Poll of the Day > Have you ever DIALED 911 before???

(+) Yeah! (+)

According to statistics, 76% of people have dialed 911 before..although it's not just for police but because they called for the fire dept cause of a fire or an ambulance for someone who needs help so at some point most people will have dialed 911 in their lifetime...have you yet?.

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Yup. Called the 911 non emergency line call in other drivers for hit and runs. Called the emergency line a couple times for car crashes I witnessed happening and for a fire.

Some old dude ran a red light and hit my car. Called 911 at that time, was surreal I had hit my head and was pretty dizzy at the time. Remember stuttering a lot in the call.

Called 911 twice but both times were as a kid and neither times were for actual emergencies. Not sure why I did it the first time but I did it the second time because my family's home phone service was cut at the time and I didn't expect the call to come through. My parents were not very pleased with me both times I did it and I don't blame them one bit.

By accident, if that counts.

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A lot.

Usually if someone's losing their shit in the middle of the woods at 3 AM I'm the one to check it out. Usually they're on drugs and I just leave them alone.

One time there was a guy screaming his ass off in the woods next to a really ghetto Walmart in the middle of the night. I asked him if he was ok and he sobered up for three seconds to call me a moron. lmao.

One time a building was surrounded with smoke and I called the cops. The smoke cleared up and it was the most embarrassing moment of my life. All the firefighters and cops gave me the dead eye.

I've returned like 3 lost dogs I saw wandering on the side of the road over my life and called a cop to help me on one because it was big and gave me awkward vibes. It had the attitude of a grown ass man that was wondering why I was following him around and I could see it in its eyes. I think the cop just took him in, idk what he did with the dog.

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I've called for fires, for murder, for a hit and run, for ambulances (for multiple people including dead ones), and for many reasons I don't remember anymore.

I have lived an interesting life.

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I called 911 a couple times when my grandmother had a bad insulin reaction. In one instance her blood sugar registered only 12. (Normal is 80-130, most people pass out at 20).

I've called 911 when there was a car accident right in front of me and one of the vehicles started smoking (didn't catch fire, though), and a couple times to report dangerous debris in the road.

I've called the Sheriff's non-emergency number several times, when our Great Dane got stuck in a tree, when a strange vehicle with non-local plates was parked in my driveway for several hours with no sign of the driver, and when I found several cattle wandering around loose.

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yes, and it was for a real life incident. They dispatched both the fire department and the ambulence. (depends on which department is closer)

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I had a break in attempt 8 years ago at my home. The police response: 'did they get in?' Me: 'no'. Police: 'well let us know when they do'.

Our neighbor got robbed ten minutes later. Broke in, stole their purse, laptop, keys and then jacked their car.

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Yes.

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3 times.

One time I thought I heard gunshots in a neighborhood so I thought I'd let the police know just in case.

One time there was an illegal fire set next to a building across the street from my house and it was licking up the side of the building; there had been an arson case in a nearby town so I called to make sure the fire didn't spread.

One time my father threw my little sister and me out of the car onto the streets in the middle of the night in a city (we live about 300 miles away from where we were, so we weren't sure we could get help from people we knew)... he then came back and tried to take my phone so we wouldn't be able to call for help, so I backed away and called the police and they told me to either go back to my father's place or stay out there with the homeless people. Cool. Their presence probably kept papa from beating the shit out of me, though, so I guess that's something.

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I called it last week.

I was on the highway and a guy passed me and the three vehicles in front of me going at least 150km/h in a 100km/h zone. There was oncoming traffic, but he did it anyway. He forced the oncoming traffic off the road.

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Oh yeah. Found out theyre useless for 95% of calls so I dont bother calling anymore.

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Once for a fire outside of my house. Had a big storm during the summer that blew down a tree and knocked down a power line and when I looked outside all I saw was a fire. Really startled the fuck out of me when the downed line started surging.

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I did it last century for the ambulance.

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zebatov posted...

Oh yeah. Found out theyre useless for 95% of calls so I dont bother calling anymore.

For domestic abuse situations, 9-1-1 is truly worthless. And for domestic violence, unless someone is dead, or they believe there's a deadly weapon (gun or knife, anything else does not count), they really don't care.

