I don't even know how many times I've called. Fights outside my house (one made the newspaper), drag racing, drunk guy screaming outside at 4 a.m. that he was going to smash people's cars, being in a car accident myself, witnessing an accident, the list goes on.
Post by InBetweenDays on Jan 30, 2020 15:53:43 GMT -5
I've called 911 twice for legitimate reasons and once for what I didn't think was legitimate, but when I called the non-emergency number they told me to call 911.
First legit time was because DD (10 at the time) seemed to be choking. As I was on the phone she was able to start breathing again. She ha choked on Nerds, which I'm not sure how it's possible, but she seriously couldn't breath for awhile.
The second legit time I was driving down a highway and as a car passed me on my left a guy climbed out of the passenger window and on to the hood of the car. They were going 60+ mph and he was hanging on to the hood of the car messing around. I'm sure he was high on something.
The time it didn't seem legit I had gone for a run around 6am (summer so it was fairly light out). A car followed me slowly for probably a good 1/2 mile as I ran along this waterfront path (he drove in an adjacent parking lot). Finally another car pulled out of a parking spot and seemed to intentionally block this first car from continuing. The whole thing was weird so I called the non emergency number when I got home just to get the car information on file. They told me to call 911.
Post by tarzanswife on Jan 30, 2020 16:06:56 GMT -5
I've had to call a few times. The most embarrassing was when I almost burned my house down trying to make an anniversary roast. I'm divorced now so....
I've also called on people doing drugs in a car on my street, random drunk people in my yard, drunk drivers, accidents, etc..
I called twice once for my mom when she was having a heart attack while she was watching my daughter and I was 30 minutes away, and once for a guy at work who was unconscious.
Truthfully, because ambulances are so expensive, I try not to call 911 as much as possible, because I wouldn't want to be responsible for ruining someone financially.
No but we have a police non emergency line that I have called maybe 5 times total? Twice for “wild animal” issues (an injured turkey flailing on the sidewalk for example lol), once for downed power lines, once because our carbon monoxide alarm was going off, and once when that jackass asshole hit my dog with his umbrella. Our town publishes a log of calls each week - a lot are about turkeys lol. And there is a sports radio show that has a recurrent segment where they play ridiculous 911 calls from my town. People call 911 over tut most insane things.
I've called our non-emergency number for a loose dog running around our complex almost getting hit multiple times and being aggressive with other dogs & kids. It was my neighbor's dog and they weren't home/kept her outside and she got free from her rope without them noticing. I ended up calling multiple times. FWIW, I tried to call animal control first every time but no one answers their phone apparently. When I called the non-emergency number they were able to get a hold of animal control. As for 911, I've only called once when the hill behind my parents' house was on fire. They already knew and aid was on the way so apparently I wasn't the only one to call.
Once when my brother went into anaphylactic shock when taking some medicine we didn't know he was allergic to. I was 9. My parents were just running around screaming, so I dialed.
I’ve only ever called 911 twice. Once was for a fire in the woods and another was a car crash. I honestly do not know the non-emergency police number, but I would google it before thinking of calling 911 for a non-emergency.
I called because I could smell smoke in my house, opened the attic door smoke was coming out. Turned out our attic fan belt was shot or something. BUt still a little scary.
I had the non-emergency number in my phone and tried to call it a few times (for people riding ATVs). No one ever answered. Finally they told us to call 911 because they route the non emergency calls, too. I can’t bring myself to do it.
I’ve called 911 a couple times after witnessing car accidents. One time bc there was a guy laying on I95! And I’ve called #77 (state highway in many states) for highway patrol issues. H called 911 when I had my stroke. I yelled at him bc it wasn’t an emergency. Never mind I couldn’t stand up... LOL
In my previous job over the span of 5 years I called 9-1-1 about once a month and the non emerg line weekly.
In my personal life I’ve called 9-1-1 a handful of times. The worst was when I found my then 5 year old daughter passed out on the floor during a bought with the flu. I’ve called on suspected drunk drivers, once on a massively out of control house party, and once for me during an allergic reaction.
Post by aprilsails on Jan 30, 2020 18:07:22 GMT -5
In my city 911 answers all after hours calls (5pm-8am) even for the non-emergency line. If you have a non-emergency someone will get dispatched quicker during the day if you call their specific number (by-law usually). There aren’t bylaw officers patrolling at night, so everything goes through the police.
I’ve only ever called 911 for a fight at the halfway house across from my student apartment. I called the non-emergency line for a family that had hit a deer once too.
I've called several times: 1. After a few nights in our new house, we heard a pop and smelled burning plastic in our house -- we called, but asked for no sirens because it was 4:30am
2. A guy shot himself in front of my house (accidentally. He drove away before the police got there.)
3. A man and woman were fighting physically in front of a hotel and he was trying to throw her into a busy intersection.
4. In a parking lot at the grocery store, in the car next to mine, the driver was shooting up. I got in my car and called, and the guy finished and drove away before I finished the call.
