I know some very dedicated EMTs.

Like those fine folks over at the Englishtown-Manalapan First Aid Squad, among other.
Good people, and since a good many are volunteers, do it out of the pure dedication of helping others.

Same with cops, for the most part.

Public Enemy had it right when Flava Flav proclaimed, “911 is a joke in your town!”

Police officials are examining the response to a 911 call Sunday night that left a city man struggling with an intruder at his building without any officers arriving.
Dan Dodson said it was 20 or 30 minutes before two officers eventually arrived in response to his wife’s calls to police telephone numbers.

“We’re looking into it to determine if the proper protocols were followed,” Lt. Steve Varn said yesterday evening.

Yesterday, Dodson said he was deciding where to buy a baseball bat in case someone else was able to slip into his home. He believes one of the two tenants who live in apartments of his building on the 300 block of South Broad Street accidentally left the front door ajar, which allowed a drunken and belligerent man access to the vestibule of the apartment unit Dodson shares with his wife and 17-month-old son.

The man gained access about 10 p.m., he said.

Dodson said his wife dialed 911 and told police her husband was scuffling with an intruder.
“I’m going hand to hand with this guy and she’s calling 911, and they said to call the non-emergency number, and to call back if it got any worse,” Dodson said.

When Dodson’s wife called the non-emergency number, the dispatcher said there were no police units available to send. In the meantime Dodson continued to confront the man outside his home, who he said was irrational and violent.

“He just said, ‘You can’t tell me to leave,’ and all that kind of stuff,” Dodson said.
Dodson finally kicked the man out of his building after what he estimated was 10 minutes of struggling, pushing the intruder onto Broad Street, where he hoped he would be arrested by police officers.

“I thought in a matter of minutes there was going to be blue lights outside,” he said.
No arrests have been made in the case. Police officials have the response under administrative review.

“They blamed it on dispatch. They said they came when they got the call,” he said.
“Which I have no reason to disbelieve, because the radio room told us to go away.”

Dodson wonders if police are no longer placing a priority on a response for particular crimes.

“I want the police department to be clear about what they’re doing, because citizens have to plan,” he said. “If we really have no defense against home invasion, I think we need to be clear about that.”

“They either need to fix it or tell us they can’t do it and get us to plan accordingly, but the worst thing is not to know what to expect from a police department,” Dodson said.
“The worst thing you can do is not tell the public what to expect,” he added.

Which to me pretty much bolsters the argument about owning a gun; and pretty much anything else you can get your hands on.

Like the aforementioned baseball bat! A Louisville Slugger to the head might be enough to warn other intruders you’re not to be screwed with.

But it comes with risks!

And is it worth the risk of having the cops arrest you instead of the perp?

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM