OK Dispatcher Honored For Saving Young Human Trafficking Victim

A dispatcher with Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troop F was named "Dispatcher of the Year" by the Oklahoma Public Safety Conference for his role in fighting human trafficking. Johnny Pierce successfully guided police to intercept a vehicle with an alleged kidnapping victim inside.

It has often been a thankless job for dispatchers. They help bust criminals from behind the scenes and never seen. Johnny Pierce is an 11 year veteran on the job. He has to be on point every time a call comes in.

"Without the communication office, well it would just be impossible without them," said Pierce.

Pierce spends his shifts fielding a constant string of emergency calls then coordinating responses for the people needing help. In March 2013, he got a call that he will never forget.

"You could hear the sincerity and the almost panic in her voice."

The girl frantically called 9-1-1 with information about her cousin who had been allegedly kidnapped. The girl had gotten texts from her cousin who was being taken down I-35 from Kansas. Pierce jumped into action, asking the girl to get specific information from her cousin.

"She was giving the mile markers to her cousin and actually texting her cousin and her cousin was giving me the mile markers along I-35."

Pierce knew he was the victim's only hope of escape and in that moment, he rose to the occasion.

"I was the only one helping her at the time until I got her to a place where I could get the vehicle intercepted by P.D."

Police arrested the driver and freed the girl. Pierce's actions didn't go unnoticed. He was named dispatcher of the year. He said this experience solidified why he does the job every day. He said he plans on working as a dispatcher until he hits retirement age.