Post by lexxasaurus on Jan 30, 2020 18:38:47 GMT -5
I've called when clients have threatened my life at work, when I overheard a DV situation, when someone tried to kick my door in at 4 am... all emergencies. For noise complaints and such I have the non emergency line saved.
Post by RoxMonster on Jan 30, 2020 19:12:22 GMT -5
I've called twice. Once when I was in a car crash and once when I was driving down the highway and saw a man standing on the outside of the overpass like he was going to jump.
I've got non-emergency for things like finding stolen property in my yard and seeing a dog left in a hot car (that probably could have been 911, I guess, but they got there quickly anyway).
Have you ever called 911 for a "non-emergency" reason? And/or do you know what your local police want you to use 911 for?
I don't believe so. I move so often that I'm in the habit of programming the local non-emergency number into my phone for when I might need it. I've probably called that more than the emergency line.
Post by JayhawkGirl on Jan 30, 2020 22:25:34 GMT -5
This has me realizing I’ve called 911 several times
-our car accident on the interstate. Dispatcher was mad it was loud - yep he knocked out our back window - and she kept insisting we were on the southbound side and it had been called it. We were very much on the northbound side. I’ve lived here 31 years and know my north from south. She was awful.
-when I worked in sales in the late 90s I did 100-300 miles a day in my company van (soda logo on it). I witnessed a few wrecks, the worst was a crossover that went airborne. This was before everyone had cell phones and I’m glad I had one.
-a very impaired driver on the highway. I was behind him for 20 minutes and they never did get anyone out to intercept him. He was bouncing side to side across all the lanes so I wasn’t about to try to get around him. KC folks - I called at the legends, they never got to us when he exited at 435 & State Line. It kept switching jurisdictions and they just kept transferring my call.
- a coworker having a grand mal seizure
-I came across a missing woman’s vehicle off a rural road. She had not survived. That one, news helicopters were above me even before the police got to me.
-a fire behind our neighborhood. It was a remodeling business burn pile that got out of hand and was burning higher than the two story house it backed up to and throwing embers another 50’ in the air. I called non-emergency first since there were no structures burning but it was nothing like anything they ever burned there before. They asked me to call 911 and ask for the fire department. They hooked up their hoses to extinguish it.
I’ve only called for medical emergencies (somehow I’m always a witness to these situations) and once for someone who was doing something illegal that had potential to harm the public. In every case they kept me on the line until help came.
Post by irishbride2 on Jan 31, 2020 5:31:16 GMT -5
See I don’t even use 911 for car accidents I’m in (I would if I was injured). I call the non emergency line for that. The only times I’ve used 911 is true life and death (1: we thought step dad was having a heart attack, and the other were gun shots and screaming outside my window). Maybe there are things I should have used 911 for and didn’t? I don’t know.
Once when I was in high school, for an unconscious person halfway in the roadway. Turns out he was drunk and had sobered up enough to wander off by the time police got there.
Once for an elderly person walking alongside a four lane highway in pajamas and no shoes.
I may have called for an elderly man who had fallen and busted his head open on a sidewalk in the neighborhood where I get my nails done, but I don’t remember. I stopped to help because I’m a nurse, and I know an ambulance came, but I don’t remember if I’m the one who actually called.
Oh, and I guess twice for car accidents I was involved in.
A few times for car accidents that I witnessed while driving home at 3 am. Watched a pick up truck get clipped when some asshole cut him off, he lost control, spun out and rolled across the freeway and everything in the truck bed went flying. I got put on hold for that call because so many of us witnessed it and we all called it in at the same time. Another time, I called in a suspected drunk driver and while I was on the phone with them, the car lost control, crossed all lanes of traffic, hit the center divide, spun out and then the people in the car got out and started running back and forth across the freeway (the 5 between San Clemente and San Onofre).
Called once when I worked in Denver. An air force academy cadet was in town celebrating a birthday with his buddies and some random drunk guy attacked him right in front of my work. His friends brought him into our retail store and he was a bloody mess. Our phones were down due to a water leak at the Westin next door (16th st mall for those that are familiar) and my cell phone call to 911 got cut off. They had to call me back.
Post by maudefindlay on Feb 1, 2020 5:39:34 GMT -5
I just thought of another. I called 311 once when I was at a playground with the kids and a young man came and after playing on all the equipment he stood in the middle of the play area and peed in the mulch.
In college my sister called 911 because she had a flat tire and she needed someone to come change it. She wasn’t in danger or anything. She was parked at a TGIFridays. They read her the riot act for calling, lol. We still tease her about it!