Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Orange County, Florida

From Orlando’s WFTV.com of September 26, 2007
Beaten Man Says 911 Dispatcher Had Him Return To Scene

A disabled east Orange County man says a 911 operator told him to return to the scene where he was allegedly beaten by a group of thugs. When he got there, he said, he was almost beaten again by the same group until he used his gun to defend himself.

John Holloway says a group of thugs tried to rob him after he picked up some groceries at a State Road 50 Circle K. He said he was punched and the men broke the windows out of his truck before he escaped.

Holloway was then shocked to be told he needed to come back to the scene to get the address of the only Circle K in Christmas.

"Hit me three times in the head with his fist," Holloway said.

In the serene sounding town of Christmas, with one prosthetic leg and another leg paralyzed, Holloway was no match for five men surrounding to rob him.

"All the sudden they're kicking and beating on my car and hollering at me, 'We're gonna get you! 'We're coming to your house. We're gonna get you and after we kill you, we're gonna take everything you have,'" he said.

Holloway said he quickly drove away, but not before the thugs beat him and his Tahoe, even smashing his windows out. He called 911, but was shocked when the operator insisted he go back to the only Circle K in Christmas to get an address.

"I said, 'Please don't make me go back there, because they're still there,'" he said.

Holloway's account is confirmed in the incident report, which also describes what happened when he finally went back.

"I was scared for my life at that point. I was afraid to go back there. I was afraid they were gonna beat me down, if not kill me," he said.

Holloway said, when he went back, he had his pistol in his hand and, when they attacked again, he fired one shot and scared the men away.

The sheriff's office listed both Holloway and his attackers as victims and suspects. Apparently Holloway's mistake was firing his weapon to scare the men away. He said he did what he felt he had to do for his protection.

There was no word if the 911 operator will be reprimanded for sending Holloway back to the scene.

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