Making split second decisions comes with the territory as a member of law enforcement.
Normally those decisions don't come with the recognition many say they deserve.
However, Thursday's law enforcement awards seek to change that - putting the spotlight on some of our areas best and bravest.
Working in the communications department for West Palm PD, Shannon Bates does it all.
"You could be a call taker - you answer the phones all the time, non emergency, 911's," she says.
"You can be the dispatcher, where you're actually talking to the officers."
However, there's one thing she can't do.
"You can't grab them by the arm and pull them to safety, you can't help them.
That is...until last August.
West Palm Beach resident Lauren Powell called 911 as Daniel Thomans - who later told police he was high on Flakka - was right at her doorstep.
"The next thing you know, it's escalated, this guy is trying to break into her house," Shannon says.
It's the moment Shannon rarely gets - to prove she's more than just a voice on the other side.
...she's a literal life line.
"If I'm freaking out and she's freaking out, we're not gonna get anywhere," she says.
For 6 minutes she guided Lauren through - a calming voice in the storm until help arrived.
In a dispatch career that has spanned 5 years, it's a moment Shannon says she will never forget.
"I do like helping people, I enjoy making sure that they're safe, making sure they get the right help they need."
The rare opportunity to go beyond the call.
"It''s something I can tell other people about. Say 'See what I can do? And You can do that too!'"
