NFL star Richard Sherman was
recently arrested in
Washington state this week.
He's basically now facing charges
of burglary, malicious mischief and
also domestic violence.
Now, before you make any thought or
opinion about the domestic
violence, accusation or charge,
just hold off until you get
the full context of the story.
So the arrest took place after he
was allegedly intoxicated and was
threatening, according to his wife,
to kill himself, so she panics and
she calls 911.
We now have audio of that 911 call,
which we're going to share with you
in just a moment.
And I think that the dispatcher in
that case was just absolutely
awful.
But I want to give you the context
of the story and
what was reported about the arrest
before we get to that 911 call.
So Sherman was ultimately arrested
and received a minor ankle
laceration from a canine unit.
He was then denied bail after
being booked
into Seattle Correctional Facility.
He is currently at that facility
because in the state of Washington,
if you are charged with domestic
violence, they deny you bail.
So they have denied him bail,
go ahead, Cenk.
>> Yeah, I just want to clarify for
people what this story's about and
what' it's not about.
The 911 tape is outrageous as
you're going to hear in a second.
But in the beginning,
I was worried that they're framing
this in a way that it's a weirdly
seem to be against Sherman without
the facts being in.
But now a lot of the facts are in
and that is not the case.
So, for example, if you're curious
about burglary as I was, I mean,
he's very wealthy,
he doesn't need to steal anything.
That's, of course,
not the technical definition,
burglary is entry into a building
illegally with intent to commit
a crime, especially theft, but
not necessarily theft.
And he had damaged the door in his
in-laws house and that's why he's
charged with burglary.
I think that the potential DUI and
hit and run is much more serious,
so the crimes are real.
Of course, you gotta give him
a fair hearing and
no one was hurt and his
family continues to emphasize that.
But the real outrage is in how 911
handled the call >> Okay, so
it's important to know the timeline
of events.
So at 1:26 a.m Wednesday,
the patrol received a 911 call from
a construction worker.
So this is After Richard Sherman
had left his home where his wife
and her uncles are at.
So 911 gets a call from
a construction worker who reported
that a possibly impaired driver,
in this case Richard Sherman, had
driven into a closed construction
zone on eastbound Highway 520, and
struck a concrete barrier.
So he crashes the car,
he appears to be intoxicated.
And then he decides to
leave the scene of the accident,
right, which is a serious offense.
Now, after that happens,
around 1:49, Redmond police
officers responded to a 911 call of
a burglary in progress and
found Sherman outside a residence
at this area.
The Redmond police chief says,
he confirmed the house belongs to
Sherman's wife's parents,
which is why Sherman was arrested
on investigation of a domestic
violence related burglary charge.
By the way, subsequent calls by his
wife, she said that Sherman may
have been going to her parents'
house in Redmond and confirmed that
she called ahead to tell them.
So when she called 911,
obviously she's concerned because
he's intoxicated.
He's allegedly threatening to
commit suicide,
she's concerned about his safety.
He's about to get into the car,
she's doing everything she can to
stop him from doing that.
And then she later calls
the dispatcher again to let the
individual know that he appears to
be on his way to her parents house.
So that's the context.
With that said, we now have the 911
call to share with you and
it gives you even more context,
more information about what
occurred that night.
Let's begin with the first clip
that shows you just how combative
this 911 dispatcher was.
>> 911 here reporting.
>> I need officers to my house now
my husband is drunk and
bordered- >> [INAUDIBLE] Stop,
stop, what's the address?
Are there any weapon?
[INAUDIBLE] >> Stop >> We take-
>> Are there
any- >> We take- >> Listen to me.
>> No, there's no I'm saying there
are no weapons ma'am.
There are no weapon, no weapons.
>> You need to stop interrupting me
so I can get the information I need
to get officers expedited.
>> I need officers here now.
>> What's he doing that you
think he's going to hurt himself?
>> He's being aggressive.
He has sent text message.
[INAUDIBLE] >> I took the key, but
they're in your car.
He's trying to leave now in
the house.
He's being aggressive.
He's wrestling with my uncle.
He's threatening to kill himself.
He has sent text messages to people
saying he's going to hang himself.
