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Every single job has its humorous silver lining. In fact, laughter and comedy help us cope with stress and incredibly difficult situations. And working as a 911 operator or an emergency services dispatcher is no different.
Among all the vital work they do, and the lives they help save, they still get non-emergency calls. Some of them are so funny, that it’d be a shame not to share them with the internet. That’s exactly what some 911 operators did on r/AskReddit, opening up about the most unusual, unforgettable, and downright bizarre calls they’ve gotten.
As you’re scrolling down, remember to upvote the stories that amused you the most, Pandas. If you’ve ever worked in dispatch, we’d love to hear about your job, so tell us about your experiences in the comment section. And if you’d like to see some more silly non-emergency calls, check out our previous article right here.
Bored Panda reached out to the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch to learn more about the challenges that 911 operators face at work. Brett Patterson, Academics and Standards Associate, as well as the Chair of the Medical Council of Standards at the IAED was kind enough to answer some of our questions. He pointed out that people should not hesitate to call 911; callers should not be discouraged from doing so and should not think that they're 'bothering' someone.
"It is certainly true that many calls to 9-1-1 are not true, pre-hospital emergencies. In fact, the vast majority are not, and some seem downright silly. However, emergency dispatchers are trained to handle each one as if it were a true emergency as the caller often believes it is," Patterson explained. "Public awareness is a challenge as we do not want to discourage calls for help. In reality, this can be a problem as well as some callers, especially the elderly, are hesitant to call as they do not want to 'bother' the paramedics, or firefighters, or police officers that they admire so much."
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
A little kid called 911 because he wanted the cops to come arrest his brother.
You see, their mom said that the caller's brother was supposed to share the legos, but he wasn't sharing. The caller's brother said that he was playing with *all* of the legos, which wasn't possible. There were too many legos for one person to play with all of them at once, argued our caller. Therefore, his brother was a liar, a jerk, and a turd and we needed to come and arrest him.
We had a high degree of confidence that this wasn't a coded request for help, so we asked to speak to an adult- confirmed that there was no distress and closed the case. Share your legos, kids.
PS: **If your kid ever calls 911, don't get mad at them**. We *want* them to call 911 if they think they should. We would much rather have them call 911 for something silly than have them not call when they should because they're afraid they'll get in trouble.
Wondering Alice 3 years ago
Reminds me of the time a kid I was babysitting called the police on me. He said I'd locked Eddie in the shed. I had. Eddie was his dad's golf club which the kid had been trying to knock his brothers head off with, and I'd phoned the dad for advice, he said lock it in the shed and I'll try to get back. The police were lovely, clearly believed me but made a point of fully checking it out. They told the kid that although he might get in to trouble with his parents, don't let that ever stop you calling for help if you think you need it. Kid grew up to join the police. How lovely is that
Paul Ellis 3 years ago
Many instances of very young kids calling the emergency services because of a real emergency. Never underestimate the acute intelligence of our tiny offspring!
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
Poor kid, he just has to learn when to call. He thought he was going to teach bro a lesson 😂.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
There was a story about a little kid that called 911 crying and absolutely in a panic because he accidentally moved his elf on the shelf and he thought he was going to ruin Christmas for everybody. Poor kid
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Mistiekim 3 years ago (edited)
I used to babysit sit for a little boy, and once after his mom put him in his room for throwing a tantrum, he yelled out his open window “neighbors call 911!!” a few times. Police did show up, and that is an important safety tip for kids, but so embarrassing for the mom.
Don't Look 3 years ago
Yeah I was raised to know that 911 was for absolute emergencies and that it turns out that anything that I even remotely considered an emergency was in fact not one so I wasn’t allowed. Twice as a child I absolutely should have too. Skip forward to my first year in college. I got hurt on school property during school hours. I went to pick up the phone to call for an ambulance but then I remembered two things - you have to dial some number to get an outside line AND if I was standing and breathing and… well, was it really an emergency? An acquaintance drove me to the hospital where I was bandaged up and had to walk back to the school. The professor asked me why I was late. I was so angry at that point I literally raised my eyebrow and held up my bandaged finger. She merely said “oh” and that was that. 911 “only for absolute emergencies” indeed.
Patterson, from the IAED, revealed to Bored Panda how the job of an emergency dispatch worker can have a very strong effect on their emotional well-being. "The job of a 9-1-1 call taker is an emotional one due to the obvious impact of vicarious, frequent tragedy and, perhaps most overlooked, the intense pressure associated with high call volumes, prioritization of limited resources, and periods of intense multitasking," he stressed that employees work with limited resources.
"High on the list of emotional impact are cases that call takers can relate to personally, i.e., the death of a child about the same age as your own child, or the death of father, called in by the son or daughter who found him, when your own father is ill or recently deceased. High volume stressors also have a big impact on emotional well-being, especially when prolonged, as we have seen with the challenges of our recent pandemic," Patterson was candid about the challenges that dispatchers face.
RELATED:
#2
There are funny calls that come in all the time. I talked to a pizza delivery guy who couldn't reach his destination because a defiant chicken was standing in the middle of the road. I stayed with him on the phone as he pleaded with it to finally move along. Truly a chicken crossing the road moment.
Another time I took a call where a guy insisted he was in an argument with a man dressed as a giant Pepsi bottle. He said the man in the Pepsi suit had stolen his debit card and refused to give it back. Upon arrival the officers told me he was high as s**t and arguing with a vending machine.
SelkieBlackfysh 3 years ago
Now.. now you look here! Hic. I p-put my card in your hand. Where's my Pepsi?! Where's my card?! Why won't you answer me! Lol.
Saltypepper 6 days ago
I have indeed yells and fought a coke machine when it stolen my money 3 times ..
#3
Had a grown man calling in about "a monster trying to get into his son's room " ..... he's the right kind of frantic where I KNOW it's not a mental health crisis , but I still couldn't figure it out . Well, hes a middle Eastern male with a real thick accent and I was having a hard time understanding, so he gave the phone to his son .
The monster had climbed a tree and was at his bedroom window . And it was as big as his dog . And it has hands like him but tiny .....
Wait, what ? Right there I told the kid to see if it had rings on his tail ...
Yes ...
They had just moved to America a month ago, and had never heard of raccoons . I couldn't mute myself fast enough , and the father heard me laughing . I think that's what helped calm him down. I explained what a trash panda was and welcomed him to our wild jungle .
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
I can totally see where some animal totally unknown to someone could scare them. Glad he took it in stride and wasn't offended when she laughed.
Al Christensen 3 years ago
I was hiking in the Chiricahua Mountains on southeast Arizona when I crossed paths with a large band of coatimundi—a larger relative of the raccoon that look like they were cross-bred with monkeys. I had never seen them before in real life and it freaked me out a little. They looked like they belonged in a South American rain forest, not a North American desert. And the way they moved made me think of the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz—which terrified me when I was a kid.
Load More Replies... Renegade 3 years ago
My 21 year old son wouldn't go out the back door last night because there was a raccoon on the deck. So even adult Americans are afraid of the trash panda.
stardust 3 years ago
Lol why would *anyone* want to get close to a wild raccoon?? [no disrespect to the trash panda or anything, just they're kinda scary tbh]
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Ansi 3 years ago
I've seen the movie The Incredibles 2, and know to handle this. I just need a baby with laser eyes...
Paul Ellis 3 years ago
Urban foxes in the UK, while not as brazen as your trash pandas, can be quite intrusive at times!!
3 years ago
For us Europeans, could you just grab a raccoon and oust it and still have all your fingers without getting rabies?
"Most evolved 9-1-1 agencies have Critical Incident Stress Debriefing plans and teams in place to assist emergency dispatchers after low frequency, high-risk incidents, or any time the call taker requests assistance. However, voluntarily seeking help is a challenge for call takers and dispatchers as they may see this as a weakness or an inability to cope while their teammates appear alright," he pointed out that seeking help isn't as easy as it might seem to an outsider.
"A common problem related to all of the above is the lack of legislative standards regarding emergency dispatcher and call taker training. Emergency dispatch in the United States is very fragmented and can vary greatly from state to state, county to county, and even town to town."
We might know to call 911 when we’re in trouble from all the movies and TV shows we’ve watched, but the actual number you need to dial depends on what country you live in. For instance, if you’re in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, congratulations, the number’s still 911, it's very easy to remember.
However, if you’re in the United Kingdom, you need to dial 999. Many former British colonies and overseas territories also use it. Meanwhile, the emergency number in the European Union is 112. The same number also works in India and the UK.
Emergency services, no matter how talented and capable, have limited personnel and resources to work with. Folks call 911 for a variety of reasons. Some have incredibly mundane problems that they need help solving. Others don’t know where else to turn for advice. And some individuals are simply incredibly lonely and just want somebody to talk to—they want to be heard, they want to think that someone cares about them.
#4
I called (the non emergency police line) once for my across the way neighbor playing Christmas music at all hours for seven months straight. Turns out I live next to a Deaf building and the person had no idea that their music was 1) playing 24/7 and 2) so loud I could hear it in any room of my apartment across the driveway. The operator was absolutely cracking up because I was like look, it’s July, I can’t take hearing holy night again. The call back I got when they made contact with the person was absolutely hilarious- the cop couldn’t stop chuckling every few words.
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
That's absolutely fantastic! I bet it seemed like a cruel joke for months to find out that they had no clue. Wonder how it even happened?
T Lee Mac 3 years ago
My son played with my MIL’s stereo system. She had no idea it had an alarm until the stereo started blasting music at 3:30 in the morning. She got it turned off but it happened for several more days until we pulled up the old manual online for how to disable set alarms.
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Puck 3 years ago
It is funny, but i wonder why you didn't go over there yourself first. Couldn't you just talk to your neighbours about the music?
Busy Panda 3 years ago
I bet the OP has already went to the building and no one answered the door😂
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SelkieBlackfysh 3 years ago
Lol imagine the shift of opinion. Omfg this a-hole blasting this damn Christmas music! What did I ever do to him! Jerk! Only to find out...lol.
