Customer Reviews

Dial 911 and Die

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In the preface of "Dial 911 and Die", Richard Stevens states that the most shocking thing he learned in law school was that "the government owes no duty to protect individual citizens from criminal attack."On the other hand, the laws of many states and cities make it nearly impossible to use firearms for self-protection. It is a Catch-22--government will not protect you, yet they make legal mincemeat of your best means of protecting yourself."Dial 911 and Die" describes many types of cases in which governmental employees were negligent, incompetent, or, in some cases, criminal in their actions: paramedics who refused to respond to a heart attack victim; a parole board which illegally released a violent career criminal who later committed additional crimes; dozens of women who obtained restraining orders against abusive spouses/boyfriends who later murdered them.In each case, the courts ruled that the offending department or jurisdiction could not be sued.Stevens' book covers the laws of every state in the union. However, it is not a dry legal treatise. Each chapter describes one or more electrifying cases in which citizens were denied the right to sue for damages because of geovernmental immunity from lawsuits. The writing is clear and the narrative similar to a true crime book or a novel.This book will outrage you. But it should be in the library of every American who is concerned about our eroding individual rights.

This book is mandatory reading for anyone who thinks that nobody should be allowed to own or carry a firearm for self-defense because "the police will protect you".

As the author so ably demonstrates, 911 is a communications system of variable efficacy. It's not a teleportation device which desposits the police at your location. As some of the examples show, even when the police do respond, they don't always do anything meaningful, either through no fault of their own, negligence or malice.

If you know somebody who thinks that the police have a duty to protect them because it says "To Serve and Protect" on the doors of the police cars, do them a favor and buy them a copy of this book. It could save their life. Even if they choose to abdicate their fundamental human right of self-defense, at least they will have done so with their eyes open.

Although not intended to put down the 911 emergency system, or the nation's police forces, this book illustrates how dependence on those institutions can cost your life if they fail to respond to your emergency, especially if you're the victim of an attack. Because there is no legal requirement for the police to respond to your pleas for help, the bottom line is you are sometimes totally on your own. After reading this book, and discussing the truth of its message with our local police force, I bought a .38 Smith and Wesson and took lessons in using it to protect myself. My country, however is bent on forbiding me to own my own protection, while not assuring me of its help. This is a catch 22 that all citizens should learn about. The message will inspire you to take steps to protect yourself, for you are always the first on the scene of a crime against you. I regard this book as invaluable for teaching me a lesson of self reliance I would have blissfully ignored otherwise, possibly fatally.

Stevens takes you through every state giving example after example of what happens (???doesn't happen???) when you dial 911. I especially appreciate what he wrote as, several years ago, I called 911 with three men pounding on the side of my house yelling, cussing, and threatening and it took the LEA one hour and forty-five minutes to respond. You need to know this stuff so you can make an informed decision about what you are going to do.

This is a must read for anyone who is undecided as to the necessity of having a gun for self defense. The stories are actually true. One of the stories happened in my hometown and I remember it well.

This book repeatedly illustrates one idea. The idea is that you usually cannot sue the government for failing to protect you from violent criminals. It covers stories from each of the United States as well as some nearby places like Canada and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

There are many sad examples of when people have relied on the government for protection. After they were hurt or killed, they (or their survivors) were usually unable to sue the government for damages.

Fortunately, the book has two happy endings. The first are the stories of many people who successfully defended themselves from violent criminals. The second is the rest of your life, since you will know the futility of relying on others for protection and recognize how to take care of yourself.

'Dial 911 And Die' does a great job of demonstrating that those who think that relying solely on the police for defense against criminals are deluding themselves.

There are a lot of reasons that one should not be too dependent upon law eforcement for protection. If a violent criminal is breaking into a citizen's home and he/she calls 911, it may do no good. One of the most obvious is that the police cannot be everywhere at once. They may all be on other calls, too far away, etc. Additionally, as this book proves, there are a variety of other factors that may cause failures in the system.

This is not the most exciting thing to read. It is a bit dry in places. Lots of this is due to a lot of (necessary) repetition. One of the author's main points is that the limitations of 911 exist all across the country. The problems are not limited to just a few states or locales.

Another thing that this volume shows is that guns are very good things. They have been used for protection by citizens tens of thousands of times. Oftentimes, they do not even have to be fired to stop attacks. One powerful statistic contained here is that 'private citizens shoot and kill more criminals (1527) than do the police (606)'. In places where it has become less cumbersome to obtain concealed weapons permits, there have been measurable decreases in violent crime. This book is a bit dated (1999). If it were more current, it would show even greater improvements in those areas.

One of the best parts is the one that chronicles forty-five stories where armed citizens thwarted criminal attacks. As anyone who is well versed on second amendment issues knows, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Armed citizens save lots of lives and injury. With more people possessing weapons and well trained, it would be even better. As Robert Heinlein said, 'An armed society is a polite society.'

I would encourage anyone who is concerned about self defense, crime, and personal safety to read this book and share it with others.

Read it. It will shock you, because you will obtain a new attitude toward the phrase "protect and serve".
It's an easy read, and it may change your mind about self defense and gun control.

I sure wish I had the funds to buy and distribute this book in my own community!! I would start with the monthly city council meetings. 911 operators waste too much precious time asking pointless questions, then deciding the severity of the call. People waste time, tax-payer money on frivolous, non-emergency calls, such as; complaining being ripped off for a hamburger, parking spot, etc...
My last, and final dealing with dialing 911 was when my husband was having a heart attack. I was put on HOLD, following a recording. After the 4th time of listening to the recording, I hung up and called my brother who was at our home within 1 1/2 minutes, took my husband to hospital. Husband is (fine).
Forget lawsuits that allege negligence, misconduct, inappropriate behavior.
I now deal with any and all 'emergencies' myself, including protecting family, home and self. Read this book carefully!

I'm a cheap-skate so you know this must be good for me to give a copy as a gift without it being someones birthday, christmas, etc. Heavy reading? No way. But totally illustrative of a simple fact that most people are unaware of -- THE POLICE ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO RESPOND TO YOUR 911 CALL!!! If you think you don't need to defend yourself (i.e. just call 911) then you need to read this book before it's too late. It'll open your eyes to the simple facts.