Anything that if the police show
up, so please don't shoot is what
I'm asking.
>> So you can tell that his wife
Ashley Moss is concerned about how
the police might respond to him,
right, because he's intoxicated
according to her.
He's belligerent according to his
wife, and she's just trying to make
it abundantly clear that she
needs help.
But the responding officer should
not shoot him.
She's very much concerned that that
could happen.
And so, obviously,
you also hear the 911 dispatcher
who keeps interrupting her as she's
trying to explain what's going on.
That combativeness is about to get
even worse in other clips that
we're about to show you.
But Cenk, what do you think?
>> Yeah, so, look,
she's gotta get the address.
We understand that and sometimes,
the 911 callers need to interrupt
someone because they'll be rambling
because they're obviously in
a panic state at that point.
They're calling for a reason, but
they need to get the address.
Beyond that, the attitude that the
911 dispatcher has is unbearable.
This is a person who's in a very
emotional state and is very worried
about a person they care about.
And the 911 dispatcher seems
enormously indifferent to it.
And, of course, other
issues the one Anna brought up,
which is that if you're black in
America when you call for police to
help someone in your family, and
you have to warn them,
please don't shoot us.
And that's really sad.
But you definitely have to give
that warning and
you have to explain to them that
person does not have a gun.
And if you notice and
you'll see it more, the dispatcher
keeps asking about the weapon.
Now understandably so, the police
have to know, but God if she had
said he had any kind of weapon,
I don't know how that ends.
>> Yeah, absolutely.
So before I get to the next clip,
I just want to note that there have
been other stories that we've done,
obviously not involving a public
figure like Richard Sherman.
Where someone calls 911 on
a blackmail usually and
makes it clear that the person
doesn't appear to have a weapon.
And the cops
come in blazing anyway, right?
Anyway that warning is an important
one too, or
that information is important to
get to the dispatcher,
but just understand that doesn't
always end up getting to the police
officers who show up to the scene.
With that said, let's get
to the next portion of the call.
>> The physical, is anybody there?
You said he's trying to get around.
>> Yes, it has, yes it has.
>> How has it been physical?
>> He just tried to fight him.
>> Okay, trying to find somebody
and actually being- >> Yes, he dud.
>> Physical are two different
things. How has it been physical?
>> So the dispatcher is asking,
obviously, is he being physical? Is
he actually getting into a physical
altercation with someone?
And his wife makes it clear that he
keeps threatening to get physical
with her uncles who are also in the
house, right? But he's drunk and in
the next clip, you're going to hear
just how much he drank that night.
But, yeah, go ahead.
>> No, no, let's- >> Yeah.
>> Just play and watch. >> Okay,
let's go to the next one.
>> It's Richard Sherman, ma'am,
this is like an emergency I need
officers here right now >> Hey,
listen to me, I'm handling this.
You need to stop telling me that it
is so healthy meltdown.
I'm going to slow help down.
[CROSSTALK] >> When someone
is panicking and the wife is,
I think, justified in her panic,
the dispatcher is supposed to
remain calm.
A dispatcher getting
as combative as that woman did is
not helping the situation.
So she could have calmly explained
to Sherman's wife, listen,
everything's going to be okay.
I've already sent help.
I just need you to fill me in on
additional details.
That's it.
That's it. That's
all you need to do.
Instead, she's getting angry at
the fact that Sherman's wife
is experiencing completely normal
emotions during, honestly,
a turbulent time, right?
During a scary time.
She's worried that her husband is
going to harm himself because
he allegedly kept claiming that he
was going to harm himself.
>> Yeah, [COUGH] so
the dispatcher being so flipping
and making it about herself,
why are you interrupting me?
And all the things that you heard
her say is unbearable.
But the other aspect of this,
I'm actually going to hand off to
one of our members because they
have a personal experience with
something like this.
And I want you to hear it out guys,
because this is how some people in
the country feel,
whether you feel it or not, okay?
This their perspective.
So OJM writes in, nothing is
scarier than having to call the
cops about the mental health and
safety of a black man in America.
I'm black and a friend of mine
who's also black was staying with
me while having a mental breakdown.
And he says he was suicidal and
wandering into traffic.
