ADRIAN, Mich. — It's now possible in Lenawee County to show first responders what you're seeing if you call 911 in an emergency because the sheriff's office is able to offer video calls as part of its dispatch service.
"I think this technology, being able to videotape something and then send that videotape to dispatchers, they're really the eyes and ears out there," Lenawee County Sheriff Troy Bevier said.
A person calling 911 can ask to share their video camera and dispatchers will send a link to the user's phone. The link will ask for permission for the dispatcher to access the user's camera.
"When one of our call-takers gets a 911 call, if it's an incident they feel that getting eyes on the scene would help, they're able to send the caller a link," dispatch director Corinne Perdue said.
Dispatchers say its designed for things like car accidents, fires or break-ins.
"It gives us a tool that we can have," dispatcher Chris Hudson said. "Somebody on the scene can give us video so we can actually see what's going on through a cell phone instead of relying on somebody's description of what's going on."
Bevier said the Lenawee County Sheriff's Office is one of a handful of agencies in Michigan that currently use the video-sharing technology, but says he believes more will adopt it over the next several years.
"Really, it falls in line with what's called 'next-generation 911' ... that's just being able to get more information out there, get more information to dispatch," Bevier said.
Bevier said that people do not need to use video when calling police if its not necessary. They don't want you to put yourself in danger just to get video.