Silent 911 Call Ends in Death as Ontario Watchdog Finds Serious Police Failures

An official Ontario investigation has found serious failures in the way Niagara Regional Police handled a 911 call from a 59-year-old man who was suffering a heart attack and was unable to speak. Although sounds of laboured breathing could be heard during the call, it was classified as a "silent call" and officers were not sent to check on him. He was found dead several hours later.

The incident occurred in the early hours of August 30, 2024, when Ralph Buerger called 911 at about 2:56 a.m. and remained connected for roughly 36 seconds. Investigators reviewing the recording said a sound consistent with someone or something falling could be heard about four seconds into the call, followed by laboured breathing at around 14 seconds. From approximately 23 seconds until the call ended, the breathing was described as clearly audible and congested.

Despite those sounds, the call taker cleared the incident as a silent cellular call, and no police response was generated for the location identified through the phone. Buerger was discovered dead later that morning. Subsequent reporting indicated he had been experiencing a heart attack and was unable to speak while trying to summon emergency assistance.

In a decision dated July 30, 2026, Ontario's Inspector General of Policing found that the Niagara Regional Police Service and its board failed to comply with requirements to provide adequate and effective policing in relation to 911 call taking and dispatch. The watchdog also found deficiencies in the service's required Quality Assurance process.

The investigation concluded that Buerger's call should not have been cleared as a silent cellular call. The sounds captured on the recording warranted, at minimum, referral to a communications supervisor for review, a step investigator said would almost certainly have resulted in a call for service being created.

The watchdog also identified problems with the internal review that followed Buerger's death. Niagara police's professional standards unit waited seven weeks to interview the 911 call taker, and the interview lasted only six minutes. The Inspectorate criticized the use of leading questions that may have steered the call taker toward answers consistent with existing police procedures.

The Inspector General has ordered Niagara police to revise its silent-call procedures, provide enhanced training, strengthen supervisory oversight and improve quality assurance policies and practices. The police service and board must continue reporting back to the Inspectorate on their implementation of the directions.

The Niagara police board said it was deeply sorry for the additional pain caused by the handling of the case and said the findings would be used to strengthen oversight and accountability. The acting police chief said the service would develop an action plan and implement the required changes within 90 days.