could take higher precedence than a hostage situation, except maybe an active shooter," he said."
Very sad story and from the point of view of Mrs Campbell, I can see her frustration seeing as tho her husband's location was just one mile away from the police station. From what I have read, her husband was shot in the stomach, which in many cases, is the slowest and most painful way to die....However, if help arrived sooner, it is very likely Mr. Campbell could have survived; which I am sure only add to the frustration of his family and friends. The shooter also died, has not been identified so its hard to say if this is a person who was knew the victim, perhaps a coworker, his friend or even his gay lover as some of you will most likely speculate -- either way, this is a pretty sad story - but I won't fault the police until we find out if the lack of urgency was on part of the 911 operators or the police themselves.