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You have an emergency, you call 911 and a police officer will be there soon. It means that the moment you hit those three digits on your phone and call, you will be safe. To avoid people thinking that they can handle it themselves, we often tell ourselves that 911 can handle any emergency.
It would seem that we did it too well. A lot of people call the emergency help line for very peculiar and almost dumb reasons. Some are even heartwarming. But either way, just kick back, relax, and read these amazing conversations.
Not an operator, but my boyfriend who called in.
He usually worked a late shift, walking home about 2 am. This shift he got off work a few hours late…
BF: I’d like to call and report a fire. [We live in a fire prone area and it was the season.]
911: Where is it located sir?
BF: On the hillside just East of [City].
911: Can you be more specific? [Typing away in the background.]
BF: Yes, [gives a more detailed location]. Oh god, it’s getting bigger! The whole top of the hill is on fire now!
911: Stay calm sir, we’re sending somebody out.
BF: It’s getting bigger! Doesn’t anybody else see this?! It’s lighting up the sky around it…it’s huge! Oh god! Oh…oh, wait…
911: Sir?
BF: I am SO sorry…I’m not usually out this time of night, I just got off work late…that’s, that’s the sun…
911: …
BF: I am so, so sorry for wasting your time, there is no fire, that’s just the sun rising. Never mind. I’m really embarrassed…
911: That’s fine, Sir. I will cancel the call, thank you for calling.
Had another woman call saying her cat was stuck in a tree. I just knew she wanted the fire department to come save the cat, so I got my “that’s only in movies/TV” speech ready. Then she said “…so my husband climbed up to get the cat and now he’s stuck too.”
A quite pregnant (don’t remember exactly how far along, but definitely past 30 weeks) woman calls to say that her doctor told her to refrain from having sex for the rest of the pregnancy and she didn’t understand why. I looked at her file, and saw she was having pre-term contractions, so I explained that sexual activity can cause contractions, so it was safer to abstain so the baby could stay inside as long as possible.
She tearfully exclaims, “But how will I feed the baby?!?”
Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, could you repeat that?”
Patient: “How will I feed the baby if I can’t have sex?!?”
The patient was convinced that her baby was living off of her boyfriend’s semen, and that it would starve if they stopped having sex. I explained about the umbilical cord, etc. but she refused to believe me until I asked her about single moms, lesbian moms, etc. and asked how she though their babies fed and grew. After a moment of silence, she thanked me, and started to hang up the phone, but not before I heard her screaming her boyfriends name.
That man had a good thing going for a while there. I honestly wasn’t sure if I felt more sorry for him, or a baby growing up in that household.
Just after I got cut loose from training, I received a priority one (meaning immediate response) animal ordinance call. Usually, this call is reserved for animals in traffic or vicious animals, where there is the potential for immediate threat to life.
The reporting party was a parent attending a school function. Caller advised there was a raccoon loose in the school.
I dispatched two officers to the call and they made it on scene. The officer then broadcasts the “suspect” description via radio. “Suspect is small, fast, and wearing a bandit mask. May have robbed a couple of trash cans. We lost him in a foot pursuit.”
https://giphy.com/gifs/mrw-need-shave-GUdATJumMX1Dy
One woman called because she thought her house was being shot at. Turns out she forgot about her eggs boiling on the stove and they exploded. I wanted to give her a hug though, she was just a little old lady.
A woman dialled 999 to say there were men in her house trying to take her away. The men in question were police officers who had come to arrest her
One guy called FRANTICALLY saying that he saw the dead body of a young woman, early 20s, wearing nothing but shorts. He gave a detailed description, hair color, skin color, body position, the whole bit and said she was by the side of the interstate (in the middle of an affluent suburban area at rush hour) so we figured this had to be a really fresh crime scene. We started scrambling together officers to get there ASAP, a big hassle considering it’s rush hour and they’re all dealing with accidents and stuff like that. On top of that, we can’t say what the issue is on the radio is because we have too many busibodies who monitor police radio, then call us to try to get juicy details, or othewise meddle. So we have to get these officers to their cars to read the computer, leaving other issues, etc. And these are suburban cops in the Midwest, a murder is a damn big deal.
The guy calls back a few minutes later. “Uh, I checked again, it’s a dead deer.”
Peeved, I announce on the radio that the trip is cancelled, “it was a deer”. An officer sarcastically calls back: “With shorts on?”
The best story I have is a guy who called about a bobcat in front of the library. He called up out of breath and said there was a wild cat intimidating people so they could not enter or exit the building.
I was fairly close so I started to run over. I asked if anyone was injured and he said no. I was expecting a group of people held up at the entrance by a huge cat hissing at everyone. I told him to keep away from it and stay on the line.
When I got there I found a tabby cat perched on a bench.
I verified the caller and the cat he called about. I went over to the cat with him and started pet him, he rolled over and let me scratch his belly.
The guy was shocked and said “oh, someone has domesticated it.”
“911, what is the address of the emergency?”
“I need an ambulance”
“What’s going on?”
