Troubleshooter: Will they come when you call?
DURHAM (WTVD) -- A Triangle woman called 911 for help four times, but help never came.
When you call 911, you expect someone to be dispatched right away. However, we found out that is not always the case.
Joyce Thomas says she was following an obviously drunk and dangerous driver for many miles and minutes, imploring help to come but it never did.
"This man is going to kill somebody! Ma'am this man is driving crazy!" Joyce cried on one of four emotional calls to 911.
Joyce says she first noticed the SUV swerving recklessly in front of her on North Roxboro Street in Durham.
The driver hit the curb so hard that the SUV nearly flipped. Luckily, it didn't but the suspected drunk driver kept going, right through town.
"He's getting ready to pass on the corner of where the police department is," Joyce explained.
She and the drunk driver drove right by a police substation but still no help came.
Joyce started fearing the worst.
"All I could see was this big accident, someone getting killed or hurt," she said.
However, as the speeding, swerving SUV kept going, Joyce stayed right behind for 16 miles, a total of 23 minutes.
Four frantic phone calls later, her fear turned into frustration and she reluctantly and tearfully gave up following him.
The 911 responder explained that they had notified the officers and the sheriff's department about the suspected drunk driver.
Yet, Joyce was left feeling disappointed and distraught.
"I can't believe that this man drove 16 miles and no officer came to stop him, nobody," she said.
Joyce reached out to me to see if I could get answers. I contacted Durham 911 officials and was shocked at what they told me.
They wouldn't go on-camera, but they say they did take Joyce's four calls seriously by sending out two different "All Calls" or "Be-On-The-Lookout" calls for the suspected drunk driver.
So why did no one ever come?
Perhaps no officers answered the "All Calls" because they may have been busy, not nearby, thought someone else would respond or just could not find the suspected drunk driver.
We asked 911 and police officials if it is standard to just issue an "All Call" instead of dispatching the nearest unit - even when they are told exactly where the incident is happening.
They said yes, that it is more "effective and efficient" to broadcast the call to all law enforcement, rather than dispatching a unit directly to the scene. They added, BOLO is issued when the incident involves a situation where it is not at a fixed location, which was the case with Joyce.
A specific officer would be assigned if they come in contact with the information that is contained in the BOLO. At that point it would no longer be an "Attempt to Locate" or a BOLO but would be reclassified according to what the officer determines.
They also said they never know if any officers actually respond to "All Calls" unless they later radio in that they have found the vehicle.
It is an explanation that stunned Joyce, a very frustrated good Samaritan.
"If he had hit one of my loved ones, killed them or hurt them, there's no telling what I would say about how wrong they were by not stopping this man," Joyce said.
We checked with the Durham Police Department, the Durham County Sheriff's Office, and Highway Patrol and none had a record of any officer responding to the "All Call."
They said they wouldn't have records unless an officer had found and stopped the SUV.
