In a shocking revelation during the murder trial of former Doraville police officer Miles Bryant, prosecutors played 911 recordings in which dispatchers showed a lack of urgency after a terrified Black woman reported Bryant attempting to break into her Snellville apartment.
Instead of dispatching help, operators interrogated her and implied she was hiding information.
Bryant, 23, is charged with the 2022 kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Susana Morales, a Meadowcreek High School junior who disappeared in July 2022 while walking home.
Her remains were found seven months later near Dacula, and Bryant was arrested shortly thereafter when his service weapon was found near the crime scene. He was fired the same day.
Elesha Bates, a key prosecution witness, had called 911 multiple times in late 2022 to report Bryant, whom she had known since fifth grade, stalking her and attempting to break into her apartment.
Bates testified that Bryant had repeatedly shown up unannounced at her home, and on one occasion, she found her front door kicked in.
In the 911 recordings, Bates is heard desperately telling dispatchers, “Somebody is trying to break into my apartment.” Despite her clear distress, the operators responded with a barrage of questions about her relationship with Bryant rather than sending immediate help.
“Are the cops close?” Bates asked at one point. The dispatcher replied flatly, “No, ma’am, they are not.”
Bates repeatedly identified Bryant as her stalker, but her pleas were met with skepticism and irrelevant questions.
In one particularly revealing exchange, when Bates said Bryant was trying to break in, the dispatcher asked:
“Is he jiggling the door? Is he kicking it?” When Bates confirmed, the dispatcher continued with irrelevant inquiries about their relationship.
Bates testified that no police ever arrived despite her multiple 911 calls. She provided Ring camera footage to both the Gwinnett County Police Department and the Doraville Police Department showing Bryant at her door.
Bryant, who lived in the same Norcross apartment complex where Morales was last seen, has been implicated in her death.
Morales vanished on July 26, 2022, after texting her mother that she was leaving a friend’s apartment. Her phone, tracked through a location-sharing app, was later found discarded.
Seven months later, Morales’ remains were discovered along Ga. 316 near Drowning Creek. Investigators found Bryant’s loaded Glock handgun near the body, which he had reported stolen the day after Morales disappeared.
He had requested that no detective be assigned to investigate his stolen gun and wallet.
Prosecutors allege that cellphone data places Bryant at the scene where Morales’ body was found, suggesting he returned to the area to retrieve the firearm he had dropped.
This case highlights serious issues within the 911 dispatch system and underscores the tragic consequences of delayed and inadequate responses to emergency calls.