Police were cruel to allow a man to physically abuse a woman for years, there was bruises and blood, but she wasn't dead, so it was cool. Yeah, the door was removed from hinges, yeah furniture was broke, yeah there was glass everywhere, yeah this went on for weeks, months, and years. But the man said he was sorry, so surely he meant it. It lasted for years of continued 9-1-1 calls being wasteful, staying at family and friends for shelter leading to stalking and continued cyclical abuse, petitions for protective order being blocked due to bi-polar sympathy.

Ultimately it took an undercover CPS agent being present at the time of a 9-1-1 call to have anything done. She knew us from school, knew our father beat us, knew he beat our mother, knew he would stop at nothing, and really, he didn't stop until he died from hypertension a few years later. Maybe Massachusetts was just behind the rest of the U.S., but certainly for the 90s and 2000s, it felt like incompetence.

Just once.

Hit and run on a rental vehicle, only did it so I wouldn't have to pay for the damages.
Call the cops I mean, someone hit my rental car and drove off.

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Locusts posted...

For domestic abuse situations, 9-1-1 is truly worthless. And for domestic violence, unless someone is dead, or they believe there's a deadly weapon (gun or knife, anything else does not count), they really don't care.

Police were cruel to allow a man to physically abuse a woman for years, there was bruises and blood, but she wasn't dead, so it was cool. Yeah, the door was removed from hinges, yeah furniture was broke, yeah there was glass everywhere, yeah this went on for weeks, months, and years. But the man said he was sorry, so surely he meant it. It lasted for years of continued 9-1-1 calls being wasteful, staying at family and friends for shelter leading to stalking and continued cyclical abuse, petitions for protective order being blocked due to bi-polar sympathy.

Ultimately it took an undercover CPS agent being present at the time of a 9-1-1 call to have anything done. She knew us from school, knew our father beat us, knew he beat our mother, knew he would stop at nothing, and really, he didn't stop until he died from hypertension a few years later. Maybe Massachusetts was just behind the rest of the U.S., but certainly for the 90s and 2000s, it felt like incompetence.

Theyre all just really shit around here because they want their salary while doing the least amount of work possible like everyone else. Only thats a job you cant really do that in.

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Personally, just once that I can remember. There was a driver in front of us that was swerving quite a bit, and as the passenger in the front seat, it fell to me to call and report them as potentially impaired. They pulled off to the side of the road just as the call connected, which disoriented me a bit, but I reported them anyway. The responding officer called back a bit later to say that they'd tracked down the driver (who was still at the side of the road), and it turned out she was just tired and had recognized that her fatigue had reached dangerous levels, so she pulled off to rest. No charges, nobody was hurt, everybody went home happy.

I've been around for several other 911 calls as well, but not been the person calling. My dad called when we spotted a fire at the side of the road, my mom called an ambulance for my grandmother when she was behaving oddly after being informed that she had a platelet count of 9 (normal is 150-300, 30 is low enough to kill most people), couple different people have called for other potentially drunk drivers, girlfriend called the police because we heard screaming in the apartment above us (they only took an hour and a half to show up, during which the lady who had screamed left so they couldn't actually check on her, though I believe they followed up and I never saw that couple's truck in the parking lot after that day). Probably a few others, but that's all I can think of off-hand.

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I just called last month for the first time in my life, while driving to work at 5AM , I nearly slammed into two cows who were in the road.

The guy who was a minute behind me also called.

Oh, I forgot, I've also dialed 911 a few times to test the phone system after an install. You explain to the operator that you are testing a new phone system and ask several questions such as what phone number and address they are seeing and if you reached the correct call center. The phone system can't be certified ready for use otherwise.

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The most memorable time was when I was behind this guy who was clearly unfit to be driving and I called 911 to let them know I was certain this dude was going to run into someone.

Lo and behold he did hit a car but luckily it was at low speed.

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BADoglick posted...

I had a break in attempt 8 years ago at my home. The police response: 'did they get in?' Me: 'no'. Police: 'well let us know when they do'. Our neighbor got robbed ten minutes later. Broke in, stole their purse, laptop, keys and then jacked their car.

The police in your area is extremely incompetent and dangerous.

