A woman called 911 and pretended to order a pizza to report her abuser.

Even two years later, her clever idea inspires others who cannot ask

for help directly. The dispatcher, Tim Teneyck, was confused at first but noticed the fear in her voice and understood.

“You see it on Facebook, but nobody is really trained for this,” Teneyck said.

“Other dispatchers I’ve talked to said they wouldn’t have caught on to it. They told me they would’ve missed it.”

Here’s how the call went:

Teneyck: Oregon 911

Caller: I’d like to order a pizza at [address removed].

Teneyck: You called 911 to order a pizza?

Caller: Uh, yeah. Apartment [removed].

Teneyck: This isn’t the right number for pizza…

Caller: No, no, no. You don’t understand.

Teneyck: Oh, I get it now.

This pizza code isn’t officially used for abuse calls, but Teneyck figured it out quickly.

The caller didn’t sound drunk, and she kept saying she had the right number.

He started asking her questions, and she gave “pizza” answers.

Teneyck: Is the other person still there?

Caller: Yep, I need a large pizza.

Teneyck: Okay. Do you need medical help?

Caller: No. Just pepperoni.

After the call, Teneyck sent the police. He told them, “Turn your sirens

off before you get there. The caller ordered a pizza but agreed with everything I said. There’s domestic violence happening.”

“911 dispatchers deal with calls like this, but they don’t always get credit

for their work,” Teneyck said later. “Some people might have ignored this call, but any good dispatcher could handle it.”

This call saved the woman and her mom. Her mom’s boyfriend, Simon Ray Lopez,

57, came home drunk, hit her mom, and threatened to hurt her. According to the

police, Lopez was charged with “domestic violence for trying to harm family members” and “failure to appear.”

The 57-year-old woman said he shoved her so hard she hit the wall. But Lopez

claimed he didn’t touch her and just wanted to go to bed. He was arrested for domestic violence.

Police Chief Mike Navarre heard about the call as he drove home. After looking into it, he praised Teneyck for acting fast. “He used his training and experience to realize the woman was in trouble. We’ll never know what could’ve happened if she didn’t get help.”

Since then, support groups for abuse victims have taught this trick. “It’s not just pizza—some use Chinese food,” Navarre explained. He added, “If the operator says it’s the wrong number, say no.”

The incident has also changed dispatcher training. Navarre said the audio of this call is now used to train dispatchers. “A good dispatcher knows when someone needs help, even if they don’t say it directly. That’s what happened here,” he said. “Some dispatchers might’ve hung up, but this woman took a chance, and it worked perfectly.”

However, this story might give the wrong idea that all dispatchers know this ‘pizza code.’ Christopher Carver, from the National Emergency Number Association, warned, “Using pizza as a code isn’t a standard rule for 911 calls.” He added, “Expecting secret phrases to work everywhere can be dangerous.”

After this, a social media post went viral saying people should ask for pepperoni pizza if they’re in danger. But Carver said dispatchers are trained to ask clear yes-or-no questions, and it’s important not to hang up.

The Los Angeles Police Department also warned people about this post. They said, “This is false. Texting 911 is a better option. We need your location and the kind of emergency to send the right help.” However, texting 911 isn’t available everywhere.

Carver added that dispatchers won’t hang up on someone in trouble, but it’s very important to share your location when calling for help.