APNewsBreak: 8 minutes to send cops to Powell home

TACOMA, Wash. — Emergency call logs show that nearly eight minutes elapsed between when a social worker called 911 to report that Josh Powell's children were in danger and when sheriff's deputies were dispatched, and it took another 14 minutes for a deputy to get to the home.

The Associated Press obtained the logs Wednesday night under a public records request.

Recently released audio tapes of the 911 calls raised questions about the dispatch center's handling of the social worker's calls, which detailed that Powell, the husband of a missing Utah woman, had locker her out of the house during what was supposed to be a supervised visit with his two young sons.

Minutes later, Powell torched the home, killing all three.

The recordings showed that the man who took her call engaged in nearly seven minutes of questioning that ended with him saying he didn't know how long it would be before a deputy could respond.

The audio didn't make clear when the deputy was dispatched. The logs show that apparently happened about a minute after the call ended.

It wasn't known if a quicker response could have saved the boys, who had also been attacked with a hatchet.

It took almost two minutes from the start of the call for the dispatcher to learn Powell's address and more than three minutes to understand that she was there to supervise a child custody visit. Near the end of the call, she asked how long before officers could get there.

"I don't know, ma'am," he said. "We have to respond to emergency life-threatening situations first."

She responded: "This could be life-threatening ... I'm afraid for their lives!"

Authorities said the call could have been handled better, and that it was unfortunate for the dispatcher to leave the social worker with the impression no help was immediately on the way. The agency that runs the call center said it would review the matter and start a disciplinary investigation if necessary.

Still, the recordings raised questions about an emergency response to a custody visit that ended with Powell killing himself and his boys.

Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said he did not believe the conversation caused unnecessary delays.

"Are we unhappy with the etiquette and the manner? Yes," Troyer said. "Did it affect the response time? No. Dispatchers are typing information and addresses while they're on the phone with callers."