Gaawa_chan posted...

One time my father threw my little sister and me out of the car onto the streets in the middle of the night in a city (we live about 300 miles away from where we were, so we weren't sure we could get help from people we knew)... he then came back and tried to take my phone so we wouldn't be able to call for help, so I backed away and called the police and they told me to either go back to my father's place or stay out there with the homeless people. Cool. Their presence probably kept papa from beating the shit out of me, though, so I guess that's something.

It was actually smart of them to encourage you to stay close to the homeless people. Chances are, strangers are much more likely to help you out than not. It's better off than facing a situation where you're guaranteed to be in danger. So how did the story end? Were you liberated from your abusive father? Did the police come to pick you up?

zebatov posted...

Oh yeah. Found out theyre useless for 95% of calls so I dont bother calling anymore.

Is that because they refuse to help you when the burger joint gives you mayonnaise instead of ketchup?

Locusts posted...

For domestic abuse situations, 9-1-1 is truly worthless. And for domestic violence, unless someone is dead, or they believe there's a deadly weapon (gun or knife, anything else does not count), they really don't care.

Where do you live? Where I live, whenever someone calls 911 for domestic abuse, they send the cops. I know because I personally called 911 for this reason on more than one occasion. Twice it was because of my violent father who scared the shit out of me, another was because of my friend's father who threw a tantrum in my house. I was also on the receiving end twice. When we were teenagers and living with our mother, my sister once called 911 because I hit her, but she left out the part where it was her who assaulted me and that I was only acting in self-defense. Thankfully, the police believed my story and said I was right, but I did have to leave the house and live somewhere else because I couldn't live with my crazy sister anymore.

Years later, I returned to live in my mother's house, this time sharing the bills with her as I was now an adult with a job. I also co-own the house now, although she owns a bigger share. My sister came to visit us and she didn't like the fact that I needed to train at the gym. I don't have a car nor a driver's license (I work from home), so twice a week my mother drove me to the gym and picked me up one hour and a half later. I could have used my bike to go to the gym, but I'd be too exhausted to ride it on the way back. At the time I was doing a lot of cardio to help me burn fat, today I've lost over 45 kg (over 100 lbs). Add to that the fact that I'm allergic to the sun and this was in the summer, I really needed someone to drive me there. But no, my sister planned out a day of shopping, eating at the restaurant and going to the cinema with her mother; there was no room to pick me up during that time. Her solution? Call 911, make a scene and lie about me being violent and threatening my mother.

I had absolutely no idea she had called the cops, so when I saw them arriving, I knew exactly what was going on. She kept lying to the cops, while I was calm but upset. I explained that my sister is crazy and that it wasn't the first time she called the cops on me as a way to win something. The cops were kind to me and understanding, they knew I was right but they still had to clear things up just in case. One of them called a social worker on the phone and told her that they were in a situation that totally doesn't require police intervention. We had to wait for the social worker to come and talk to my sister, my mother and me. It wasn't a fun time. A few years later, my sister was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. That was a huge surprise (sarcasm). She always make a big scene over the most trivial things. When we were kids and she wanted to spite me, she used to cry wolf and make a scene so that our father would beat me.

If you're wondering about my allergy to the sun, I'll explain it. My skin reacts abnormally when in contact with ultra violet rays. Although it's true that everyone can get sunburned, in my case it's debilitating. If I spend just five minutes under the sun, I can get insane sunburns. My skin roasts like a steak on a barbecue. I'm forced to wear protective clothing at all times except in winter. During summer, I must wear a hat, long sleeves, long pants and sometimes even gloves. Now imagine me wearing warm clothing in the middle of summer while riding on a bike after being exhausted for having climbed over 1 km (over 0.62 miles) on a stair master for over 50 minutes straight after working out for half an hour.

Maybe Massachusetts was just behind the rest of the U.S., but certainly for the 90s and 2000s, it felt like incompetence.

Massachusetts sounds like a terrible place to live if your story is representative of it.

