Originally Posted by
dougmc
While I do like this story, I wonder if calling 911 without even talking to the dispatcher is ever the right thing to do (unless you're in a situation where your life is in danger and talking on the phone would increase the danger, of course.)
I mean, it probably took the dispatcher a while to figure out what's going on, time that might have been needed handling other emergencies. And the dispatcher probably wasn't able to tell the police what they should expect when they showed up, so they might have shown up more "on edge" than needed.
And finally, the dispatcher could have dismissed the entire thing as a butt-dialing incident and just hung up after nobody would talk to them. (I imagine they're not supposed to do this, but if all they can hear is a conversation about buying a bicycle -- that doesn't really sound like an emergency.)
Either way, good on you!
Are you serious? People call 911 when McDonald's is out of Chicken McNuggets or when they temporarily lose their cable service or internet. This certainly warrants a call. Remember the "sales" pitch when 911 first rolled out? "To save a life or stop a crime...". Now you have to use it for every call to the police - (at least in Philadelphia). I had a car accident once right in front of a police precinct. I walked in to report it and the sergeant at the desk told me call 911. I thought he was joking but it soon became clear he wasn't. While "waiting" for the 911 call officer to respond, at least 25 cop cars must've either ridden into the police precinct or left. Not one of them stopped to investigate or even see if anyone was hurt (there was enough damage - over $8K - to my vehicle to suggest the possibility). Kudos to the OP and the 911 operator (and Philadelphia's finest).