911 MISUSE

[DES630 10]

Man Calls 911 to Save Him From Police

LARGO, Fla. (AP) -- A 38-year-old man was arrested after he called 911 and told a dispatcher he was surrounded by police officers and needed help, authorities said.

Police officers met Dana Farrell Shelton after being called to investigate a disturbance at a bar on Sunday but had found no problems and told him to move along.

Shelton, who officers said appeared intoxicated, then called 911 to report he was "surrounded by Largo police," according to an arrest affidavit.

"Our officers were standing there scratching their heads. He called, standing there in their presence," Largo Sgt. Melanie Holley said. "It's one of our 'truth is stranger than fiction' cases."

Shelton was charged with misdemeanor misuse of 911. The charge carries maximum penalties of one year in jail and $1,000 in fines.

Edited July 17, 2007 by DES630

[Oswegowind 17]

Does NY have anything in any of the law sections consisting of misuse of 911...I know about OGA and false emergencies, but what about the everyday idiot that calls 911 for everything which is basically just MISUSE...I have never seen anything like this but it would be great for those few (ha!) times that someone truly misuses 911 just to annoy dispatchers!

[Guest]

HA HA HA.....

I imagine the call went like this:

911 = "911 what’s your emergency?"

caller = "ahhh yes I have like 4 guys with guns and badges surrounding me. My life is in jeopardy"

911 = "OK sir those our police officers, they are apart of this number here you called"

caller = "but their surrounding me, I NEED HELP"

911 = "OK but they do that for your safety and theirs"

caller = "but their safe, I am the one surrounded. If you don’t send help I am going to sue the city for not responding to my call for aid"

[JBE 328]

Does NY have anything in any of the law sections consisting of misuse of 911...I know about OGA and false emergencies, but what about the everyday idiot that calls 911 for everything which is basically just MISUSE...I have never seen anything like this but it would be great for those few (ha!) times that someone truly misuses 911 just to annoy dispatchers!

I'm not sure if there is a law on the books regarding this. IMO, it's kind of a grey area, because what qualifies an emergency to some folks we may look at as either not an emergency, but BS. Then you have the little old lady or man who calls for a ride to the hospital because they are lonely, or the ones who call for a kid having difficulty breathing, when all the kid has is bronchitis, and he needs a ride to the clinic. The last example is definitely abuse. But how can you really punish someone for trying to do the right thing??

[Guest partyrock]

JBE, you figure that one out and you can fix half our nations health care problems. These nuisance calls drain resources and money from every level of the system.

[AFS1970 504]

Not to long ago on these forums the story was posted about someone calling for an ambulance from the E/R. The headline was something on the line of DISPATCHER DENIES CALL FOR AMBULANCE. So why not let some idot sue us for not sending the police to rescue him from the police. Some day people will realize that sometimes the public is wrong and not the emergency responders.

[Oswegowind 17]

The problem is the public is a much larger entity than us and they don't ever think they are wrong!

[Guest alsfirefighter]

I'm sure some of my quick witted dispatcher buddies could come up with something to appease the gentleman.

"What is your location sir"

"XYZ street"

"OK sir I'm sending assistance your way...ahhppp...sir they just arrived can you see them?"

"No"

"OK, keep looking they are the ones telling you to drop the phone and lay on the ground so they can assist you, lay on the ground and they will be more than glad to assist you" CLICK....dial tone.

[Guest DADAY]

Lately this has been a hot topic. In reading some comments on Lohud.com it appears that "joe public" feels that the 911 dispatchers should know exactly where they are calling from. Not that its always possible. But these people don't even know where they are sometimes. HOW is that possible. I may have never been on a road before, or even in that town, but I know the general vacinity that I am in.

[JBE 328]

Lately this has been a hot topic. In reading some comments on Lohud.com it appears that "joe public" feels that the 911 dispatchers should know exactly where they are calling from. Not that its always possible. But these people don't even know where they are sometimes. HOW is that possible. I may have never been on a road before, or even in that town, but I know the general vicinity that I am in.

People get panicked. Or, they are on a highway and on a cell phone, and they spot something, and then give the next exit they pass. Perfect example, we had an incident on the Bronx River Parkway the other day that was reported to us being as far north as Oak Street and as far south as Gun Hill Road. We sent the appropriate assignment, Yonkers had units going. It turned out it was up north of Oak Street near the Wakefield Metro North Station.

One of the problems my dispatchers face regularly in the Bronx and in northern parts of Manhattan, will be when a person will give you the house number they live in, the street on the corner and then the street they live on. Yet another perfect example, 3171 East 161 Street, Park Avenue. The actual address is 3171 Park Avenue Off of East 161. I have a theory about this one. The person enters the building at 3171 Park, but the window of the apartment faces 161. So they believe they live at 3171 East 161.

One time, I had a caller in Manhattan who swore up and down(with a few swear words thrown in) that he lived at 2475 West 144th St off of 8th Avenue. Finally, after realizing I was going around in circles with the guy, I told him if he was at that address, he'd be in the Hudson River, closer to the Jersey side. When you give them the correct address, the answer you usually receive from the caller is, "That's what I told you!!!!" It's a very simple explanation, ignorance. People think because they call 911 that the 911 operator automatically knows where they are because of the E-911 system.

Edited July 22, 2007 by JBE