28-year-old Eduardo Barros was at home with his girlfriend in and her daughter in Tijeras, New Mexico one evening when he became severely jealous about a text message she had received from another man.
Enraged, Barros acted on his strong emotions by confronting his girlfriend and the situation escalated to the point he was waving a gun around and hit her across the head with it. He also threatened her life and asked her if she had called the sheriff.
Yelling “did you call the sheriff?” had apparently activated the Amazon smart home device, Alexa, that was sitting nearby to contact law enforcement. In the 911 recording, the girlfriend can also be heard yelling, “Alexa, call 911.”
A Surprising 911 Caller
As soon as Barros saw her phone contacting 911 he threw her down and began beating her, kicking her in the face and stomach at least 10 times and screaming about how he couldn’t believe she had called 911 and saying how he wasn’t going to back to jail again. The girlfriend later said she thought she was going to be killed or shot.
When law enforcement arrived along with a SWAT team, Barros barricaded himself and his girlfriend inside their home and refused orders to exit. The negotiation took approximately 6 hours, but eventually the girlfriend and her daughter were safely removed from the home before either of them suffered any life-threatening injuries.
Amazon’s Alexa Saves the Day
Barros was then taken into custody and charged with Possession of a Firearm, Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon on a Household Member, and Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon on a Household Member.
Sheriff Manuel Gonzales III, the official on the scene, stated, “The unexpected use of this new technology to contact emergency services has possibly helped save a life. This device definitely helped save a mother and her child from a very violent situation.”
Maybe a Good Idea After All
This was believed to be the first incident where this specific piece of technology has ever been used for such services. Who would have thought that this fun, convenient little device could aid in the resolve of a serious domestic violence incident? People joke about conspiracy theories surrounding the electronic, but maybe it’s not such a bad idea to have one handy for unexpected emergencies.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.
