Holland Reporter

An investigation into a 911 call made in early December found an incorrect classification of the call that prevented rapid police response to a Spring Lake Township home that led to the death of a 64-year-old Michigan father.

According to WOOD TV-8, the Ottawa County dispatcher who handled the Dec. 1 call from Kenneth Boone, 25, coded the call wrong, which caused the police to delay their response to the home. The dispatchers classified the call as a Priority 2 Mental-Health Related call.

Boone, who allegedly was arguing with his father, requested immediate police assistance to handle the situation. However, according to the reports, there were no deputies available to handle the call at the time. 

Due to the Priority 2 classification of the call, the report remained on the computer until Boone called back an hour later. During the second call, Boone reported that he had injured his dad.

When deputies visited the situation on Pawnee Drive, they found that they were too late. The father, Jim Boone, who was 64, had been allegedly beaten to death by Kenneth. 

Police later found Kenneth walking the neighborhood with the alleged murder weapon, a hammer, in hand. Police say the alleged murder weapon was a hammer. 

“We feel it should have been coded as a Priority 1 Domestic,” Pete McWatters, who spearheaded the investigation into the mishandled call, told WOOD TV-8.

McWatters declined to tell WOOD TV-8  the specify type of discipline those involved in the incident would face.