St. Louis County dispatchers swamped after TV show focuses on Tyler Dasher case

CLAYTON, MO — St. Louis County police dispatchers were inundated with more than 200 phone calls in a half hour Thursday night after the nationally televised “Nancy Grace” show told viewers to call and voice their opinions about the Tyler Dasher homicide case.

“Let your voice be heard. On behalf of this 13-month-old baby boy,” host Nancy Grace told viewers, displeased that Tyler’s mother was facing a “light” second-degree murder charge instead of first-degree murder.

The show airs weeknights on HLN at 7 p.m.

Grace gave the office number for St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch, who charged Shelby Dasher, 20, with second-degree murder on Wednesday in the death of 13-month-old Tyler the day before. Authorities say Dasher confessed to beating her son when he wouldn’t let her sleep. The Affton woman is jailed on $500,000 bail.

The second-degree murder charge represents a “hot-blooded murder,” as opposed to first-degree, which would be a “cold-blooded murder” involving cool deliberation first, McCulloch said.

After normal business hours, when the show aired, the number for the prosecutor would have gone to an automated system that doesn’t take messages, according to McCulloch’s office.

But Grace also gave a number for St. Louis County police, and scores of people dialed that number to give their opinions on the case.

St. Louis County Police Officer Rick Eckhard said the police communications center received 202 calls in half an hour, about 150 more than usual. Six call takers and supervisors were answering the phone.

Many of the callers — 63, according to Eckhard — hung up after hearing a police dispatcher answer. The rest of the calls, 139, led to only a brief conversation once the dispatcher answered.

“There was no prolonged conversation,” Eckhard said. “And no lines were tied up.”

Eckhard said the number is a non-emergency line, and the increase in calls didn’t clog the system or leave anyone without emergency help. The 911 system is separate, and dispatchers answer that line first, Eckhard said.

“I know of no one who did not receive emergency service because of this,” he added.

Still, the incident left police officials scratching their heads about why their number was posted.

An HLN spokeswoman defended Grace’s decision to air the police department’s telephone number.

“Nancy Grace, strident voice for victims, felt the charges in this case did not fit the crime and created a community dialogue in St. Louis by including the local law enforcement who investigated the case and have always been the first and most important advocates for victims of violence,” the spokeswoman wrote in an email to the Post-Dispatch. “Given the response by her audience, her call to action for Tyler resonated with many Americans.”

Here’s some of what Grace had to say to viewers, according to a transcript of the show:

Mommy admits she beats her baby to death when it wouldn’t go back to sleep. She’s tired after a night of partying until 2:30 a.m. This baby found brutally beaten to death. His body dumped in a local graveyard….

Only when cops confront her with inconsistencies in her story does mommy break down and tell the truth. According to our medical examiner, it took double-digit blows to kill this 13-month-old baby boy, now an angel.

If you disagree with a light charge like murder two, as I do, here’s the numbers. The local district attorney, Bob McCulloch, St. Louis County prosecutor. 314-615-2600. Repeat. 314-615-2600. Local cops, 314-889-2341.

Let your voice be heard. On behalf of this 13-month-old baby boy.

Meanwhile, McCulloch’s office was getting calls Friday morning from people out of state voicing their opinions on the charge.

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