Calling 911? Ignorance Isn't an Emergency

Dec. 24, 2009— -- Hubby won't come to dinner? Not getting extra shrimp in your fried rice? Can't figure out how to get out of your car? High as a kite from pot-laced brownies? Want to know the time?

Dispatchers who handle 911 calls are trained to handle a lot of situations, but some of the calls they get are anything but emergencies. Life-and-death calls, sure, but the woman who calls to report her missing McNuggets? Not so much.

In the latest episode of 911 madness, prosecutors in Kerryville, Texas, say they will review the case of a woman authorities claim has called 911 30 times over six months for non-emergency reasons, including a call to complain that her husband refused to eat his dinner. Last Friday, the woman allegedly made a pair of calls to 911, including a hang-up and another where a woman was heard screaming.

Police were dispatched to the residence and officer Paul Gonzales said police were told by her that "her husband did not want to eat his supper." A police report said the 53-year-old woman was also yelling "about things that happened two weeks ago."

The woman now faces charges of 911 abuse, the AP reported today.

Earlier this week, police say a frustrated Boston woman called 911 to say she couldn't get her 14-year-old son to stop playing video games and go to sleep.

Police spokesman Officer Joe Zanoli said the mother called for help around 2:30 a.m. Saturday to say that the teenager also walked around the house and turned on all the lights.

Two officers who responded to the house persuaded the child to obey his mother.

Zanoli says the mother's 911 call over video game obsession "was a little unusual, but by no means is it surprising — especially in today's day and age when these kids play video games and computer games."

The Boston Herald first reported the 911 call, saying the boy was playing the popular "Grand Theft Auto" game.

Across the U.S., 911 dispatchers deal with the weird every day. Audio gets released detailing trivial -- if not ridiculous -- calls to emergency officials.

"We deal with prank calls and people checking in for the time of day," Florida's St. Lucie County Public Safety 911 operations coordinator Tiffany Bennett told ABCNews.com. "When you pick up that phone, you never know what's on the other end."

Her center has also gotten calls asking about holiday parade routes and how to fix a washing machine.

"Of course, you are going to giggle at some of the sillier stuff," she said.

Sometimes you just need that extra bit of protein. A Texas woman called 911 in April upset that she did not receive the $1.62 worth of extra shrimp in her fried rice that she paid for.

"He didn't even put extra shrimp in there, and I asked him can you give me extra shrimp or can you give my money back," she told the 911 dispatcher. "And he just started hollering."

The dispatcher said she'd send an officer to the A & D Buffalo's in Haltom City, northeast of Fort Worth.

"To get a police officer out here, what has to happen?" the woman said, to which the dispatcher assured her that an officer was on the way.

But when police arrived, the woman had fled with her chopsticks.

While technology has made lives easier for many, it helps sometimes to remember the days of yore, when not everything was achieved with the push of a button.

Such was the case when a Florida woman called 911 from a Walgreen's parking lot, telling the dispatcher that her car's electrical system was not working and she was trapped inside.

"I cannot open my door. I can't get the windows down. Nothing electrical works," the woman, who was not identified, told the Kissimmee dispatcher.

"And it's just getting very hot in here. And I'm not feeling well," she continued. "I need some help."

The dispatcher immediately asked if the caller has tried to pull up on the lock manually, noting that she should be able to unlock the car that way even if her car's electric system isn't working.

The woman can be heard trying to do so and, then, says, "OK, OK. I got that going. OK."

The woman then told the dispatcher she was going to try calling AAA for help with the car.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"That's OK," the dispatcher replied just before the call was disconnected.