Weird News

[glatt]

And if the customer stole a pack of McNuggets from McDonald's, should McDonald's call the non-emergency number too?

Who keeps the non emergency number memorized in their heads anyway? It varies by precinct. When you go out to a restaurant, do you know which precinct you happen to be closest to? If you called directory assistance, would you even be able to explain to them what number you were looking for? Directory assistance doesn't have the resources to look up what precinct is closest to your address. They aren't going to pull out a map.

It would have been better for her to use the non emergency number, but she should not be cited for calling 911. This was a matter for the police, and she called 911 to get the police. She did nothing wrong.

I'll admit I didn't listen to the tapes. If 911 provided her with the non-emergency number and told her to get lost, and she called again, then I'd have no problem with the citation. But if they were just ignoring a person who was calling to report a robbery in progress, like she was, then the 911 center screwed up.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by glatt

And if the customer stole a pack of McNuggets from McDonald's, should McDonald's call the non-emergency number too?

Yes

Originally Posted by glatt

Who keeps the non emergency number memorized in their heads anyway?
When you go out to a restaurant, do you know which precinct you happen to be closest to?
If you called directory assistance, would you even be able to explain to them what number you were looking for?

I have the local one programmed in my cell phone.
That depends on if I'm in my local area or not.
Absolutely, and every operator knows exactly what you want as well. They are specifically trained on this stuff.

Originally Posted by glatt

It would have been better for her to use the non emergency number, but she should not be cited for calling 911. This was a matter for the police, and she called 911 to get the police. She did nothing wrong.

We disagree. She called 3 times on a line that is for emergencies only. The McDonalds wasn't going anywhere. They were not a flight risk. This was a non-emergency. This was NOT a life or death situation - not even close.

911 is the number to dial for the fastest possible emergency response when you need emergency POLICE, FIRE or MEDICAL ASSISTANCE in a life or death situation.
Using the non-emergency number keeps 911 available for true emergencies.

[Tulip]

Perhaps that woman thought the number 911 is for calling the police?

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by glatt

And if the customer stole a pack of McNuggets from McDonald's, should McDonald's call the non-emergency number too?

No, they should just shoot them.