Live 911 technology enables rapid response from Oakland County Sheriff's Office in Rochester Hills shooting

PONTIAC, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – The police arrived on the scene Mass shooting in Rochester Hills within two minutes because the Oakland County Sheriff's Office uses technology intended to speed emergency responses.

“When you're considering a life-saving or life-threatening moment, seconds count and minutes count,” said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

That's why, almost two years ago, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office began working with HigherGround, a California company, to implement “Live 911.”

Their software live streams emergency calls directly to officers in the field and provides precise GPS location of the caller.

“They hear exactly what we hear as we receive it. So they're able to respond more quickly. They're able to hear if we're having difficulty with a caller or difficulty getting an address. ” said Anna Craft, emergency dispatcher with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.

The system uses geofencing to ensure that only appropriate agents receive calls, avoiding what Bouchard calls sensory overload.

“We don't impose too much on them, because they also have to drive, they have to listen to the radio, they have to do a variety of things that are happening simultaneously. And that's why you try to continue he focused on what is the main mission? What's the priority? And for us, if it's a life-saving moment, how can we get that information to them faster to get them going faster, so we can get there? come to save a life? said Bouchard.

Saturday evening, a sergeant at the agency's Rochester Hills substation was listening to “Live 911” when someone called to report a shooting at the splash pad.

Bouchard said the sergeant arrived between the minute of the call and the two-minute mark.

“So as soon as he arrived, there was no threatening act; they immediately moved from treating the injuries to life-saving measures,” Bouchard said.

Since then, Bouchard says other metro police departments have contacted his office to learn more about the technology, which is already used by 135 different law enforcement agencies across the United States.

“We're trying to stay ahead of the curve on technology and training capabilities because that allows us to be faster, more responsive, save more lives, all of these things that happen in our space,” Bouchard said .