Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) 911 communications unit yesterday released a list of the most ridiculous, and non-emergency 911 calls received in 2021.
From long drive thru line-ups and prank calls, to missing cats and uncooperative children, not one of these calls warranted the dialing of 911, it said in a statement.
This list of calls is being released to raise awareness of the misuse of 911. DRPS 911 communicators respond to an average of six hundred 911 calls per day. In 2020, they handled over 223,000 such calls, and that doesn’t include the non-emergency calls.
Misuse of 911 can potentially delay someone with a life-threatening emergency from getting help. Before dialing 911 please remember that is for police, medical or fire emergencies, meaning there is an immediate threat to someone’s health, safety or property, said the statement.
Here are some of the ridiculous 911 calls for 2021:
1. Taco Bell drive thru line was too long.
2. Caller’s kitchen flooded so they dialed 911. The caller was advised to contact his insurance company and a plumber. The caller didn’t appreciate that answer so they hung up and called 911 again and said the same thing.
3. Kids called 911 asking if the call-taker’s refrigerator was running.
4. Parent looking to have police attend to ‘scare’ their 12-year-old son who is talking back.
5. The caller’s 9-year-old son changed the wifi password and refused to give them the new one. The caller wanted officers dispatched to force the child to provide the new password.
6. Caller dialed 911 asking police to find their wifi password.
7. Trying to find Covid test results.
8. Uber driver upset that after 10 minutes, the customer wasn’t coming to the vehicle.
9. Cat got out of the house/stuck in a tree.
10. Caller requesting the non-emergency police number.
11. A pizza place made caller the wrong pizza, and they wanted them charged because they wouldn’t make a new one.
12. A parking garage gate ate the caller’s money and they couldn’t exit the garage.
Please use 911 responsibly. DRPS call-takers cannot provide information on weather or power outages and please do not call 911 to ask for the non-emergency police number. To reach DRPS’ non-emergency line please call 905-579-1520 and press 0.
Have a safe and Happy New Year!