I can say from personal experience that isn't true for Cincinnati 911. They delay answering calls just as long for white people as they do for black people.
Previous non-emergency calls have had lethal consequences for African-Americans.
Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy who was playing with a pellet gun in a Cleveland park, was shot to death in 2014 by a white police officer after a man waiting for a bus called 911 to reporting a "guy" was pointing a gun. The man also told the dispatcher that the gun might be "fake," but that information was not relayed to the responding officers.
John Crawford III of Ohio was shopping in a Walmart in 2014 when he picked up an air rifle from a Walmart shelf. A man called 911 on him, and Crawford was killed by a police officer.
In all these cases, it was the 911 call that escalated the encounters and led to criticism that Americans have become too quick to call 911 for non-emergencies. They also served as a reminder of how vastly different the decision to call 911 is for black and white Americans.
Tyler Wall, a sociology professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and co-author of "The Police: A Field Guide," says the increased reliance on 911 has put police in a difficult situation where they are being used to enforce racial discrimination over vague fears of a threat.
"Police then become the all-go-to resource to handle anything (businesses) don't like," he said. "Police are constantly on speed dial."
For many people, the decision to call the police is often motivated by a feeling of being threatened, Butler explained. But when the actions of a black person are perceived as more criminal, they can be seen as a threat even if their behavior is the same as a white person's. The combination of fear and bias can have dangerous effects for blacks — both as the subject and caller.
When black people consider calling the police, there is the additional consideration of whether calling for help could also bring harm. A study published in the American Sociological Review in 2016 showed that high-profile cases of police violence could lead to black residents being less likely to report crimes.
"They know that the police are going to come in, see a black person and immediately assume the worst," Butler said. "The concern is that these reactions by police officers make black people reluctant to call the police, even in situations where it might be useful for the police to be involved."
Studies have shown that African-Americans are indeed less likely to call police to report a crime than whites. Still, a large majority of white and black Americans who call the police felt officers acted properly and were helpful.
A 2013 Justice Department report found that for non-crime emergencies, 83 percent of blacks compared to 94 percent of whites felt police were helpful. Additionally, 88 percent of blacks compared to 96 percent of whites felt police acted properly on such occasions.