AK to LV 3 years ago
It was a building and he didn't know which unit, maybe? Depends on where he was located. A lot of people don't know their neighbors anymore.
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Theobolds Daughter 3 years ago (edited)
This is fair enough. The person could have died. Like with Joy Vincent. Unfortunately no one did check on why this lady's TV had been blaring 24/7 for years. She wasn't found until they turned up to evict her.
pink_panda 3 years ago
Seems like the deaf person would have felt the music if it was that loud, no?
#5
I was a 911 dispatcher years ago but had two calls specific calls that still make me laugh.
1) a frazzled mother called cause her six year old had gotten into the roof and she couldn’t get him down. She kept screaming about how we need to hurry...not because she was worried he would get hurt, but because he had done the before and last time he peed in the air vents.
2) this was before weed was legal in my state, but a college kid called asking for an ambulance. He was super worried that he was having an allergic reaction to the weed he just smoked. When asked about his symptoms he said “I just can’t stop eating Cheetos”.
JoyfulZebra 3 years ago
Chronic Cheeto Ingestion (CCI for short) is a serious issue. You should have brought him to the ER
N G 3 years ago
CCI is really bad. It makes you deranged. Just look at trump.
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Inclusion2020 3 years ago
That 6 year old kid would be made to somehow clean that pee from those vents and deep clean the bathroom too for good measure. Good Lord.
Nicky 3 years ago
When I was living in Humboldt county in the early 90s, I was coming home from the beach at night and decided to cross through a field. I looked up and saw either a bull or a horned cow a few feet away, and I was absolutely terrified. I ran to a farmhouse in the middle of the field to get away, and since no one answered the door, I went inside and called 911 on their landline, explaining I was in a stranger's home escaping a bull. The police were nice and got me and drove me home. Thirty years later, I can't believe I did that.
#6
Not me but my wife who works both as a secretary for a fire department and is a volunteer firefighter/emt. A lady calls asking if she can donate a building for a training burn in. After asking questions she finds out it's not a building but an RV. More questions. It's not her RV, it was abandoned on her property. Just a few more questions. It's not exactly abandoned. It's her ex-husbands RV. And he's living in it and won't leave. She wants my wife's fire department to burn it down. Wife's fire department declined.
Recently, Bored Panda spoke about police operators with a psychotherapist who asked us to remain anonymous because of how sensitive her job is. We spoke about dealing with the stress of the job and resilience.
“People working in emergency services are usually trained on how to react. The entire process usually has a very clear algorithm of actions, the call is standardized and streamlined as much as possible. When you clearly know how to act, there’s a bit less stress,” she explained.
“Usually, stress arises from confusion, a lack of clarity, as well as either too few or too many choices,” she told Bored Panda.
“If an operator is facing a very difficult situation, they can reduce their stress levels with the help of their colleagues,” the expert noted that the dispatcher can ask their coworkers or supervisor for help. They can also redirect the call to specialized services like firefighters or emergency medical services.
#7
Caller called because they got their head stuck in a cat tree. With the cat stuck inside with it. Throughout the call I kept hearing like "ow, f**k" and "dude this isn't fun for me either" "dude, i know f**k!" "dude!"... Caller ended up going to the hospital for a minor case of serious head lacerations. Ok I don't really know the severity but I'm sure they got some stitches.
The other cool thing was that the caller was using an apple watch to call 911 because obviously they wouldn't be able to hold the phone to their ear. We get about a dozen misdials from apple watches a day, it was nice to finally see one being used for 'real'
Melissa 3 years ago
Stick head inside the cubby to give kitty a kiss. Get stuck because cubby not made to accommodate a human head. Almost happened to me
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glowworm2 3 years ago
The fact that the caller kept talking to his cat throughout the call is hilarious.
Holly Allen 3 years ago
I would have loved to hear the call....complete with meows and hissing LOL
Load More Replies... Snowfoxrox 3 years ago
A friend of mine was in a roll over accident, his apple watch likely saved his life.
Lillian Swaim 3 years ago
sad fact is you can usually easily just unscrew almost every part of cat trees
Debrina Blackmoon 3 years ago
We wouldn't have that problem with ours but I still wouldn't try, sweet girls as they are. Usually.
#8
So I work in the dispatch center for a department that serves a city who's population is just shy of a milli, so we get a s**t ton of calls every day. Naturally, you'll get some wild stories about scams, especially these days.
Because of this, you quickly become numb to some of the mental gymnastics that people do when they rationalize to me why they sent the IRS $5,000 worth of Best Buy gift cards that had to be purchased from 5 different Best Buy stores... Half the stories give me a chuckle, but overwhelming majority of them just cause me to feel bad for the person because I know they're not getting any of that money back... which brings me to a call that I took last year.
A younger woman calls in, she had to be in her late 20's or early 30's... Story starts off like a run of the mill scam, ya know - someone called her from the FBI, saying that she had a warrant out for her arrest and that she could "clear her name" if she sent them money..
*Well how much money did they ask for Biracial_Angel9???*
They told her that all of the money in her checking account would suffice... That's correct. Whatever amount of money she had would do.... So that's what she sent.. Which amounted to about $4,000.
**BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!**
After feeling bad for her, gathering some additional information, and beginning to let her know reporting options and whatnot, she cuts me off... She says, *"Well what can I do about the verification pictures??"*
And I'm like what are you talking about?... She said "Well yeah, they said they needed to verify my identity through their body verification system, so I sent them several nude photos like they asked me too... pictures from the front, the side, and from the back while I was bending over."
I was absolutely stunned.
She had to do a quintessential "ya there?" into the phone so I could come back to f*****g reality for a moment... At this point, I thought ***I*** was the one getting f****d with! But she was bawling her eyes out at this point so I made no assumptions, other than the fact that there was probably even more to the story...
**WHICH THERE F*****G WAS.**
Like a respectful kid listening to a bedtime story, I'm just f****n like "And then what happened?" She proceeds to tell me that they then threatened to send the photos to her friends and family if she didn't pay them more money...
"*How much money???"* you might be asking? In true FBI Body Verifying Agent form, they doubled down and said all she had in her savings account would be enough.... WHICH WAS $25,000!!!! I'm just sitting there in my chair like:
^(please, God, no.)
But she did... And I've considered getting into the scamming business ever since.
Vic 3 years ago
Hey "Debbie" will I be required to send body inspection videos as well?
Load More Replies... Cold Contagious 3 years ago
JFC! Some people should seek the advice of an attorney before they answer their phones. How in the hêll does someone believe the FBI is on the phone telling them this shît! I get that elderly get scammed, but a woman in her late 20/30's ...
Party Poison (They/She) 3 years ago
Sadly some of these scammers are very good at sounding urgent, being convincing and getting people to panic and do what they say, without the victims having a chance to think about it and realizing that someone from Microsoft being payed in gift cards is fishy. Please don't victim-blame. The scammers are the ones at fault here! And partly people just haven't learned about scamming-calls yet.
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Adrian 3 years ago
Can the education authorities please, please, please start a course in every level (kindergarten up to final year of college) on how not to get scammed.
Emerald Ocean 3 years ago
You should check out mark rober’s pranking scammers videos. They’re great. Plus, he’s getting the word out there
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Random Anon 3 years ago
These scammers are really scum, this part I absolutely agree with. But think about it. If a call from some enforcement agency can spook someone into doing those things, we really need to evaluate why is that.
Jp@nda 3 years ago
My only question is-how does someone with so very little common sense have $29,000 in their bank accounts??
Anastasia Vailas 3 years ago
My thought exactly how does someone so young & gullible get 29, 000 cash?
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#9
A friend had cops called on him cause he was doing "liquid" at the train station. It's a form of dancing at raves where your hands seem to look like liquid. The person who called the cops was scared it was satanic or something.
Bonesko 3 years ago
Whoa buddy chill, because 🎶🎶We can dance if we want to you can leave your friends behind 'Cause your friends don't dance And if they don't dance… Well, they're no friends of mine🎶🎶
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
Oh FFS, Karen. Quit immediately jumping to the “Satanic” c**p whenever you see a young person doing something you haven’t seen before—-in public.
Red 3 years ago
My friend had a neighbor that's a hairdresser and one neighbor who was a bit cuckoo. She told me that one time the guy was straightening someone's hair and the other neighbor called the cops because she could smell the devil's stench. It was formaldehyde. She wasn't wrong though...
Saltypepper 6 days ago
I would have had them show me how to do it so i could freak out My Karen SIL
The psychotherapist stressed that it’s vital to create very clear boundaries between work and home, as well as to have an unambiguous understanding of what the employee is responsible for.
“You have to clarify which actions were taken to give help to others and what is beyond the competence of the operator. It’s also important to vent the emotions that you feel at work,” she said, adding that emergency dispatchers should speak about the challenges they face with their colleagues or a psychologist.
“Two of the most important factors that help maintain psychological resilience are: the support given by loved ones and colleagues, and the existence of a safe social space to speak about hardships,” the mental health expert told Bored Panda.
#10
This story sounds made up,, but multiple students I trust, the teacher, and school admin have all confirmed it to me.. A teacher at the school I teach at butt dialed 911 during class. He just happened to be teaching his chemistry class how to make meth while he did so. Apparently he didn't realize it until the office called into his room and asked him to come to the receptionists desk because there was a cop there, responding to his call. He got the cop to cuff him, walk him back into his classroom, and say "This is why you don't even think about making meth."
Seanette Blaylock 3 years ago
WHY was he even doing that "lesson" in the first place? Amazing he kept his job.
aj B 3 years ago
In all probability the popularity of a particular show brought about a discussion about what is and isn't possible, and it's easier to just have those discussions directly then try and get teens off a subject.
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Benita Valdez 3 years ago
Honestly, before the show, this was something talked about in my college chemistry class because of the molecular structure and bonds and rigidity and how the smallest change creates a completely different molecule/chemical and so on.
