Guest guest Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 I thought this story from a Lubbock TX news station (KAMC) would add something to the discussion. -------------- http://www.kamc28.tv/news/default.asp?mode=shownews & id=1486 When Is An Emergency ... An Emergency? [] We all know we`re only supposed to call 911 in an emergency situation. But what happens when what you think is an emergency differs from what the police think? A man in Lubbock says he called 911 earlier this week to report an emergency and he was given an alternate number to call that ended up being an answering service. McLaughlin of Lubbock found a couple breaking the law by driving with their child unrestrained in the car. After calling 911 to report an emergency, he was given an alternate number to call that ended up being an answering service. He says he couldn`t believe it. " I picked up the phone and called 911 they actually transferred me over to an answering service through the department of transportation and it just said, `Leave a license plate number.` So nothing got done, " says McLaughlin. Lubbock 911 Dispatch Supervisor Christy Hennsley says each person`s view of an emergency is different, and McLaughlin was told to call a different number according to procedure. " We don`t handle calls for unrestrained children, " she says. " We refer it to DPS and we provide the caller with the phone number. " McLaughlin says they should have at least tried to send a unit out to catch the couple. Hennsley says it`s just wasn`t possible. " Obviously that`s unsafe, " says Hennsley. " I have two kids of my own. I don`t want to see any kids get hurt or anything like that. " I think that we don`t repsond because the main reason is we don`t have the manpower ... it`s very hard sometimes to find those people when they`re driving. " Hennsley says they don`t want people calling 911 with non-emergency situations like unrestrained children in cars, but she says if you aren`t sure if you have an emergency or not, always call 911 just to be safe. She says the number to call for any non-emergency is 763-5333. Hennsley says they receive about 35,000 calls each month, 15,000 of those reporting non-emergency situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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