Henderson residents can now text 911 in an emergency

By Brianna Santiago

Published Tuesday, June 9, 2015 | 5:10 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, June 16, 2015 | 3:02 p.m.

Earlier this year a story went viral about a woman in a hostage situation who sent a secret plea for help in an online pizza order.

The Henderson Police Department might have an even better solution: Earlier this month it launched a service giving residents the ability to text 911 rather than call in emergency situations.

The service is meant for hearing impaired people and those in hostage or intruder situations who are unable to ask for help aloud.

Since it began, the Henderson Police Department has received just one text message, from someone concerned about a suicidal woman.

But as awareness about this service increases, police think its use will too.

“We knew it was something that would be needed,” said Henderson spokeswoman Michelle French.

Right now the service works with four carriers: Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T. And French emphasizes that phone calls are still preferable when possible.

“Texts to 911 was not developed as a replacement or option to calling 911 … but rather as an enhancement to reaching 911,” she said.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, the availability of 911 texting applications in the United States is expected to increase in coming years.