David Houde 3 years ago
In a college chemistry course (at Wayne State University in Detroit) there was a whole chapter in the textbook describing the process to turn cocaine into crack. It was basically step by step instructions with the chemicals you would need. Not the best example to use, especially considering where we were.
Jason Marin 3 years ago
And this ladies and gentlemen, is why I never put my phone in my back pocket.
Analyn Lahr 3 years ago
Chemistry teachers, am I right? I never took chemistry but my sophomore biology teacher also taught chemistry and he 100% would have done that.
#11
One time, my family's 12lb bichon tripped on a phone cord that yanked the phone to the ground. My mom, who was cooking at the time, noticed the dog walking on the phone. So naturally she yelled "Im gonna kill you dog" at Corky before picking up the phone. Turns out the doggo called 911, and the operator heard at least part of the threat. So 6 cops showed up sirens and all demanding to search every room in the house. It was a good break from math homework
Benita Valdez 3 years ago
That's why my threats are "if you weren't already neutered I'd do it myself you damn jerk" which gets followed by "your lucky I love you buttface".
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Dawn Marie 3 years ago
Okay, I'm just not getting why people are saying doggo lately. Will someone please tell me what I'm not understanding here? Promise I'm not a blond!!
Helen Davies 3 years ago
It's a club. Just go with it. Unless you're my old English teacher. Then I'm sorry.
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Jerry Ryan 3 years ago
I always tell my big goober (pitadore)dog that I'll kick him in big kick stand head or I'll kick him in his pooper.but I'm just talking s**t I love my dog I'd never hurt him now I mite hurt someone else to protect him
Lorianne Hershberg 3 years ago
NATURALLY, she threatened to kill her dog???? How is that natural????
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
I have told my little fat dog (as our mail carrier—-who Scruffy loves, and who loves Scruffy—-calls him) if he doesn’t behave I’m going to put an apple in his mouth and roast him for dinner. Of course I don’t mean it. I don’t even say it in an angry voice, so there’s absolutely zero need for anyone to get triggered, ffs.
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#12
A man requiring extrication from an Under Armor insulated shirt. His shoulder popped out of the socket while he was pulling it on, it was halfway on/halfway off and his arm was locked and dislocated.
Edited to add (so you don't think I'm awful) HE was laughing, and said "I would have driven myself to the hospital but I would have had to drive with my arm out the window!"
Kalevra 3 years ago
I mean if you are laughing about it must not hurt that bad.
Load More Replies... SelkieBlackfysh 3 years ago
Lmao my gf has a condition where it's easy to pull her joints apart basically. We'll be playing, wrestling, even sometimes if we're just out walking and I'm holding her hand, she may stop suddenly to look at something and I'll pull her shoulder out. Never bugs her but she gets the most inappropriate kick out of my reactions of dismay or concern.lmao
Stoopham McFernybabes 3 years ago
I’m taking a wild guess that this was far from being his first shoulder dislocation.
Jods 3 years ago
It’s amazing how panicky you can get when ‘stuck’ in something. In my case it was one of those belts that tightens on a ratchet so no need for punching extra holes if you’re on the skinny side. So I tightened it to fit but then realised I didn’t know how to slacken it. Looked in the box to see if it gave instructions for this, but no it didn’t. Shot off to the parents 3 doors down and begged for help. My dad’s tightening it even further to the point where it really hurt, my mum’s creasing herself with laughter. After yelling that they are NOT helping I staggered back home and found a You Tube instruction video. Thing is I keep forgetting how to get it to slacken and start panicking immediately.
Lisa S-F 3 years ago
My fiancee had his shoulder dislocate in the middle of doing iFly (indoor simulated skydiving). The skydiving staff member had to hold him down against the wind and push it back into place. And of course my fiancee had checked the consent box before we started that said "I do not have a known shoulder or neck condition, such as dislocation "... 😊👍
“It’s only natural that when you react to dramatic and tragic events, you face emotions like anxiety, anger, a sense of hopelessness, and others. The job of a dispatcher brings with it various psychological challenges, so it’s important to ensure that the people who take up this calling don’t just use up their personal resources but also manage to recharge them,” she said that social relationships, hobbies, support in the workplace, and access to wellbeing consultants can all help.
The psychotherapist believes that people who call 911 operators when there aren’t any emergencies are sending out a plea for help that’s “directed to the wrong address.”
#13
Lady called in because she thought Willie Nelson was having a cardiac arrest in her trailer, and she needed an ambulance. I started giving her CPR instructions, and come to find out when paramedics got there, she was doing compressions on the couch cushions.
Paul Davis 3 years ago
To be fair, Willie Nelson strongly resembles some common couch cushions these days
#14
Dear 911 Operators Reading This: I would like to formally apologize for 21 year old me. I was drunk and dumb and when the call connected to dispatch and asked what the emergency was, I know I shouldn’t have answered “911, What’s Your Emergency?” With “There is no emergency, I am the Batman.” It has bothered me ever since I sobered up the next day and realized I was a real a*****e to waste your time when there was likely bigger emergencies to worry about. (My Anxiety is also paranoid I kept you from saving a life.) I sincerely apologize and am sorry. I also no longer drink, so there is that.
Gia Burner 3 years ago
Message to OP: While you honestly shouldn’t have done it, the fact that you seem sorry and unlikely to do it again is still really important so you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself 💜
Benita Valdez 3 years ago
Yes. That was shitty but glad you realize that was shitty. Be comforted by the fact that in all probability, that small amount of time probably didn't cause any issue and most likely you just either slightly annoyed the operator or gave them a chuckle
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Emery Walters 3 years ago
We have all done dumb stuff. Most people just don't have the guts or class to admit it.
Taki Takanashi 3 years ago
When I was 12 or 13 me and other friends were playing with one of my friend's phone, one of them called the 911 and gave the phone to me, when I noticed everyone started laughing but I was so scared that I almost started crying, I was thinking police would come to get me lol. We were just dumb kids but I feel bad about it, those 20 seconds could have ended someone's life.
memyselfandI 3 years ago
If you think about it, that likely took maybe 15 seconds and while 15 seconds can definitely make a difference in some emergencies, I seriously doubt that particular 15 seconds was the exact delay that caused someone’s death.
#15
I just certified as a call taker and got mandated for overtime (of course) on my first shift. Policy was if someone insisted they saw something we take it as face value and enter the call.
Well this lady called me just after midnight and swore she saw a chupacabra on the west side of Orlando and Insisted in an officer doing an area check.
Not too long after that a coworker was in on his night off and left the building. He called 2 mins later saying he saw a kangaroo hopping down the street.
I can’t make this s**t up
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
Maybe she saw the kangaroo in the dark and thought it was the chupacabra, lol. Never know what you can find in Florida.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
When I lived in Florida there was a story about how somebody found a goat and a kangaroo together going down the street. Animal control picked them up and asked people for information. It turns out that they belonged to vanilla ice and they had escaped.
Load More Replies... Bill Allen 3 years ago
Many years ago I was driving north on interstate 69 in Michigan and saw an ostrich running along side the highway. I called 911 and they said they had been looking for it. It had escaped from a local farm about 7 miles away from where I saw it.
Cara G 3 years ago
So last year where I live (Long Island, NY) we had a runaway bull on the loose. It was more of a walkaway bull, didn't do much running. He kept showing up on the news in this or that neighborhood just casually taking a constitutional down a residential road. Always caught on Ring cameras, usually with children in the house saying "Mommy, why is there a cow in the street?" He was eventually located by a rescue group that returned him to his forever home. But it was a wild time to be alive!
Taki Takanashi 3 years ago
There's kangaroos in Florida? I'm starting to think Florida is a mini Australia.
Rose Button 🇺🇦 3 years ago
I like how a lot of these are complaints of monsters, and things can't logicaly be real. Imagine getting the call and hearing "yes, I just saw the CHUPACABRA, I think we're gonna need some backup"
Kimberly Herbert 3 years ago
There was a restaurant with peacocks near my home growing up. New neighbors regularly called in a woman in the bayou screaming for help.
“Odds are that the caller is having a rough time. A large number of them are probably kids or teenagers who aren’t being taken care of by their parents. Or people who have problems with staying sober,” she said that these individuals need attention and would like to be taken care of.
“When they get in touch with emergency services, they feel like they’re being listened to. Sometimes, even an entire team of people reacts to a single person’s problems. It might be that these callers do need (a different kind of) help, but they’re lost or don’t know better and try to look for solutions by calling emergency services.”
#16
I am not a dispatcher. But when I was a child and like 6 I called the police from the home phone and asked if they would come play with me because I didn’t have friends. So they showed up, because they have to respond, and I got a lecture from the police and my military parents about the seriousness of calling 911.
HarriMissesScotland 3 years ago
A friend's 3 year old granddaughter called 911 to get the security code for her phone. She also got a visit from the police. My friend was in the shower when this occurred.
Chioma Cobb 3 years ago
I called 911 once when I was young and the dispatcher asked "what is the nature of your emergency" I respond "I've fallen and I can't get up" (you know those life alert commercials at the time) yeah so the Fire department/emt with ambulance and the police show up to my house. My Mama 🐻 opens the door confused and runs upstairs with them and find me and my cousin prank calling people giggling. Mom was fined $1000 I was grounded for like a month. She never let's me forget this ever
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
When I was about 3 or 4 (my birth date is 11/25/1960, so this was sometime between November 1963 and October 1965), I dialed 0 on our old rotary phone and spent about 20 minutes explaining to the operator that I wanted to talk to my daddy (who was out of town on a regular business trip), but didn’t know where he was or that his actual first name wasn’t Daddy. She finally told me I probably better get off the phone now, or my mom was gonna paddle my behind. So, in the typical sweet little child voice, I said “Ok, bye!” and hung up, totally forgetting my previous overwhelming need to talk to my daddy. I often wonder just how many times telephone operators had little kids dialing 0 and asking to make call like that.
#17
Was a 911 Operator before becoming a Paramedic.
Had a lot of funny ones, but by far my favorite involved an all too common problem of a kid getting a hold of a locked cellphone and only being able to dial 911.
