Ask any emergency official who staffs a 911 post and they'll tell you - they sometimes get the weirdest and most idiotic or inappropriate calls. It appears that people with no idea of who else to phone about something too often pick the simplest three digits to dial.
And so it was that an operator in
Jacksonville, Florida took an emergency call last week that wasn't really that much of an emergency at all. It seems a consumer named Reginald Peterson had just visited a local submarine sandwich shop and was incensed when employees left off two important ingredients - mustard and mayo.
So he allegedly did what any rational normal person would - picked up the phone and dialed 911.
Workers at the restaurant tried to explain that he ordered a dish called "The Works."
"When you ask for The Works it consists of certain vegetables on your sandwich, it does not include mayonnaise or mustard," explains manager Tammy Morris.
Employees later told police that the 42-year-old had become belligerent about the apparent omission and began yelling at them while they were fixing his order. They were finally forced to lock him out of the eatery when he went outside to call for help.
Peterson apparently called 911 to complain, asking that police be sent to the store to demand that his sandwich be made again.
But that still wasn't the end of it. Authorities are required to respond to 911 calls, and dutifully sent out officers to check out what was going on. That apparently wasn't enough for the incensed caller, who dialed the emergency number a second time. The reason: he didn't think cops were responding fast enough.
When the not-so-amused lawmen finally made it to the scene, they lectured Peterson about the misuse of 911, but he allegedly refused to listen. He's now been charged with making false calls to the emergency number.
And he never did get satisfaction, finally telling the cops to throw his sandwich away.
The story is bizarre, but it contains an important lesson that authorities can't stress too often: 911 is for serious emergencies - like fires, crimes in progress or dire health issues - only.
Many people have called 911 in the past for frivolous reasons (
see some examples here.)
And some accidentally dial the number while trying to program it into their phone, another no-no.
When should you dial 911?
Toronto Police spell it out here.