Johnson County girl Bekkah Suraud to be honored as “911 Hero”

On Monday, May 24, the Mid-America Regional Council’s Public Safety Communications Program and the Johnson County Emergency Communications Center will honor 9-year-old Bekkah Suraud for demonstrating the proper use of 911 in an emergency. Gale Wash, quality assurance and quality improvement manager for Johnson County Emergency Management and Communications, will present the award to Bekkah during a special ceremony at 5 p.m. at the Johnson County Emergency Communications Center located at 11880 S. Sunset Drive in Olathe, Kansas.

On the evening of May 2, 2021 nine-year-old Bekkah realized that her neighbor’s dog was out of her yard. When Bekkah entered her neighbor’s home to return the dog, she found her neighbor was experiencing a medical emergency. Bekkah quickly grabbed the neighbor’s cell phone. Finding the phone locked, she knew to use the emergency button on the cell phone to call 911. She was able to clearly and calmly explain that her neighbor was incoherent. She remained calm and provided complete and accurate location information.

“Emergencies are often emotional and stressful events,” said Mike Daniels, operations manager for MARC’s Regional Public Safety Communications Program. “Even though her neighbor was ill, with no other adult to assist, Bekkah displayed a degree of calm and composure that is rarely witnessed in events such as these, especially in someone so young,” added Daniels.

MARC’s Regional 911 Hero Award program recognizes young people who demonstrate knowledge of the proper use of 911 by performing heroic action during an emergency. In order to receive the award, the child must have initiated the 911 call and performed a heroic act during the course of the emergency that resulted in saving a life, significantly reducing property loss or stopping a crime.

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Note to media: To request the audio file of Bekkah’s 911 call, contact Gale Wash at Johnson County Emergency Management and Communications, 913-826-1140 or gwash@jocogov.org.

Mike Daniels, MARC Public Safety Operations Manager, 913-208-5595
Catherine Couch, Public Affairs Coordinator, 816-701-8389