“I just, I need an ambulance”
“Can you tell me why?”
“My dick is stuck in the wall OKAY?!”
“Please stay on the line for Fire/Rescue”
Me: 911, where do you need assistance?
Drunk guy: At the convenient store. This guy won’t sell me beer.
Me: Ok, why not?
Drunk guy: I can’t show him my ID because I am not 21.
Me: Without an ID the clerk can not sell to you, especially if you are under age.
Drunk Guy: But other clerks let me bribe them before. I told him that and he still won’t take my bribe and sell to me. Make him take the bribe!
Me: We won’t force the clerk to accept your bribe. And definitely won’t let him sell to a minor. Do you want to wait there and I can have an officer come talk to you in person?
Drunk Guy: Yea, I will sit outside and wait for you.
Not a 911 operator, but I do work for a kids helpline. I recently got a call from a panicked 11-year-old boy who thought he had locked himself in a wardrobe while home alone. I was on the phone with him for a while before I suggested sliding the door instead of pushing it out like you would when entering or exiting a room. I heard a few sniffles on the other end of the line and then a quiet “Oh yeah, I forgot the door went like that.”
Paramedic here,
Once we had a young woman call 911 around 2am saying that her legs were turning blue. Turns out she had worn a new pair of jeans to the club that night.
One of my personal favorites was someone who called and it went like this:
“I know this is not an emergency, but there is a person in a giant monkey suit running down the road humping all the fire hydrants”
I had to hold back my laughing as best I could – turns out he was right, when I sent the police there there was a kid in a monkey costume humping every hydrant he came across.
I’m not a dispatcher, but back in my EMS days I was dispatched on a call of a child being poisoned. Upon our arrival we find a 14 year old male and his mother. The mother was insisting we take them to the hospital so he could have his stomach pumped because he had swallowed chewing gum. The child was looking at us as if to say, “I’m sorry my mother is crazy.”
One year later, same address, same family, called for poisoning. Upon arrival we find the same kid and mother. The mother wanted to be taken to the hospital because the kid had admitted to his mother that he had taken a hit of marijuana when he was visiting friends the week before. The kid had the same look on his face.
Guy who called to swear out a complaint against his roommate because the guy stole his heroin. Yes, they both got a ride.
Long story short. Helped a little girl do her math homework.
My uncle was a dispatcher in a suburb of Minneapolis/St.Paul, and would tell me stories whenever I saw him. My favorite goes like this:
Uncle: 911, what’s your emergency?
Caller: Yes, I’d like to report two suspicious vehicles passing something back and forth in Potawatomi park.
Uncle: Ok, we’ll send an officer out to assess.
Uncle: Dispatch to car 45, two suspicious vehicles in Potawatomi park, passing items back and forth.
Car 45: Uhhh…car 45 to dispatch, that’s me and Officer Somethingerother, passing Cheetos…
Uncle: 10-4
One woman called saying that every time she went outside the frogs said mmm pussy.
One time, some guy called 911 because he had multiple women in his bed that he didn’t know and who refused to leave.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“THERE IS A GODDAMN ROCK ON MY LAWN. A ROCK.”
“Um… A rock?”
“DID YOU NOT F*CKING HEAR ME? THERE IS A ROCK ON MY LAWN. SOMEONE DID THIS ON PURPOSE. A GODDAMN ROCK IN MY LAWN. I HAD TO DRIVE AROUND IT ON MY LAWNMOWER. A GODDAMN ROCK.”
“What’s your address?”
“You’re f*cking 911 and you don’t know my goddamn address? What the f*ck are my taxes paying you for? F*cking useless. Goddamn rock.”
“Sir, what is your address?”
“LOOK AT ME ON GOOGLE EARTH YOU CAN SEE ME BECAUSE THERES A GODDAMN ROCK IN MY LAWN!”
At this point, the map finally correlated with his location and he was in the next county. I let them deal with it. I don’t know how it turned out.
I’ve had someone call 911 to wish me a merry xmas when I was working at 3am on on Christmas Morning.
A friend who used to be a police operator once told me she had a hysterical call from a Chinese lady, who was unintelligible but clearly distressed. They sent an officer round, apparently she’d found a hedgehog in her garden and had no f*cking clue what it was – assumed it was an alien or something and freaked out.
Me: “911. What is the address of your emergency?”
Caller: “Turtles…in Georgia”
M: “Yes, ma’am. Turtles are an indigenous species to the state of Georgia.”
C: “Really?”
M: “Yes, ma’am.”
C: “Huh. Well what do you do when there is one in your yard?”
M: “Leave it alone.”
C: “It’s driving my dogs crazy!”
M: “Is the turtle endangering your dogs?”
C: “No.”
M: “Are the dogs endangering the turtle?”
C: “No. They’re on the other side of the fence.”
M: “Well then just leave the turtle alone and he’ll go along on his merry turtle way.”
C: “Ok. I guess so.”
Caller: A deer just swam across the river behind my house.
Me: Okay?
Caller: Well I am worried it might be cold.
