Also known as: ongoing emergencies
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A circumstance in which police questioning primarily seeks to resolve an immediate threat to safety rather than to document past events for later prosecution. The existence of such a circumstance renders the resulting statements nontestimonial and therefore admissible without confrontation even if the declarant does not testify at trial.
Odin Obeng staggered into a hospital parking garage with a chest wound and told arriving Officer Lee that Victor had just shot him and threatened to finish the job on the fourth floor. Officers immediately entered the crowded building to locate the armed man. At Victor's later trial the court admitted Lee's testimony repeating Odin's statement over a confrontation objection.
Oliver Okeke called 911 from a restaurant kitchen and reported that coworker Devin had just slashed a server and was running toward the dining room with the knife. Dispatchers sent officers while the threat remained active. At Devin's assault trial the court admitted the initial portion of the call describing the ongoing attack.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Odilia Okamura told her teachers that her uncle had been hurting her and that the abuse was continuing. The teachers questioned her to determine whether she needed immediate protection. At the uncle's trial the court admitted the statements over a confrontation objection.
Olivia Owens hid in a stockroom after a gunpoint robbery and called 911 while officers swept the crowded mall for the fleeing suspect. She described the gunman and warned that he might still be inside. At the robber's trial the court admitted the officers' testimony repeating her statements.
Omar Olson called 911 while a passenger stabbed the driver on a moving city bus. He described the ongoing attack and the route so officers could intercept the assailant. At the stabber's trial the court admitted the recording even though Olson did not testify.
Orlando Okafor lay wounded in a gas station lot and told arriving officers who had shot him and where the shooting occurred. Officers used the information to locate the shooter while the threat remained unresolved. At the shooter's trial the court admitted the officers' testimony repeating the statements.
An ongoing emergency ends once the immediate threat to safety has been neutralized or contained, such as when the perpetrator is disarmed and secured. Later statements describing past events then become testimonial and require confrontation if the declarant is unavailable.
Supporting sources
Statements to teachers or other non-law-enforcement personnel can be nontestimonial when their primary purpose is to address an ongoing emergency such as child abuse. The clause may still apply but such statements are less likely to be testimonial because the recipients' role is protective rather than investigative.
Supporting sources
Courts examine whether the dispute is public or private, whether the perpetrator remains at large, the scope of the threat to the victim and the public, and the type of weapon involved. These objective circumstances show whether the primary purpose of the exchange is emergency response or evidence gathering.
Supporting sources
No. Only the portions made while an ongoing emergency exists are nontestimonial. Once the threat has passed, later narrative statements describing completed events become testimonial and are inadmissible without confrontation.
Supporting sources
…under circumstances objectively indicating that the interrogation’s primary purpose was to enable police assistance to meet an ongoing emergency, which does not produce testimonial statements. Because the 911 operator’s primary purpose was to respond to the emergency, she was not acting in the role of a police investigator, and…