It was Father's Day mind you, had this particular kid (about 5 years old) call in at least 6 times but he'd never stay on the line long enough for us to get a good "ping" on his cellphone. It was probably about 22:00 local at the time, not early but not too late in the night.
Long story short we were finally able to get him to stay on the phone long enough by talking about how his teddy bear was "sick". We asked to speak to his parents and he told us they were in bed and the door was locked, so we asked him to go knock on the door, he then told us he had been locked in his room.
Okay..... I think we know what's going on now.
By this point we had an officer en route to this kid's house to go make sure everything was okay and to tell his parents the kid has been calling 911.
The officer arrives on scene, a few minutes go by, then the officer comes over the radio and says "S120 back in service, the teddy bear is 10-4".
The officer made his way up to the comm center and proceeded to tell us all that the kid's Dad answered the door wearing only boxer shorts and was more than a little agitated when he found out his son had been calling 911.
Apparently the dad had been getting his Father's Day "gift" from mom when the officer showed up.
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
Serves them right! At the very least, occupy your 5 year old with something, a movie, toys, another person, or better yet wait until they're sleeping. Don't lock your child in a room or just lock them out of yours without supervision, that's asking for trouble. Lucky that he only called 911 and wasn't injured.
Little Wonder 3 years ago
It was 10:00pm, a pretty safe bet the five year old was asleep. They weren't to know he'd wake up and want to come out of his room.
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Joe Average 3 years ago
We had one of our kids sleep walk into our bedroom while we were occupied. We froze, told them to go back to bed and they did. Once they left the room one of us got dressed and checked they made it back to bed.
Joe Average 3 years ago
No memory of it and we've never mentioned it again.
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Josh Stevenson 3 years ago
Doesn't it make much more sense to lock your door instead of locking the kids in their room to prevent a kid from being scarred?? Just saying.
Bored Batgirl 3 years ago
Locking children in their rooms is so dangerous if there's an emergency. If there's a fire, they can't get out.
Phil Vaive 3 years ago
He might have been a sleep walker, or woke up during the night and left his room and got himself into trouble (making messes, playing with things he shouldn't be).
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#18
I once called 911 because I cut my finger and wanted to talk to my mom, who was a dispatcher. I called crying asking to talk to her by name. She was more pissed at my dad for not waking up when I tried to go to him first haha.
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
I hope mom lit a fire under dad's âss for leaving the kid unattended by sleeping and not getting up when he was told they were bleeding cause they cut their finger. I'd come unglued.
SelkieBlackfysh 3 years ago
Yeaaaah, because no other parent in history has tried to get a little sleep. Tiny terrorists do not care for your needs. You gotta steal the rest where you can sometimes.
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#19
I had a guy call in on 911 because he was concerned about a seagull he thought was injured in a Chipotle restaurant parking lot. Apparently while on the phone, he tried to pick up or check on the bird at which point the bird started squawking, then he started freaking out and I started having trouble telling them apart. Then there I could hear what might have been wings flapping, a brief silence, and suddenly the guy started hyperventilating and screaming he needed an ambulance because he was having a heart attack and that the bird flew off.
I wasn't sure if he was being serious so I got him over to EMS as a precaution. Upon transfer and getting EMS on the line he got very quiet and said, "I think I'm okay, I'll call you back later," and hung up and would not answer on callback.
I still wonder about Steven Seagull when I drive by a Chipotle.
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
That'll teach him to harass a seagull that's trying to get some scraps.
Lizzy Crit 3 years ago (edited)
Steven's Seagulls are an awesome cover band, I highly recommend looking them up on YouTube if you're into bluegrass metal Edit: Steve N Seagulls, I spelled it wrong
#20
1. Had a guy call because he dyed his pubes and was having an allergic reaction.
2. Woman screaming that an ambulance was following her with their lights on. Spoiler: the ambulance was not following her.
3. Asking the caller for the description of the man she's fighting with, "he's ugly." - Thanks ma'am very descriptive.
I could go on and on .......
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
Vanity had a harsh lesson for dude. I've seen some nightmarish photos of people's heads when having an allergic reaction to hair dye. I can only imagine how horrifying his situation could have gotten.
Paul Davis 3 years ago
what an idiot though, not testing it somewhere less sensitive before putting it on there.
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CelticElff 3 years ago
This is why you ALWAYS do a skin test with dyes, even if you've been using it for years.
#21
I had what seemed like a maybe 5-6 year old girl (Judging by her voice and communication skills) call,This is how it went: (Me)"911,Whats your emergency?" (G): "hello,I dont know where my mommy and daddy are but i think they left a piggy inside the bathroom,It sounds like oinks and grunts" (Me):"Sweetie,Why dont you go into your room for a bit and play some games?" (G):"Otay,Bye bye!" *Hangs up* So yeah,A girl called cause she thought her parents locked a pig in the bathroom,But they were doing the deed.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
Lol my friend told me how he and his girlfriend were doing the deed when her kid wakes up and knocks on the door and says "Come on I know you guys are up I can hear you clapping! ” one of my favorite stories of his!
Shane Clark 3 years ago
In this instance we don't have enough information to say if they left her unoccupied. For all we know she was watching a movie and got up to see where her parents were.
Load More Replies... #22
Cop here. Was dispatched to someone calling in concerned about some pigeons just chillin on the side of the street. We did not respond.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
I thought whenever there is a call in they have to respond. Even if it's to yell at the pigeon guy for wasting their time
Analyn Lahr 3 years ago
They were probably tripping on LSD while watching Animaniacs and there was a Goodfeathers segment.
#23
When I worked at a local domestic violence line, Someone called in once to report a that they ordered a dozen donuts and there was only 11 and the store won't give them another one the next day and their husband is taking it out yelling at the kids, but she didn't want us to talk to her husband but insisted if she could get one donut out the place he would calm down. She had been in and out of the women's shelter so we knew he was a bad person. Well, he got arrested as he wasn't supposed to be there (restraining order) and she called us back (it is a small city org) and was yelling "she just wanted one f*****g donut not to see him arrested"
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
She has badly deluded herself due to her living situation with her abusive husband. He was taking it out on the kids, but she just wanted one more doughnut to appease him, not for him to go to jail, poor kids.
SelkieBlackfysh 3 years ago
Eh, it's one doughnut today. But what about the next time he's in a mood?
Debrina Blackmoon 3 years ago
Yep-better make sure every sheet corner is totally straight and tell [him] the tea is done brewing, the "right way".
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#24
I used to compile these, so here's some of my "Calls of the Day"These are all genuine calls to 9-1-1 I've personally taken in my jurisdiction.
- There is a man with dreads and blue Superman pants laying in the middle of the roadway. Another caller clarifies, they are actually pizza pants.
- You're a little person who got mad at your pizza man for not wearing a mask to deliver your food, so you confronted him outside and he ran you over. Then the medical dispatcher mistook you for a woman on the phone and you got even more upset.
- Your adult daughter won't turn up the thermostat and you're cold.
- Your backyard neighbor has been loudly singing in their yard for the last 40 minutes. During the call they stop singing and start "barking" for some reason.
- Someone just stole an entire rotisserie chicken from the Spanish Supermarket and ran away with it stuffed under their arm.
- A spider bit your boob 3 weeks ago and you kept picking at the bite and now it's worse and now you want an ambulance.
- You found a knee bone under a tree near the medical clinic where you work.
- There are two 10-year old boys harassing the ducks at the park near the bench where you like to read your Bible.
- Your boyfriend threw an ottoman at your head.
- According to you, your neighbor has been taking too many pills from the government. He needs to eat more fruits and vegetables.
- There is a turkey failing to scale a retaining wall near the highway.
- Kids at the parochial school have been sexting. Parents and the principal are awaiting police in the office.
- Your ex put an entire Snickers bar in your gas tank and ran away.
- Your drug dealer took your money and hasn't come back outside. You've decided you're just not going to buy from him anymore.
- A man broke into your house and ran off carrying a pie.
- Eugene picked up a hammer and threatened to shoot you.
- Yesterday someone broke into your house and stole things including your smart watch. You went over today to visit your ex and suddenly your smart watch paired with your phone.
- You owed thousands of dollars of back rent to your roommates after you moved out. Now you've returned a month later, devastated to learn your old roommate licensed your cat in your absence.
- You asked your neighbor why he was in your driveway earlier. He said it was his driveway and flashed a submachine gun at you.
-A woman on coke ran you over with her scooter and stabbed your neighbor with something. You think she's still in the building visiting her mother.
-A woman has stolen traffic cones from a nearby construction site, placed them around herself in the middle of the road, and is now spinning in place, occasionally saluting.
- You ran over a handgun with your lawnmower.
- Your neighbor is mentally and spiritually trying to kill you, and that's why you smell "like a whore" right now.
- Your 16 year old tried to overdose on Zoloft and now they're on the front porch eating a pancake.
Abby Harrison 3 years ago
i ffel like having a boyfriend throw an ottomam at u, whould be legit. since it sounds like domestic violence.
Liu Woods 3 years ago
Yeah, it honestly feels a little f****d up that OP thought it was suitable for a list of funny calls
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S. Mi 3 years ago
Some of these definitely legit. And sone both legit and funny (or at least wft?) The ottoman one feels out of place
Stoopham McFernybabes 3 years ago
Would it depend on the type of ottoman? What if it was more of a pouffe?
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Red 3 years ago
Person's dealer never came out because Scooter Stabber, Eugene and Traffic Cone Lady used all of their stock and they're waiting for a new shipment from Driveway Tony Montana.
