KGET News
Active listening to vocal tone rather than strict call protocol enabled an emergency dispatcher to decode a covert domestic violence plea and coordinate a silent arrest.
AI-assisted summary of Woman disguises 911 call by ordering pizza — original source. Check the original for full context.
Source published:
Key ideas
- An Ohio woman covertly alerted emergency services to an active domestic violence situation by pretending to order a pizza while the abuser was present in the room. (0:00)
- Veteran 911 dispatcher Tim Teneyck decoded the coded distress call using close-ended questions disguised as food options to assess medical need and suspect presence. (0:48)
- Responding police officers were instructed to shut off their sirens on approach, leading to the successful arrest of suspect Simon Lopez. (1:46)
- Oregon Police Chief Michael Navarre stated that in his 42 years of law enforcement, he had never seen a caller use a pizza order to report domestic violence. (1:46)
Detailed notes
## Background Published on YouTube by KGET News on November 23, 2019, this report covers an extraordinary emergency call titled 'Woman disguises 911 call by ordering pizza.' The video description succinctly reflects this premise, recounting how a caller covertly sought help during an ongoing domestic crisis.
## TL;DR When a woman dialed 911 in Oregon, Ohio, pretending to order a pizza, veteran dispatcher Tim Teneyck quickly recognized the covert plea for help rather than dismissing it as a wrong number. By asking targeted, yes-or-no questions framed around pizza toppings and sizes, Teneyck confirmed an active domestic assault without alerting the suspect in the room. He dispatched patrol units with instructions to approach silently with their sirens off, leading to the prompt arrest of Simon Lopez. It was later revealed the caller was the victim's daughter, whose quick thinking to protect her mother was widely praised by local law enforcement alongside domestic violence support resources.
## Atmosphere & style The broadcast carries a tense, chilling undertone that swiftly pivots into a narrative of profound relief and professional admiration. Listening to the authentic dispatch audio creates an edge-of-your-seat atmosphere, where the caller's subtle inflections and disguised answers convey immense vulnerability and danger. Both Dispatcher Tim Teneyck and Police Chief Michael Navarre offer reflective, earnest commentary that underscores how close the situation came to catastrophe, leaving viewers with a powerful appreciation for alert intuition under pressure.
## Bulletin - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=0s) An Ohio woman covertly alerted emergency services to an active domestic violence situation by pretending to order a pizza while the abuser was present in the room. - [00:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=48s) Veteran 911 dispatcher Tim Teneyck decoded the coded distress call using close-ended questions disguised as food options to assess medical need and suspect presence. - [01:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=106s) Responding police officers were instructed to shut off their sirens on approach, leading to the successful arrest of suspect Simon Lopez. - [01:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=106s) Oregon Police Chief Michael Navarre stated that in his 42 years of law enforcement, he had never seen a caller use a pizza order to report domestic violence.
## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=0s) A woman contacted Oregon, Ohio 911 pretending to place a pizza delivery order to conceal her call from an active abuser. - [00:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=15s) Dispatcher Tim Teneyck initially informed the caller she had dialed the wrong number before catching her urgent inflection. - [00:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=35s) Emergency dispatchers are not formally trained on viral coded scenarios like ordering pizza, relying instead on deep listening skills. - [00:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=48s) Teneyck adapted by asking close-ended yes-or-no questions that the caller could answer without breaking character. - [01:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=60s) The caller confirmed the suspect was present by asking for a 'large pizza' and indicated no medical help was needed with 'with pepperoni.' - [01:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=72s) Dispatch ordered responding patrol units to deactivate their sirens prior to arrival to prevent alarming the suspect. - [01:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=88s) Teneyck acknowledged that many other dispatchers admitted they likely would have hung up on or dismissed the call. - [01:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=106s) Police Chief Michael Navarre noted that in 42 years of policing, he had never encountered this disguised distress method. - [02:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=120s) Navarre highlighted that the caller conveyed her life-threatening danger primarily through vocal tone rather than direct words. - [02:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=128s) Officers arrived at the apartment silently and arrested the alleged abuser, Simon Lopez. - [02:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=135s) The caller was revealed to be the victim's daughter, who ordered the pizza to keep the attacker calm and prevent him from fleeing before police arrived.
## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=0s) A Coded Call to 911 and Tim Teneyck's Quick Intuition
News anchor Tami introduces a chilling incident in Ohio where an apparent wrong number quickly revealed itself to be a desperate plea for help. A local woman managed to contact emergency services while in danger, relying entirely on whether the person on the other end of the line would catch what was really happening. Reporting on the incident, Micaela Marshall brings in the actual audio recording from the Oregon, Ohio dispatch center. When veteran dispatcher Tim Teneyck answers the line with standard protocol, the caller immediately requests to place a food order, stating that she wants to order a pizza and beginning to give an apartment address.
