911, Pizza Delivery Please?
Written about five months ago, Reddit user Cruz1836 posted on a Reddit Thread called, “911 Operators, what is that 1 call that you could never forget?” of a call he received working as a 911 dispatcher.
It reads about a woman who called 911 asking for a pizza delivery. Eventually, the dispatcher caught on to what the woman’s intention was for calling; She called about domestic violence.
The Reddit user, Cruz1836, is a man named Keith Weisinger. At the time, he was working as a police dispatcher for the past three years before attending law school. Even though it was written five months ago, social media just picked up on the post as of recent. He recalls his experience of being a dispatcher.
When he received the call, he thought it was a complete joke since there has been note of prank phone calls being received to the police. When he realized it was the woman’s way of discretely calling to receive help, he was happy to know that he knew another officer near by the area to go over and check it out.
Upon arrival, the officer reported the woman was a little beaten up and found the boyfriend to be drunk. After the boyfriend was arrested, the woman explains how she’s been dealing with his beating for a while.
What Weisinger found most frustrating is that not many dispatchers get to know what comes of the situation. Sometimes the caller will contact the dispatcher who helped them. Most dispatchers only know the outcome if they officer’s or paramedic’s keep in contact with the person.
That is one lucky woman to have contacted a dispatcher who caught on to her first-impression “prank.” If it weren’t for the dispatcher, who know where she would be now.
I had a call that started out pretty dumb, but was actually pretty serious:
“911, where is you emergency?”
“123 Main St.”
“Ok, what’s going on there?”
“I’d like to order a pizza for delivery.” (oh great, another prank call).
“Ma’am, you’ve reached 911”
“Yeah, I know. Can I have a large with half pepperoni, half mushroom and peppers?”
“Ummm…. I’m sorry, you know you’ve called 911 right?”
“Yeah, do you know how long it will be?”
“Ok, Ma’am, is everything ok over there? do you have an emergency?”
“Yes, I do.”
“..And you can’t talk about it because there’s someone in the room with you?” (moment of realization)
“Yes, that’s correct. Do you know how long it will be?”
“I have an officer about a mile from your location. Are there any weapons in your house?”
“Nope.”
“Can you stay on the phone with me?”
“Nope. See you soon, thanks”
As we dispatch the call, I check the history at the address, and see there are multiple previous domestic violence calls. The officer arrives and finds a couple, female was kind of banged up, and boyfriend was drunk. Officer arrests him after she explains that the boyfriend had been beating her for a while. I thought she was pretty clever to use that trick. Definitely one of the most memorable calls.
If you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the 24-hour U.K. National Domestic Violence helpline free on 0808 2000 247, or in the U.S. at 1-800-799-7233.