SelkieBlackfysh 3 years ago
Eugene picked up a hammer and threatened to shoot you. I died for awhile lol
#25
I was working in Dispatch when a call came in from an adult male who very slowly, methodically, and painfully explained that he had just recently been circumcised. Apparently he and his girlfriend/wife were having sex earlier than the doctor had said was allowed and suddenly his penis began to swell, and swell, and swell. “It’s like…the size of a football, ma’am!” He said that. I’m totally serious. So the calltaker, to her credit, kept her composure (unlike the rest of us in the room now listening in). She finally started to crack, so she put the call on hold and dispatched the call. 911 records everything as soon as you push the last “1”, so we went back to listen to what happened when it was on hold… “Baby - no! No we can’t finish! It HURTS!!” Some persistent badgering is coming from a female voice… “BABY - Did you not see this?? The head of my d**k looks like a FOOTBALL!” This was definitely one of my most memorable calls. While I’m sure it was absolutely traumatic for the poor guy, it was nice to have a legit near comical call as one to keep in the memory bank.
Analyn Lahr 3 years ago
Why did he get circumcised as an adult though? Doesn't it usually happen when the person with a penis is an infant?
Ana Ferreira 3 years ago
There are medical reasons to get circumcised, not just religious ones.
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Wonderful 3 years ago
So family member was a premature baby. This is what I was told, I don't know if it's true but I'm relaying it anyway. They said that when a baby boy is first born you need to push back his skin on the joystick or the elasticity of the skin will tighten and not be able to pull it back. Again I don't know if this is true and was just told this. So he was born 90 days early. They had more important things to deal with than his little guy wearing a turtleneck properly. So he makes past being a premature baby and grows to be a healthy happy boy and he keeps the area clean and stuff, but never really pulled it back all the way. Then he turns 9 and starts getting excited about "things" and his buddy grows but he can't fit in his turtleneck shirt anymore and his body says, "I'm excited so I'm just gonna force this shirt on and go about my day!" Well the turtleneck shirt tears. And every time he grows it tears more. Poor kid had to go home from school early one day cause blood. Cont...
Wonderful 3 years ago
So poor kid has a problem and like any normal kid that problem is showing itself multiple times a day. Thankfully since he had a problem at school and the nurse called mom, mom now knows he has a problem that he had been trying to hide cause "that's what kids do". He had been hiding it for a while and was now 12. He had a LOT a of scar tissue and the doctor said he needed to be circumcised to fix this. Week after the procedure he was right as rain. New stretchy shirt on his buddy and he can flex his muscles anytime he wants to. Or mostly, don't want to. A stiff breeze can excite a boy at that age. So again I'm not sure about the pushing back skin newborn stuff is 100% factual, it's just what I was told and what he experienced. The end.
Load More Replies... #26
At the time this wasn't funny but hindsight and all. It's Thanksgiving Day morning and I've just started my shift around 5 AM. I'm the only one working for the day shift and settle in for what should be a mostly peaceful day of hanging out, eating food, playing New Vegas, and relaxing. Then my 911 line rings. I pick it up and go through the usual run down only to be greeted not by someone with a medical emergency, a fire, crime in progress, nothing like that. She needed help with making a turkey. I told her this was an emergency line and she informed me this was an emergency because she had family coming over that night and she had to do Thanksgiving dinner. I apologize for her problem but inform her it's not an actual emergency so I need to clear the line. And yes I went through our procedures to check to see if this was a domestic issue or something like that where the individual couldn't speak freely. This was not that. She calls back a few minutes later and hangs up upon realizing it is me. She calls back again, gets me, and I inform her it's only me working so this won't work. Before I can tell her that LE will come out to her location next time she hangs up. About 10 minutes later she calls again pitching a sob story about her Thanksgiving being ruined and needing help to salvage it for her family. I let her know LE is on their way, she tries to call it like I'm bluffing until I read back her address. So she hangs up. LE arrives and she plays dumb like she has no idea why they are there but everything is recorded and we've had her number and address ping with every call. She gets a verbal and they leave only for her to call me back to chew me out for sending LE to her home and scaring her kids so she wants to talk to my supervisor to file a complaint. Shockingly this didn't get her very far but it did get LE back out to her place to actually issue her a citation for abusing 911 and tying up the lines. Monday morning she called 911 again to complain about me and again got another citation. Then there was the boy who called because his older brother climbed on the roof, couldn't get down, and so he panicked dialed 911 so we could get his brother down before mom and dad got home. The brother was apparently planning to jump to the trampoline but chickened out and couldn't climb back down. Mom and dad came home while the fire department was getting him down. They weren't happy.
Seanette Blaylock 3 years ago
The kid one seems valid. Glad Ms. Turkey got cited for her antics.
Jill Hojnacki 3 years ago
Yes. But, Butterball has been running their hotline since 1981. Think some 911 centers keep their contact info on hand for just this reason. Better to tell them who to call than waste everyone’s time.
Load More Replies... Lazy Panda 3 years ago
This is why the Butterball Hotline exists! Leave the poor 911 dispatcher alone!
Sue User 3 years ago
Yes, was thinking same thing. While I dislike the woman for misusing 911, the line probably wouldn't have tied up the line so much and it would have saved LE 3 trips if the dispatcher would have told the caller to call Butterball.
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Ian Webling 3 years ago
Many years ago I read a story of a woman wanting help with cooking a turkey. She phoned her local police department. The call happened to be answered by a policeman whose hobby was cooking. He talked her through it. When done, he asked her why she had called the police for cooking advice. 'Well, you knew, didn't you?' she said, then hung up.
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
Woman done went crazy over her freaking turkey. Poor boy has seen too many episodes of Jackâss, he's lucky he wasn't hurt.
Evil Little Thing 3 years ago
She was clearly trying to get sympathy donations
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CelticElff 3 years ago
I'm surprised there was only one person working on T'giving, because of folks who deep fry the whole bird. Oil and water are not friends, kiddos.
EggFooYung 3 years ago
Next time, tell turkey woman to call 1-800-288-8372 (1-800-Butterball). It's the actual emergency number for turkey emergencies.
Mary Mosher 3 years ago
This was particularly useless - many of the big grocery producers actually have Thanksgiving help lines for everything from cooking the turkey to making pumpkin pie!
#27
I’ve had people call in for nightmares several times. Can’t help you in your sleep, sorry.
Besides one drunk grandmother all these folks were well awake, sober, and legit just wanted to talk to anybody about their nightmare, instead of calling a friend they call 911.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago (edited)
I have had some awful nightmares that kept my heart pounding for a while after I woke up. I can understand the urge to talk to someone but that's not what 911 is for. They really should have some kind of not-for-profit phone number people can call when they're lonely or just need to speak to somebody. I know there are ones for suicidal people but I don't know of any for just lonely people.
Emily Ducat 3 years ago
I think I called lifeline once, it was like 1 am in the morning and I didn't wanted to wake anyone up. The woman on the other end send happy to talk to me for 5-10 mins till I felt better.
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Meredith 3 years ago
As a grown a*s adult living 1000 miles away from home, I had a nightmare that my parents were getting divorced. I woke up screaming and crying. Called home and my dad answered. Calmed me down. Everything was fine. Well, I guess it was a premonition because it happened 3 years later.
Party Poison (They/She) 3 years ago
Better calling a support line for that. Why isn't there a speed-dialing button on phones for mental health support?
Julia Merchant 3 years ago
I am sometimes sleepwalking and seeing strangers in my flat. When I fully wake up I realise that the person was only in a dream but I always have panic and a racing heart..
Kimberly Herbert 3 years ago
I called my sister in a panic because I had a vivid nightmare/night terror that her kids were being kidnapped and calling me for help. This type of thing runs in the family, so sis was able to handle it. BIL was more convinced our family off their rockers. (We have a large number of sleep disorders)
#28
No longer a 911 operator, but I had two. First one when a young man realized what happens to some women during the first time. He thought he poked something and hurt her. Second was when a man and a woman were getting hot and heavy - he ended up getting junk stiuk inside of a Gatorade bottle. Getting his junk stuck wasn't funny (it's a serious medical concern and could result in emergency surgery) - but his S.O. yelling in the background about how he could have just asked for a blow job and she would have given it literally killed me throughout the call.
Jp@nda 3 years ago
Why if they were getting hot and heavy is his first thought not the person he's hooking up with, but no it's a freaking plastic bottle!!?! 🤔
BobTDG 3 years ago (edited)
Guys are dumb and will stick their penis anywhere it fits, damn the consequences. SOURCE: am a guy.
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setsuriseikou 3 years ago
I mean, right Should have gone with a coke bottle, they are so much more enjoyable!
Load More Replies... #29
A guy called in because his dog had bitten a seagull and was now “acting strange.” He demanded we find the bird, capture it, and test it for rabies. The whole circumstances were vague and he was unwilling to listen to reasonable advice(like that birds can’t carry rabies). He had the audacity to file a complaint when informed we would not be doing what he wanted.
#30
Someone legit called me today to say “some guy has a pet rock and he almost got hit by a car collecting his pet from the roadway”
I have so many everyday.
#31
Many years ago, I was dispatching for FDNY/EMS, and this man kept calling saying that aliens were stealing his welfare check. So, I sent the cops over to his apartment and stayed on the phone with him, and he said, 'You hear that?' (it was the cops banging on his door.) 'They are here!' ... I felt bad that I thought it was funny, but I radioed the cops and told them to stop knocking. 'Did they stop knocking sir?' He said 'Yes! What did you do?' I explained to him that he did the right thing in calling me, coz I have the answers. I then said, 'Here's what you have to do ...' I proceeded to tell him to put aluminum foil on his windows and the aliens would skip over his house. Turns out, he was getting his check delivered to his son and the son was paying his bills, etc. So, the next month, the son showed up on the day the check would arrive at this man's home saying they were safely being sent to him and that he didn't have to worry about the aliens getting it. This guy went into therapy of course after that. Freaky s**t that you have to deal with. I have tons of stories working for them for the New York City services for 33 years ... but that story stuck with me.
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
Glad they could help him resolve his problem. It was really kind to put the effort into making this happen.
Jo Davies 3 years ago (edited)
Not sure if the foil on the windows advice was the right thing to do, but at least it sounds like it is under control now.
Mika N 3 years ago
I wasn't sure about that either. But I remember how my grandpa at the end of his life with Alzheimer's sometimes thought there were frogs in his bedroom and things like that. My aunt would go around the room shooing the frogs away to help him feel better. Maybe the dispatcher was trying to do something like that to help the man feel less panicked.