Teneyck initially pushes back, questioning why someone is dialing an emergency line for take-out and informing her that she has dialed the wrong number. Sensing her window of opportunity closing, the caller urgently insists, telling him that he is not understanding her. That subtle shift in inflection and insistence triggers Teneyck's instincts, prompting him to reply that he finally understands what is happening. Despite having fourteen years of service in dispatch, Teneyck admits he had never encountered a scenario like this on the job. Addressing the viral nature of such tactics, Tim Teneyck explains: “You see it on facebook but it's not something that anybody has ever been trained for. We're just trained to listen.”
```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Pizza 911 Call Progression accDescr: Flow diagram showing how the coded 911 call was decoded by Dispatcher Tim Teneyck to send silent police response. subgraph CallInitiation["Caller (Victim's Daughter)"] A["Dials 911"] --> B["Orders large pizza to disguise call"] B --> C["Insists dispatcher is not understanding"] end subgraph DispatchResponse["Dispatcher Tim Teneyck"] C --> D["Recognizes covert domestic violence plea"] D --> E["Asks yes/no questions disguised as pizza details"] E --> F["Instructs officers: 'Turn your sirens off'"] end subgraph Resolution["Police Action"] F --> G["Officers arrive quietly at apartment"] G --> H["Simon Lopez arrested"] end ```
[00:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=48s) Decoding the Pizza Order and Silent Police Dispatch
While domestic violence calls are routine for emergency dispatchers, this specific encounter required careful, covert coordination to avoid alerting the aggressor in the room. Teneyck immediately pivoted to asking close-ended questions that the caller could answer under the guise of placing an order. When Teneyck asks if the suspect is still present, the caller replies affirmatively while continuing her cover: "Yep. I need a large pizza." Teneyck then asks whether anyone requires medical attention, to which she seamlessly replies, "No. With pepperoni."
Armed with confirmation that an assault was underway and the perpetrator remained in the immediate vicinity, Teneyck alerted responding patrol units with specific tactical instructions. Relaying the situation over the radio, Teneyck told officers: “Turn your sirens off before you get there. Caller ordered a pizza. And agreed with everything I said that there's domestic violence going on.” Teneyck noted that his intuition immediately signaled that something was off, reaffirming that deep, active listening remains the most critical skill in emergency communication. Refecting on the near miss, Tim Teneyck noted: “Other dispatchers that I've talked to would not have picked up on this. They've told me they wouldn't have picked up on this.”
- Dispatcher Tim Teneyck has served 14 years as an emergency dispatcher. - The caller used order specifics ("large pizza" and "with pepperoni") to confirm the suspect was present and that medical assistance was not needed. - Responding officers were explicitly instructed to deactivate their sirens upon approach to preserve the element of surprise.
[01:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI&t=106s) Arrest of Simon Lopez and Domestic Violence Support
Oregon Police Chief Michael Navarre commended Teneyck's quick thinking, pointing out that in many standard dispatch environments, an apparent prank or misdialed food order could have led to an abrupt disconnection. In his extensive career, the chief had never encountered a victim using a pizza order as a domestic violence distress code, remarking: “Not in all my years, not in my 42 years of law enforcement.” Chief Navarre emphasized that if someone finds themselves trapped in a hostile situation where speaking freely is impossible, the key is conveying peril by any means possible, noting: “Somehow or another convey to that police dispatcher that you are in trouble. And this woman did that. She did that not with her words, but with the tone of her voice.”
Because of the fast coordination between the caller and the dispatch desk, officers arrived silently and took the alleged abuser, Simon Lopez, into custody. Praising the successful intervention, Chief Michael Navarre remarked: “He handled the call beautifully and it had a happy ending.” In the aftermath, it was revealed that the caller was the victim's daughter. Her deliberate strategy in ordering the pizza was designed to keep the man who was assaulting her mother calm and prevent him from fleeing the scene before law enforcement could arrive. Closing the report, anchor Tami shared local and national support resources for individuals experiencing domestic violence:
- Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault: 322-0931 - 24-Hour Crisis Hotline: 327-1091 - National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233) - Immediate emergency assistance: 911
## Mentioned Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault, Facebook, KGET News, Micaela Marshall, Michael Navarre, National Domestic Violence Hotline, Oregon, Ohio, Simon Lopez, Tami, Tim Teneyck
## Video description Woman disguises 911 call by ordering pizza
[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL_8kNFmTI)