Lone Pine resident urges county action after reported 911 hang‑up during shots‑fired incident; calls for clearer sheriff–tribal coordination

Julie Fritcher, a resident of the Lone Pine Paiute‑Shoshone Reservation, addressed the Board during public comment on Aug. 19 to report a safety concern involving a recent 911 call.

Fritcher said she called 911 after hearing what she believed were gunshots on the reservation. She said the call routed to the California Highway Patrol, then to the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department, and that dispatch disconnected while shots were still being fired. She said no sheriff’s follow‑up visit to her home occurred in the more than week since the incident and that she waited in her hallway for about two hours before expecting sheriff response. Fritcher said she is disabled and lives alone, and she described a broader pattern of delayed sheriff response for calls originating on the reservation.

Fritcher asked the Board to facilitate government‑to‑government talks between the county and tribal authorities to clarify jurisdictional responsibilities under Public Law 280 and to consider a memorandum of understanding so 911 calls and follow‑up procedures are clear to both communities and law enforcement. She said she previously sought a grand‑jury review but the county did not have one this year; she asked supervisors to investigate whether the sheriff has adequate resources to follow up on such calls.

No immediate action was taken; supervisors acknowledged the concern and the need for improved communication but did not commit to a specific next step during the meeting.