Load More Replies... Lizzy Crit 3 years ago
That's how to handle mental illness like that. Hubs has given a stern talking to an empty driveway of bike riding kids.
#32
My time to shine. *what time is it *what DAY is it *was that an earthquake? *are those fireworks or are my neighbors high again and shooting at cans in the yard? *can you make my teenage son wake up and go to school? *can you take me to Taco Bell? My license got taken away for a DUI *my sister took my cell phone. Can you get it back for me? She’s 11 *is that cute cop that arrested me last week working today? Can I talk to him? *are you real or are you a robot? (I’m real) well then tell me a joke so I know you’re not lying *do you recommend working there? I’ll need a job when I get out of the halfway house *is it true all cops eat donuts? *can I sue you if your dog bites me? *am I still in America? (Yes. This Alaska. We’re a state) REALLY???? (really) These are but a very few that have come in through my 14 years as a 911 dispatcher.
Summer Mason 3 years ago
Okay I have never delt with a earth quake in my life before i moved to TN. I heard a loud bang like someone crashed their car into my apartment. Yeah I called 911. Scared the s**t out of me at 1am.
GFSTaylor 3 years ago
A few years ago there was an earth tremor felt in our part of the UK. It was pretty minor but even tremors are fairly rare in the UK, so it really startled people. I happened to be leaning against a solid stoneware sink at the time and felt it shudder briefly, but that was all. The police put out a message on the local radio to the effect of "we know there's been an earthquake, but please stop calling us. What do you expect us to do about it ?"
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#33
Former dispatcher here. My funniest call was a guy called in and said he wanted to report a pig running around. I had to ask a pig, as in curly tailed pig. He said yes sir he's running by taco bell now. I dispatch out animal control who gets on scene and asks for help. One of our officers assists and for the next 40 minutes or so I got to listen to two of the cities finest chase a young pig around businesses Once the pig was finally caught it was determined the pig came from a transport truck. The driver said he didn't want the pig back so the pig was given to the humane society. Never did hear what happened to the little fellow after that.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
The pig was probably better off but why would the driver not want it back? Wouldn't he have to account for a missing pig?
donald ready 3 years ago
Turning around for one pig could cost more than the pig is worth if you miss your delivery window and get fined, or too expensive in fuel if you're far enough away.
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Leslie Gully 3 years ago
Former animal shelter worker here...we had animal control bring us a pig that was running loose...so we adopted it out to a 4H member to show at the fair! (We also got an alligator after a drug dealer got arrested...the airlines will allow an unaccompanied alligator to fly from the Midwest to Florida, as long as the proper paperwork is filed, and the reptile rescue folks meet the alligator at the gate!)
Nancy Lynch 3 years ago
Think of it this way. The pig got off the truck and the driver was able keep the other pigs from escaping. He does not want to open thing up for one pig and run the risk of the others getting out.
#34
There are way too many to choose from, but the first one that came to mind was a male in his 20s-30s calling the police on his father because he was "being unreasonable and refusing to go to church".
Any call where you think you have a dead body and try to start CPR only to realize the caller was hallucinating the whole thing is right up there, though. (The stories, I mean, not laughing at the person for likely having a mental illness and needing help)
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
Did he want the police to threaten, escort, or beat his father into submission, to get him to the church.
Wonderful 3 years ago
The mind is scary. I knew a guy that had become completely convinced that he was turning into a rabbit. It wasn't funny though. It's started with him thinking his ears were growing, then his front teeth, was the hair on his body getting thicker? Why a rabbit I don't know but he was put in a psyche ward when he removed one of his "rabbit" teeth with pliers and then completely freaked out cause the tooth had ears too. The tooth had the 2 stems that held it in his skull. I guess they can kinda look like rabbit ears. He was fine til he was around 19 years old. I mean, he was always a little odd but not in a, I'm turning into the Easter bunny, kind of weird. He's been in and out of hospitals. He has/had a tendency to think that he was cured and stopped taking his meds and then it would start over. He has a bunch of rabbits tattooed on himself now.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
Early 20s is a particularly common time for some mental illnesses to develop, especially in males.
Load More Replies... #35
Friend of mine was a 911 dispatcher. The funniest call he ever had was a woman who claimed she was locked inside of her own vehicle. After explaining to her where the door lock switch was, she was able to free herself.
#36
Not an operator, but my grandfather was a Sheriff's deputy that filled in occasionally for the 911 operator in our small Texas county. One day, my grandfather was at the phones when our address and phone number popped up on his screen. He answered expecting the worst. The call went like this: **911 (Grandpa):** 911, What's your emergency? **Child:** *crying* He said the "S" word! **911:** Who said the "S" word? **Child:** /u/CrazedMagician! My brother! He told me to s-shut up! **911:** Oh no! He's going to be in lots of trouble. Please put your grandmother on the phone, okay? **tl;dr** my brother called 911 once because I told him to shut up, he thought that was a real emergency requiring a police officer, and we're lucky my grandfather answered the call.
#37
I called 911 when I was 5 because our dog crapped on the kitchen floor. Evidently it got a laugh from the dispatcher, but my parents weren't happy. It was 6am and I woke them with the cops on the phone.
SelkieBlackfysh 3 years ago
Called the cops when I was like 11, because my sister's rat terrier was for some weird reason glued butt to butt with my neighbors schnauzer. Dispatcher laughed her way through explaining to me I needed some warm water and to pour it between them lol.
Xenon 3 years ago (edited)
I saw that as a kid once and couldn’t figure out for the life of me how two dogs got their butts stuck together.
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Who Panda 420 3 years ago
If you'd ever smelled my dog's c**p you'd think it's an emergency too
#38
Numerous calls where someone has handcuffed themself to a SO during coitus and lost the key (if it's not busy this seems to draw most available officers).
Not me but a coworker: a person was pleasuring themselves with the handle of a scissors and it got stuck.
Little Wonder 3 years ago
Friend of mine is a firefighter and one of the stations has a special display of things they've had to cut off penises.
WoodenLion 3 years ago (edited)
hospital emergency rooms usually have a display board in the back of the stuff they have removed from someone. she shoved a glass swizzle stick shoved up his urethra to give it "a backbone". sobered the guy up pretty quick.
Load More Replies... Benita Valdez 3 years ago
Just so you know, the cheaper ones actually have the safety latch. You have to pay more for the key only ones
Load More Replies... Cold Contagious 3 years ago
I'm sure that they wouldn't mind lending a hand to a couple in need. I'm sure many of them wouldn't mind rubbernecking for a short break.
Terry Tobias 3 years ago
The second one gives the phrase "don't run with scissors" to a whole other level.
#39
My caller reported her car stolen. When I asked her when she saw her car for the last time she replied 1990. Yep, 30 years ago. She seemed unfazed on why I was surprised by her answer.
Lisa Liston 3 years ago
Exactly. My Mom had it and everything from 30 to 45 years prior was vivid. Everything else was messed up. We adapted, and found the lightness in it and moved forward until the end.
Load More Replies... #40
When my brother was a kid, he called 911 asking how to make pancakes, the woman was nice enough to give him instructions...
Ki Li 3 years ago
And a patient dispatcher....the turkey dispatcher was not having that on her slow day lol
Load More Replies... #41
000 operator in Australia (ambulance only) but close enough. A mother calling for her child, who lived on Porky Lane, who had been bitten by a pig (I had to mute myself so she couldn't hear me laughing). The guy who called me from inside the back of a police divvy van after being arrested. That one took a while to work out, because you have to ask for an address, and he's like "well I don't know, they're going really fast". The many people who call from inside the emergency room at a hospital because they think they're not being seen fast enough. So they want us to send an ambulance... to pick them up... to take them to the nearest emergency room... WHICH THEY ARE CURRENTLY IN.
Snowfoxrox 3 years ago
The sheer amount of people who call for an ambulance because they believe it will get them seen faster is rather shocking.
Adrian 3 years ago
Of course it's true. How many do you see on stretchers in the waiting room? Apart from which the patient has already been triaged by the paramedics.
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Abigail Hill 3 years ago
I didn't know the emergency number was 000 in Austrailia so I read it as ooo
AK to LV 3 years ago
Same here! I didn't even realize it until I read your comment 🤦🏻♀️😂
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Hiram's Friend 3 years ago
Worked for a Medicaid provider in Arizona. Amazing how many would call an ambulance just for the ride to the hospital then leave and go downtown.
PADNA 3 years ago
The second story happened in Lithuania just couple weeks ago (December, 2022). Parents were denied help for their child with breathing problems (anxiety attack?) when arrived by their own car. Supposedly there was no pediatrician during a night shift, or so they said. So parents called ambulance from the parking lot. Paramedics treated the patient at instant.
#42
Not a 911 operator but during residency they had us shadow one during my EMS month. This woman called 911 3 times in 10 minutes for a service animal in a mall. “He’s here staring at me! No I don’t care that he’s helping. He just licked his nuts!”
#43
When I was about 16, my friend and I were baseball announcers for a little league field. We basically only announced who was batting, so there was a lot of down time. Anyway, one evening I tried to call in to the local radio station to request a song (probably something by *NSYNC), and I’m met with “This is 911, what’s your emergency?” on the other end. I immediately chuckled and said I’d like to request a song. The dispatcher repeated her line, so I actually started to get nervous. I thought I had reached the radio station and that the dj’s were just playing a prank. Turns out the 4 on the phone would stick, so when I tried to dial 944-11xx, I never actually dialed the 4’s.
nicole 3 years ago
When I was in elementary school, if you needed to use the phone in the classroom to call someone outside of the school, you needed to press 91 followed by the phone number. Kids accidentally called 911 so many times
Benita Valdez 3 years ago
Yes. I hated that my work phone made you dial 91 before the outside line. And there definitely some miss dials
#44
Got a call from a woman who was very upset that her husband went to 7-11 and came back without her cigarettes and didn’t give her a kiss. Wanted me to be sure to note that he had man titties, that she used to work for the CIA, and spoke multiple languages (she did not). Fun lady
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
The story is funny but the mental health issues are not. I know they deal with so many of these.
