NAMPA, Idaho — When your phone rings, it's probably not a matter of life and death.
When the phone rings at the Nampa Police dispatch center though, it's very possible.
"You're ready for anything," says Maureen Fennimore, a dispatcher with the Nampa Police Department.
She explains there are plenty of times her heart rate goes up during a call.
"When you're taking the calls and it's starting to go up, you can feel your heartbeat go up. Whether it's someone that is yelling out over the radio or it's an in-progress call and you are trying to talk to that person," Fennimore said.
Here is a story from late last year of one of those times.
"A person called in to report the location of someone who had a warrant and all they had was the person's nickname," Fennimore said.
Not a lot of info, right?
Using her resources though, Fennimore got to work.
"I took all the information that I could get from the person and just researched and then found the person they were talking about," Fennimore said.
Very quickly, she realized the person they were looking for could be a danger to the officers on their way to take the suspect into custody.
Officers like Corporal Jared Hoeksema.
"She brought it to my attention that this is was probably a bit more than an average warrant service," said Hoeksema.
Although the pair of Fennimore and Hoeksema doesn't sit together in a police cruiser, they are partners working together.
Hoeksema says the quick sleuthing Fennimore did on their suspect kept officers away from danger.
"I fear things would have turned south pretty quickly," Hoeksema said. "They told me that the subject was high on meth, has weapons currently in the home, and had made statements about "shooting it out with police officers" if they were encountered."
Fennimore says it’s intense work, but very fulfilling.
"You're always there, you're always there helping. Whether you take the call then you do the research and try to find those people, you're right there with them trying to make sure they stay safe," she said.
Hoeksema says the work of dispatchers can make all the difference.
"She did a phenomenal job and, in my opinion, she probably kept us from having another officer-involved shooting," Hoeksema said.
Fennimore is very humble about her work, she says she was just doing her job.
Hoeksema made sure her actions were noticed and Maureen was honored by Nampa Police.
"It starts with them, without that, we would be lost," Hoeksema said.
Nampa Police says the suspect was taken into custody the day after the call Fennimore took.