By DELANIA TRIGG, Register Staff Writer
Riley Burt and some of his family were guests of Cooke County Sheriff Mike Compton and his staff Thursday after the 4-year-old made a 9-1-1 call to get help for his grandfather, Paul Bezner, who was unconscious and lying on the floor of his home near Callisburg.
During the phone call, which lasted about 18 minutes, Riley talks with 9-1-1 dispatcher Amanda King about his grandfather, asking King to send help quickly.
“My Opa fell down,” he told King, “He needs a Band-Aid.”
The 4-year-old talked with King about other things including his siblings while waiting for the ambulance and deputies to arrive.
He reminded her several times to get assistance for his grandfather.
At one point during the phone call he said, “Can you come over here quicker?”
He also asked for an ambulance referring to it as “the van with the different colored flashers on it.”
“Where’s that all-different-colored van? Are you still coming?” he asked King several times.
Compton said he was impressed with Riley’s persistence.
“He never did get rattled. He never lost focus on what he was trying to do,” Compton said.
He said this is his first experience with a small child summoning help from 9-1-1.
Compton gave Riley a certificate and an honorary deputy badge.
During an interview at the sheriff’s office, Riley’s mother Michelle Keen said she works the night shift and was sleeping Feb. 27.
The children including Riley and one of his older brothers were in the care of Riley’s grandparents.
“I was sleeping when all this happened. My father-in-law was there with the boys,” she said.
Keen said she isn’t certain what was wrong with the children’s grandfather.
“They think he choked and had aspirated,” she said.
She said the call to 9-1-1 was a collaborative effort between Riley and his older brother Christopher Burt, 6.
“Christopher called the number and Riley did the talking. It’s usually a team effort,” she said.
She credits Walnut Bend teachers with teaching students about the importance of using the 9-1-1 system.
Her advice to children who call 9-1-1 is to stay on the line until help arrives, she said.