#45
Not me, but my dad. He gets a call from an old lady saying she can’t find her husbands gun, he asks “Where did you see it last?” And she goes “well I wanted to hide it from my husband, so I put it in the toaster, and then I donated the toaster to a thrift store.” “So Ma’am, you put the gun in the toaster, then donated said toaster to a store?” “Yes, yes I did” “Well ma’am I can’t he help you with that.” Toaster of doom we like to call it.
#46
I only worked dispatch for a few months and I got a call for a fish being stuck in a woman's ear.
#47
One time a guy called in while I was training and stated he had cut his penis. When I answered you cut your penis?! The trainer smacked me on the arm and told me he said he'd cut his hand. She looked at me like the biggest pervert! Then 10 seconds later into the conversation he says, "Yeah I was trying on a rubber that was too small and I had to cut it off so I cut right into my penis!". She almost couldn't stop herself from laughing.
Mandy Delaforce (PC Girl) 3 years ago
One in denial, and also jaded from the job.
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#48
At a preschool I used to work at, we had a 4-5 year old come in with her moms old phone. For some reason it was still active and she got pissed and called 911 because she wanted nap time to end early so we could play outside. The local cops thought it was hilarious, her mom was not as amused.
Funhog 3 years ago
Cell phones that have had the phone service disconnected are still able to be used to call 911.
Jp@nda 3 years ago
Yup if you have old phones you can donate them to your local women's domestic violence shelters so even though they're off they can always reach emergency services
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Chris Omer 3 years ago
In Australia, ‘got pissed’ means got drunk, which bought a whole new level of 😳 to this tale. 😂
#49
I briefly worked as a 911 operator. When someone called on the non- emergency line we always answered the same way- “Blank police and fire this is a recorded line, how can I help you?” We get a call on that line, I answer as usual and a very inebriated sounding woman asks the following: “Hypothetically speaking if my boyfriend had a few grams of cocaine and I called the police to tell them about it would either of us get into any trouble?” “Ma’am you’re calling the police on a recorded line.” “I know, but what does the law say?” “ I don’t know ma’am, I’m not a police officer, would you like me to send one?” “Yes please.” She gives me her address, an officer responded but there where no arrests. That one had me scratching my head.
#50
I had a sweet sounding older lady call because people were setting off fireworks and she was concerned the wildlife would get scared and get hit by a vehicle. When I told her that the fire department was being sent to check it out she got furious, saying she doesn’t want the fire department, that it was a waste of tax payers dollars, and that she would never call again.
Taki Takanashi 3 years ago
What the hell she wanted then? A SWAT squad to make everyone stop setting off fireworks?
AK to LV 3 years ago
Someone to go check on the wildlife, of course. And maybe give out cuddles?😂😂
Load More Replies... #51
Not me but was told years ago (it was in the 80’s Australia) about a lady who was pleasuring herself with the phone receiver & got it stuck & had to dial 000 for help! I’ve always imagined her screaming between her legs for help & being asked to speak up because I can’t hear u!lol!
#52
I know a 911 dispatcher who received a phone call to have 911 call them back at a specified time to wake them up.
APL 3 years ago
Could be an accidental dial from a hotel? Lots of hotels have you press 9 for an outside line
Kimberly Herbert 3 years ago
In the US Kari's Law required you be able to call 911 directly from a hotel/motel phone without dialing 9 to get out first. Kari was a woman murded in a hotel room's bathroom - while her daughter (9 yo) tried to call 911 but didn't know about dialing 9 first.
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Toni Ahlgren 3 years ago
I don't know if still exists, but where I live there used to be a wake up call service. I once used it to get out of a bad date, I excused my self to bathroom, ordered a "wake up call" in 30 minutes, answered the call and pretended that was a friend in need.
#53
Not a dispatcher, but I did get dispatched by them. My favorite call was when my pager went off and I read aloud, "Woman bit by camel." We were working in Malibu.
Analyn Lahr 3 years ago
Well I know there's a camel dairy in Ramona, CA so maybe there's one in or around Malibu as well.
AK to LV 3 years ago
What?!! Really?! Huh, is camel milk a thing? Like camel cheese and butter and stuff? Ignorant American here. Honest question.
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#54
My dad used to be in charge of the 911 call center. One particular story I remember was in like 09 some guy called asking how much weed he could have in his car while driving through the state. They went back and forth for maybe 20 minutes of the guy repeating and rephrasing the question and my dad just responding “none”
#55
Actual 911 operator here. So far the silliest was a guy who called, all concerned about the number of birds flying around because there was an air show nearby and he was worried the planes would hit the birds.
Leslie Donsen 3 years ago
FYI - Bird strikes can bring down a plane. Remember the airliner that ended up going down in the Hudson River a while back? Canadian Geese.
StormyWaffle 3 years ago
of course the geese were canadian… the geese from Canada know no fear.
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#56
One guy calls and claims Dracula is his brother and Mickey Mouse is out to kill him and a swat team needs to find Mickey before he uses a machine gun at Walmart...Mental Illness is a b***h.
#57
My friend used to be a 911 operator and got a call that went something like this: "911, what's your emergency?" "I need to take a *S**T!*" "...What do you want me to do about it?" Guy was about to s**t his pants and wanted to ask where the nearest bathroom was.
#58
My uncle was a dispatcher in Chicago. He used to laugh at people who called 911 in blizzards because someone took the spot the dug out on the public street. Parking spaces are SRS BIZNESS in Chicago winter.
Lazy Panda 3 years ago
That’s a legit call if they moved your broken folding chair and broom marking your spot!
Chioma Cobb 3 years ago
I swear!!! Saw plenty of fights over this while living in the city. It sucks when you put the work in and the rude neighbor with fifty 'leven cars that doesn't shovel their own spots take the neighbors spots that did 🤬
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#59
Former 911 operator. Funniest was a gentleman who called to advise a tree fell in a park. He wanted to know if I could tell him when another would fall, as if I was clairvoyant. Or the lady who wanted cpr instructions for a rat outside a shopping center.
#60
When I still got EMT call texts for my little hometown they would come in with like a 3 to 5 word description of the call. My favorite was “man stuck in mud”
#61
I once took a call from a man who stated his pizza had been stolen from his door step and he was convinced someone in his building took it because he could still smell it. When asking the time frame of the pizza theft he said within the last 4 hours. He ordered it and had it delivered and intentionally took a nap leaving it out for 4 hours unattended. He demanded police respond immediately to interrogate all of his neighbors.
#62
A guy calls my agency every so often talking about murdering gummy bear dinosaurs and something about strawberry tampons.
MimSorensson 3 years ago
Well, then pesky gummy bear dinosaurs have to pay for their gummy evil sometime.
#63
My second oldest called 911 on his uncle once, many years ago, because "Uncle wouldn't let him watch cartoons. " Police showed up but of course no action was taken but we all got a good laugh and then my son got a short lecture from the police about "proper use of emergency phone numbers"
#64
My dad once got a call from a woman screaming her head off and when he finally got her calm enough to talk she said there was a snake. My dad, thinking the lady was under attack, asked if she could get away from the snake. Woman finally tells him that she's in the car and the snake is on the car. He asks if the windows and doors are all shut, she says yes, she's just afraid of snakes. Dad ended the call and logged it as a misuse.
Leslie Donsen 3 years ago
Burmese pythons have been known to slither up into a car's engine compartment in Florida. One tourist made it all the way home to Illinois before lifting the hood and finding the hitchhiker curled up.
Evy 3 years ago
@Dawn Marie you are absolutely right! Phobias are very real and i agree that this call was not a misuse. I would have been freaking out as well. I was getting goosebumps and was frozen with fear just reading the story. @SelkieBlackfysh maybe you don't understand but they are irrational. I have always been petrified of snakes, woken up in a cold sweat with nightmares about them. I know they won't harm me, if i don't provoke them but there is an irrational fear nevertheless. Other animals, reptiles, insects, birds don't bother me in the least.
Analyn Lahr 3 years ago
What if the damn thing was venomous? You can't expect her to remove it from her car herself. Could have at least transferred her to animal control.
Deann Culver 3 years ago
But what kind of snake was it? I can imagine someone having to call not knowing if it was poisonous or not.
SelkieBlackfysh 3 years ago
Not judging but I'll never understand the level of fear some people have for snakes, spiders, wasps, etc. Yeah, they're dangerous. If provoked. They have their own plans for the day and in all reality you're just.. kinda there. I guess I can kinda get the creepy crawly aspect but people who meltdown just by seeing the things and there even being barriers keeping them safely apart... I just can't understand it.
Vicki Cooper 3 years ago
I’m arachnophobic, and trust me, I know there is no logical reason to be so terrified of the daddy long legs sitting peacefully in the corner, but logic doesn’t come into it. It’s not that you’re scared of the spider, it’s a total irrational fear and there is nothing you can do or say that will calm me down other than killing it and removing it. It still takes many hours to get past the incident.
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Diana Lucas 3 years ago
With severe phobias, being triggerd by it can definitely feel like an emergency.
#65
I’m an elementary school teacher~ one kid called 911 during class to report that i was being mean to him. I didn’t really think he’d do it and tried ignoring him so as to not reinforce his acting out but when i realized he actually called 911, i had to intervene. The dispatcher was really nice though and offered to send someone to talk to the student, which i declined.
Wondering Alice 3 years ago
Should have said yes. Good relationships between police and schools are helpful
#66
Not me but someone I know is an EMT in a rural part of my state Someone called 911 for a bird “stuck” on a telephone pole An investigation revealed it flew away
#67
Our county sheltered several evacuees from hurricane katrina. Some were placed in a motel and meals where brought to them. One lady called 911 because her chicken was cold.
Fluffybedsocks 3 years ago
The more I read this reply the more it makes me chuckle
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#68
Not an operator, but I heard a call once where a woman called 911 because there was a baby lizard in her computer.
funkybluegirl 3 years ago
Baby lizards are so tiny and fast! It's very difficult to, safely, catch them and get them outside.
