911 AUDIO: Tulsa County Dispatcher Stays On Phone With Armed Suspect

Newly released audio recordings detail the conversation between a Tulsa County dispatcher and a man armed with a gun, who barricaded himself inside his home with two other people last week in Berryhill.

The dispatcher convinced the man to put down his gun and surrender to Tulsa County Deputies. The 911 call shows that the dispatcher who handled the call was able to stay calm and build rapport with the suspect, Roger Gray, which made all the difference in keeping everyone safe.

Suspect: "Tell them to come in here."

Dispatcher: "They are not going to come into the house. Because we don't know what situation we are walking into."

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Dispatcher: "They don't have any reason to use their guns do they?"

Suspect: "No I don't want to kill anybody. I don’t want to harm anybody."

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Dispatcher: "So you're putting down any weapons right?"

Suspect: "I'm putting my weapon down."

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Dispatcher: "So you don't have any on you?"

Suspect: "The only thing I've got saving my life, is you."

The Tulsa County dispatcher stayed on the phone with an armed suspect for nearly a half-hour, trying to convince him to put down his gun and surrender to deputies.

"Patience and not necessarily empathy, but the understanding of what the caller is going through, that's the extra [element] in this part that really made a difference,” said Todd Sanders, a Tulsa County Dispatch Supervisor.

The dispatcher didn’t want to be named, but her boss says this was textbook work.

Todd Sanders says the dispatcher did exactly what she was trained to do.

"If you'll go outside and leave any weapons inside. And go outside with your hands up and just talk to them, tell them you're okay,” said the dispatcher during the conversation.

"If the individual felt like he didn't trust the dispatcher or felt like the information the dispatcher was giving him wasn't to his benefit, then the outcome could have been much different for everyone involved,” said Sanders.

Sanders says dispatchers are often unsung heroes because they have to remain calm even in some of the most intense situations, to keep everyone safe.

"I do think she was very empathetic with him and wanted him to be okay,” said Sanders.

Roger Gray is in the Tulsa County Jail for threatening a violent act and having a gun while intoxicated.