I couldn't find him myself and
his phone was disconnected.
I felt like I had no options.
I emphasized over and over to
the dispatcher that he was unarmed
and only a danger to himself.
I still feel horrible about making
that call and
thank God the cops didn't find him.
We have a problem in America when
a significant percentage of
the population needs to call for
help, but is worried about calling
for help because they're worried
that the help arrives and kills
the person they're trying to help.
That is a massive problem in
this country.
And so- >> And what do you do,
right?
I mean, see this story is such an
important one if you ask me, right?
Because when we talk about police
brutality and the need to reform
the criminal justice system and
policing in America,
understand that the very people who
took to the streets last summer or
they want protection, right?
They want to have someone, a
government agency to call when they
need help, when they need safety.
But when you're a black family in
America, and you're used to this
kind of aggressive treatment and
brutality and excessive force,
who do you call when you need help?
Who was she supposed to call?
And call a 911 dispatcher and
receive that kind of treatment in
your moment of panic,
these are supposed to be highly
trained individuals who keep
the situation calm.
The dispatcher failed to do that.
Just failed to do that.
And then the thoughts that go
through Moss' mind,
that's Sherman's wife, Moss' mind
as she's making this call,
urging them to not shoot him once
they arrive to the scene.
I mean, it shows you the difference
that the public has, right?
I guess the disconnect between
some people in America, and
I put myself in that group, right?
Where I grew up thinking and
feeling that I can call
the cops whenever I need them and
they'll show up and
they'll protect me, right?
>> Yeah. But there's a huge portion
of this country that does not feel
that way.
>> And partly because they get
treated like this and
partly because we've seen it happen
dozens of times.
That somebody calls for help, and
the cops come or they see somebody
having a mental health issue and
they shoot them and kill them.
That is not the right way to
handle it.
Last thing is, guys, that's why
the movement was called defund
the police and we've talked about
how I think that's bad framing
because people misunderstand it.
But the essence of the policy was
correct, which is that some portion
of policing should be done by
mental health experts and
not people with guns.
By the way, you might need people
with guns to escort them,
right, into situations like this,
but a mental health professional
should lead in a context like this.
And maybe then a lot of people in
this country wouldn't be scared to
death to call the cops.
>> Yeah, we do
have one more clip and
I think this is an important one,
which is why I'm going to go to it.
So let's listen.
>> Does anybody need the ambulance
there?
You said he was physical.
>> No, we don't need an ambulance.
>> Okay.
And he did not have any weapons or
access to weapons?
>> No. >> Okay, and how
much has he had to drink tonight?
>> Two bottles.
>> Two bottles of what now?
>> Of Vodka and Henessey.
>> Okay, hard alcohol?
>> This alcohol,
we've been intoxicated.
>> Okay, sir- [INAUDIBLE] >> I only
going to talk to one person so
please put the phone down.
>> No [CROSSTALK] >> Look, ma'am,
okay, is the Sheriff on the way?
>> Okay, listen,
it's over a dispatch, okay?
Talking to me is not going to slow
anything else down?
>> Unbearable, yeah.
>> I'm happy that no one got
seriously hurt.
As I mentioned, he got a cut on his
ankle as a result of the canine
unit because once the cops arrived
to his wife's parents house,
apparently at first they were able
to talk to him.
But then once he realized that they
[LAUGH] were going to arrest him,
he started walking away, so
they use the dog to- >> Yeah.
>> Restrain him.
>> I mean, seeing a dog on a black
man is not great either.
Let's be honest.
But did he have to be arrested in
the beginning?
I wasn't sure, but
given the damage on the door and he
appeared to be trying to break in,
but more importantly,
even the- >> The drunk driving.
>> Yeah, the information they had
that it was his car, it looks like,
that had not only done drunk
driving, but a hit and run.
Not on a person, nobody got hurt.
But a hit and run is a very
serious charge, so I can understand
why they needed to arrest them.
So, we're just thrilled that no one
got killed in this story.
>> Yeah. >> But, but we should
expect better from the people who
were supposed to help us.
Again, other than the dog,
the cops didn't necessarily do
anything wrong.
The dispatcher did.