911, What’s Your Emergency?

Although fire chiefs had called for a universal emergency hotline for years, it wasn’t until 1967—when Newark, Watts, and Detroit exploded in race riots—that Congress finally moved to create a system, one designed to summon the police to put down civil unrest. Neusteter reveals that legacy of racial social control as it continues today, with armed police the default response to 911 calls, whether or not they are well-matched to the need at hand. The book covers all-too-frequent killings of unarmed mentally ill people as well as the “Karen” syndrome, in which white women call 911 to report Black people engaged in harmless activities—endangering their lives in the process.

In her final chapters, Neusteter highlights promising new models of emergency response and other changes needed to improve our 911 system to serve everyone, safely and equitably.