OREM Utah (ABC 4 News) – It was a call for help, but police had no idea what it was about or where it was coming from.
Wednesday, Orem police released the 911 call from an incident involving a local doctor.
Dr. Joseph Berg, who is a plastic surgeon, was charged last month with kidnapping and assault.
Court documents name his live-in girlfriend as the victim.
On the 911 call the Orem dispatcher is heard taking the call late at night.
“911 what city is your emergency.”
But there is no one on the other end.
The dispatcher waited for a few more seconds and asked one more time.
“Hello?” Again there is no answer.
But then two voices are heard in the background and they are barely audible.
"No. Yeah (inaudible) No. Get your horse up."
“The dispatcher's interpretation of the call was that it was from a child,” said Sgt. Craig Martinez of the Orem police department.
They had no idea that inside the home a woman was allegedly being abused.
But dispatchers traced the phone call to an address in Orem.
While they do that the 911 call continues and there is prolonged screaming and crying from someone.
Nicole Grace was the victim's friend and later learned what was going on inside
"He …started hitting her, grabbing her hair and drug her through the house," she said.
She wasn’t surprised that Dr. Berg a plastic surgeon was accused of physically abusing.
"He ended up taking her hands and taping them together,” she said. “He taped her to the dresser."
And allegedly Berg placed her in a closet.
In fact, sounds from the 911 call appear to be those of duct tape being unwrapped.
Dispatch and police didn’t know what was going on inside the home. But they sensed it was no longer a child being disciplined.
“And so our officers feared someone might be in danger so they ended up forcing their way into the home through the door,” Sgt. Martinez said.
Once they were inside Sgt. Martinez said they went from room to room looking for the source of the screams.
They find Berg hovering over a woman taped up in a closet.
The 911 call captures that moment.
"Come out here now get on the ground."
Berg was arrested and the girlfriend was treated at a local hospital.
Since the November incident Berg lost is license to practice. The state’s Division of Occupation and Professional Licensing revoked his license. His cosmetic practice is no longer in business.