#69
There are two birds (Sandhills cranes) fighting on my front lawn. The water on my road is too high (Hurricane season) and people are driving through it.
MotorcycleDoggo 3 years ago
sure but what are EMS gonna do, bring a mop and sponge?
Load More Replies... #70
Not what they called in for but what they said. When I asked for a description of the ex boyfriend that broke into the callers house she gave his physical description and then said, "biggest d**k I've ever had." Also had someone call me a "royal c**t" because there was traffic down town in a major city during rush hour and he WAS LATE. Sorry bud.
Merle Morrigan 3 years ago
I still remember the woman that :"Gawd damn me to hell" because I could not comply with her request. Sigh, we sell little bits of our souls along the way.
#71
I was the EMT who pulled the printout that just said "Off duty PD call in. Man gave name 'God Jehovah Moped'". The man was surprisingly lucid and coherent. That's also not his legal name. I asked. The spirit gave it to him that morning and he was really excited to share it with everyone.
cadena kuhn 3 years ago
Had a guy come in my gas station once and tell me he was a prophet sent by Jesus to save the children... Then asked if I knew where he could get some weed
#72
He caught a raccoon and didn't know what to do next...then proceeded to FREAK OUT when told it is not a police matter. Called back on 911 all day.
freefall 3 years ago
I would think you should give him the number of animal control. While police are not needed, this would have been more helpful for the caller and possibly stopped him from calling 911.
Jose Antonio 3 years ago
I agree. that would have been the logical answer assuming that it had not been offered already.
Load More Replies... Deborah 3 years ago
Someone called 999 for an escaped horse and they sent they sent police. She was petrified of horses.
Jose Antonio 3 years ago
"She was petrified of horses." w...what? how? horses are amazing.
Load More Replies... #73
An old guy called in and wanted to know the time... he thought someone had been sabotaging his clocks around the house
#74
Didn’t get hired, but applied to be an operator and was doing a shadow shift. Kid called us, sounded about 3 years old. They called us while playing on a parents phone. They called us ugly and hung up.
#75
My sister once called because she wanted to know who would be on the other end of the line. I couldn't hear what the person said but I heard my sister's parts of the convo. Sister: hello? Who's this? ... Oh... Then she hung up on the operator. They ended up calling back and my dad picked up and had to explain that his daughter was just being curious.
#76
Not an operator but my sister called 911 when she was 4 because the cable went out and she was very concerned about her cartoons
#77
Not a 911 operator but my buddy is...he got a call from a woman reporting a live deer in her backyard, wondering what she should do...I don’t know Karen, just let it graze in peace
Merle Morrigan 3 years ago
That is NOT a Karen! Get your memes and tropes fine tuned, or people will mention it to you. https://wikidiff.com/meme/trope
Wandaluzt 3 years ago
Stop trying to talk to Reddit posters. This was posted there a year ago.
Load More Replies... What do you think ?
Chich 3 years ago
Not a 911 operator but had a guy call my fire base one evening. Freaking out that the whole mountainside behind his place was on fire and everyone was going to die. I could see the area from the base and assured him there was no wildfire and that it was just lit up by the setting sun. He kept arguing and panicking until I finally calmed him down. He then said he had likely sampled a bit too much of his 'product - whatever that was, wouldn't say.
Renegade 3 years ago
Not a 911 operator, but had to call them several times when working at a nursing home. One resident had a habit of eloping (escaping) and at one point the conversation went like this. 911: what is he wearing? Me: I don't know, but he's being chased by a nurse in bright red scrubs, you can't miss her. He was a really sweet man, but really should have been in the dementia ward. Also, it's terrifying when you call 911 and are put on hold.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I would be worried about being put on hold like that too. We had quite a few people in the recent floods in NSW who were left on hold or even hung up on while they were waiting to be rescued from the rooves of their houses and they were terrified.
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Anne Reid 3 years ago
I used to answer phones for the Parks Dept. in NYC. It was a complaint line mostly, but people could also report situations where law enforcement was needed. Got SEVERAL irate phone calls from a guy upset that there were people in a park by his house after dusk (when some parks closed). “They’re burning candles and singing. AGAIN! They did this last night, too! It’s almost 9 pm!” I had to explain again and again that less than a week earlier, two planes had been flown into the World Trade Center…and that people were grieving for those murdered, and trying to get info on those still missing. When he demanded someone respond, I told him every city employee had more pressing matters to deal with. He didn’t take that too well.
Kyndal T 3 years ago
When I was 5 years old, I called 911 on the Easter bunny for stealing my eggs. The officers that came out found all my eggs for me and one of the lady officers dressed me up and did my hair. Perks of being alone on Easter I guess. Where I live now 911 calls are often about zebras, camels, and kangaroos running loose downtown. There's an animal sanctuary/farm about 5 miles out. They just got a group of monkeys and I'm hoping they try harder to contain them than they have with the others. Just glad their cougar hasn't gotten loose.
Carol Emory 3 years ago
I was trying out to be a 911 dispatcher so I was invited to spend a night listening to 911 calls. This woman phones in and says she is in the middle of nowhere, her boyfriend just left her there. So the dispatcher asked "Whose car was he in?" "His." Ok..no stolen car. "Did he hit you or injure you?" "No." No domestic abuse. "What happened?" "We argued, he told me to get out of the car and left." Ok.."So what would you like us to do?" "Make him come back and pick me up!" Uhm.."We can't do that ma'am." "Why not! He just left me here!" "He's allowed to do that ma'am." Phone hangs up after a few cuss words.
wowbagger 3 years ago
Couldn't it be a genuine emergency if you were lost in the middle of nowhere and it was cold outside?
Load More Replies... Summer Mason 3 years ago
Not me but my dad. As a fire fighter, showed up to a mentally unstable woman's house who is scared of clowns. Only to find out she was seeing her next door najbors daughter who had blue hair. 😑. She was convinced a clown was trying to kill her so EMS and cops had to respond.
Mistiekim 3 years ago
My sister had 911/ police called on her because she was standing at her window smoking (window open, smoking through screen) because the stairs in her apartment were all wonky and it was easier to do that. Neighbors called because they thought someone there had a red laser pointer and kept shining it into their house. Police were amused, but did say smoking was bad for her.
Alicia Davidson 3 years ago
I'm a nurse. I had one patient at the hospital who lost her phone privileges. She kept calling 911 to go to the ER at the hospital we were at because we were treating her wrong.
Chich 3 years ago
Not a 911 operator but had a guy call my fire base one evening. Freaking out that the whole mountainside behind his place was on fire and everyone was going to die. I could see the area from the base and assured him there was no wildfire and that it was just lit up by the setting sun. He kept arguing and panicking until I finally calmed him down. He then said he had likely sampled a bit too much of his 'product - whatever that was, wouldn't say.
Renegade 3 years ago
Not a 911 operator, but had to call them several times when working at a nursing home. One resident had a habit of eloping (escaping) and at one point the conversation went like this. 911: what is he wearing? Me: I don't know, but he's being chased by a nurse in bright red scrubs, you can't miss her. He was a really sweet man, but really should have been in the dementia ward. Also, it's terrifying when you call 911 and are put on hold.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
I would be worried about being put on hold like that too. We had quite a few people in the recent floods in NSW who were left on hold or even hung up on while they were waiting to be rescued from the rooves of their houses and they were terrified.
Load More Replies... Anne Reid 3 years ago
I used to answer phones for the Parks Dept. in NYC. It was a complaint line mostly, but people could also report situations where law enforcement was needed. Got SEVERAL irate phone calls from a guy upset that there were people in a park by his house after dusk (when some parks closed). “They’re burning candles and singing. AGAIN! They did this last night, too! It’s almost 9 pm!” I had to explain again and again that less than a week earlier, two planes had been flown into the World Trade Center…and that people were grieving for those murdered, and trying to get info on those still missing. When he demanded someone respond, I told him every city employee had more pressing matters to deal with. He didn’t take that too well.
Kyndal T 3 years ago
When I was 5 years old, I called 911 on the Easter bunny for stealing my eggs. The officers that came out found all my eggs for me and one of the lady officers dressed me up and did my hair. Perks of being alone on Easter I guess. Where I live now 911 calls are often about zebras, camels, and kangaroos running loose downtown. There's an animal sanctuary/farm about 5 miles out. They just got a group of monkeys and I'm hoping they try harder to contain them than they have with the others. Just glad their cougar hasn't gotten loose.
Carol Emory 3 years ago
I was trying out to be a 911 dispatcher so I was invited to spend a night listening to 911 calls. This woman phones in and says she is in the middle of nowhere, her boyfriend just left her there. So the dispatcher asked "Whose car was he in?" "His." Ok..no stolen car. "Did he hit you or injure you?" "No." No domestic abuse. "What happened?" "We argued, he told me to get out of the car and left." Ok.."So what would you like us to do?" "Make him come back and pick me up!" Uhm.."We can't do that ma'am." "Why not! He just left me here!" "He's allowed to do that ma'am." Phone hangs up after a few cuss words.
wowbagger 3 years ago
Couldn't it be a genuine emergency if you were lost in the middle of nowhere and it was cold outside?
Load More Replies... Summer Mason 3 years ago
Not me but my dad. As a fire fighter, showed up to a mentally unstable woman's house who is scared of clowns. Only to find out she was seeing her next door najbors daughter who had blue hair. 😑. She was convinced a clown was trying to kill her so EMS and cops had to respond.
Mistiekim 3 years ago
My sister had 911/ police called on her because she was standing at her window smoking (window open, smoking through screen) because the stairs in her apartment were all wonky and it was easier to do that. Neighbors called because they thought someone there had a red laser pointer and kept shining it into their house. Police were amused, but did say smoking was bad for her.
Alicia Davidson 3 years ago
I'm a nurse. I had one patient at the hospital who lost her phone privileges. She kept calling 911 to go to the ER at the hospital we were at because we were treating her wrong.
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