Me:…….Well there is nothing we can do about a deer being cold. Didn’t it run off after swinning the river?
Caller: Yes.
Me: Well ma’am it’s a wild animal and I’d guess it’s going to be fine.
Caller: ok
“I want to report an attempt murder. I asked them not to put mushrooms on my pizza, as I’m allergic and they forgot, so it’s attempted murder”
Someone called 911 about a “machine gun mounted on a car”. It was the Google maps car…
6:30 Christmas morning. 9-1-1 goes off. “9-1-1. what’s your emergency?”
Breathless, panicky voice “How do I get the cranberry sauce out of the can without it coming out in chunks?”
“Open the other end and slide it out on a plate.”
“OH! THANK YOU! You are brilliant!”
I wasn’t considered so brilliant once I had to dispatch an officer over there to educate her on proper 9-1-1 usage. Merry Christmas, here’s your citation.
source: 4 years as 9-1-1 dispatcher/supervisor in rural Alaska
Got a call from a man that someone vandalized his snowman.
My mom is a 911 operator, she gets some insanely stupid calls. I remember a few years ago, there was a huge pileup involving several cars and fatalities. Clearly it caused miles of traffic. A woman called 911, insisting that she get escorted out of the traffic by a trooper, because she “had to get home”, and it was “ridiculous that she should be stuck like that”. Like, people are dead, lady, sorry you’re not gonna make it home for Jeopardy.
Also had one a couple of years ago where a dad called to ask for an ambulance because his 17 yr old daughter had a candle stuck up her anus. He tried to explain that she said she had gotten out of the shower and slipped and fell “butthole first” onto the candle… Medics said they found KY jelly with the candle so I think we all know what was going on there.
Entitled rich brat demanding an officer drive her back home because she spent her travel money partying; she felt since her father was a well-known surgeon, and a “higher taxpayer” she should get a break and get a ride. I told her no and hung up on her.
Guy calling to argue that his crystal meth is legal because he made it with store-brought products with his own hard-earned money.
Caller: My boyfriend took my dog!
Me: And why’d he do that?
Caller: Because he’s an asshole!
Me: No, I mean what possessed him to take the animal?
Caller: Cause he’s a f*cker!
Me: …… Why does he have the dog…
Caller: Cause he’s a piece of shit!
Me: ……… Alright, I’ll send an officer out to talk to you.
Had a guy call asking if it was legal to shoot his neighbor because his hedges were hanging over his property and he considered it tresspassing.
I had someone a few months ago call 911 to ask if a tablespoon was the big spoon or the little one.
Got a call from a guy wanting the police to come to his address because the guy he sold a bag of weed to wouldn’t pay him
Gave me his name, address and date of birth and the name, address and phone number of the other guy as well.
Both got a visit from unit soon afterwards.
https://giphy.com/gifs/panic-561hzLoyOPBaU
I have been in the 911 biz for over 22 years. If a caller starts the call with “I swear I’m not crazy” then you need to buckle up for some insanity. A guy started a call with those words after escaping from his apartment and running to the closest 7-11. He swore that his roommates were turning into giant crabs. The was going to show the officers that they were currently in giant cocoons transforming. As you might expect he was tripping balls.
Had a drunk person call to report he was being harassed. Truth was….. He was being arrested by our officers for throwing pizza at people. All I heard in the background was one of my officers saying to him “that better not be our dispatcher on the phone” followed by some muffled talking and my officer taking the phone and saying “he will be taking a ride with us now” and hung up.
Me: 911, Whats your emergency?
Lady: My smoke detector is going off, and I think there is a HAZMAT GOING ON!
Me: Is there fire or smoke in your home?
Lady: No
Me: Is it chirping? Maybe it’s a low battery sound?
Lady: No!
Me: Did you damage the detector at all?
Lady: NO!!! I took it off the ceiling, unplugged the hard wires and took out the battery….It’s still alarming!
Me: Ma’am how is that possible? You are telling me that it it’s alarming with no power source…? And what were you mentioning about a Hazmat?
Lady: UGH!!!! THE NUCLEAR POWER SOURCE, DO TO MERCURY INJECTION FROM THE POWER PLANT IN THIS DETECTOR, IS MAKING THIS THING GO OFF! IT WONT STOP! HEAR! HAVE A LISTEN!
Me: ….(hears no sound but her heavy breathing)….
Lady: I WANT TO TALK TO THE KING NUCLEAR EMPORER HOMER SIMPSON OF SPRINGFIELD.
Me: …(Holds mic away from face laughs uncontrollably)…
Lady: HELLO!? SIR!? ARE YOU LISTENING?!?!
Me: Yes ma’am, total emergency, the Fire Department is on the way to help assist you…
Night shift at 911 always got the best calls.
Caller: I’ve been poisoned.
Me: Ok, we’re sending an ambulance. Tell me what happened.
Caller: I’ve overdosed
Me: What did you take?
Caller: Pot
Me: Marijuana?
Caller: Yes. I’m dying. Please hurry.
Turns out. She was just super high.