Apart from the calls I mentioned above, I also called 911 once for a deranged driver. I was in a car on the passenger's seat and we were stopped by a red light. A driver on my right was yelling so loudly that we could hear him inside the car with the windows closed. He looked enraged, I think he was even spitting due to the constant yelling. I don't know why he acted like that but I called 911 to signal him. I couldn't get his license number as it was too dark and he moved too fast when the light turned to green, but I described his appearance, the type of vehicle and its color, and where he went. He went to a casino's parking lot, so finding him would be easy. I don't know what happened to him after that.

My mother also calls 911 on a near daily basis, as it's part of her job. She works as a nurse and manager, so she constantly has to call for ambulances for her patients in need of one. I've heard her make such calls at home when she's on standby and her employees call her when there's an emergency. She always goes straight to the point and gives all the details about the patient that paramedics need to know to do their job more effectively.

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I've died 999 for a ambulance twice. I'll count this.

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wwinterj25 posted...

I've died 999 for a ambulance twice. I'll count this.

Congrats on the dual resurrections.

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wolfy42 posted...

Congrats on the dual resurrections.

I'm not sure I made it back after the second one.

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Ill answer serious questions if anyone has any.

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Yes but by accident, had phone in my pocket and it called 911 while I was at work.

Accrovideogames posted...

It was actually smart of them to encourage you to stay close to the homeless people. Chances are, strangers are much more likely to help you out than not. It's better off than facing a situation where you're guaranteed to be in danger. So how did the story end? Were you liberated from your abusive father? Did the police come to pick you up?

Oh, no, the police refused to actively help. Uh, here's the longer version of what happened.

My father is a classic victim-turned-abuser case, PTSD and Bipolar Disorder, but he's now gotten a lot of therapy and takes medication (though he had to hit rock bottom first, and it happened long after any of us lived with him. He uh... broke into my uncle's house, trashed the place, and stabbed a threatening note into the wall with a knife). He's much better now, but... eh, it's complicated.

Anyway, my little sister and I were visiting from out of state. We'd gone with papa to a fairly late-showing movie, and as we were going back to his place something triggered one of his bipolar mood swings and he started to guilt trip us for not being around him more often, then flew into a rage and threw us out of the car. He drove off... so I called the first person that came to mind (my mom didn't have a phone at the time so I called her boyfriend, who'd been a family friend since before I was born). He advised me to call the police. That's when my father came driving back. He saw I was on the phone and demanded I give it to him. In retrospect I'm not sure whether or not he was trying to genuinely leave us in the middle of nowhere with no means of communication or whether he was trying to force us back into the car after taking away said means. Anyway, I refused and called the police, as I said.

When the police arrived, I told them our situation. To paraphrase, the response was something like (this was years ago I can't remember the exact words) "What do you want us to do about it? We can't do anything. You can either go with him or you can stay out here. Do you wanna stay out here on the street with all the hobos?"

It ended in a way I didn't expect; I think that my father must have called his step-wife at some point while I wasn't looking, because she showed up and said that she would take us back instead of my father. I should have refused but I just wasn't thinking very clearly and it was obvious at this point that the police were not going to do anything, so we went with her. We never visited them again. I'm glad my father wasn't arrested but I really wish we hadn't had to go back to their place.

Probably the biggest mistake I made was I forgot to call my mom's boyfriend back. Poor guy was worried out of his mind when we got home the next day, but I just don't respond well to situations like that; it's like most of my brain just shuts down for a few days afterward.

A few years later, my sister was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. That was a huge surprise (sarcasm). She always make a big scene over the most trivial things. When we were kids and she wanted to spite me, she used to cry wolf and make a scene so that our father would beat me.

What a mess. :(

If you're wondering about my allergy to the sun, I'll explain it. My skin reacts abnormally when in contact with ultra violet rays.

Yikes, is there a name for your condition?

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Gaawa_chan posted...

When the police arrived, I told them our situation. To paraphrase, the response was something like (this was years ago I can't remember the exact words) "What do you want us to do about it? We can't do anything. You can either go with him or you can stay out here. Do you wanna stay out here on the street with all the hobos?"

Oh, I thought you meant the 911 operator was suggesting you take refuge among the homeless people while the police was en route. This changes everything. The police failed big time.

Probably the biggest mistake I made was I forgot to call my mom's boyfriend back. Poor guy was worried out of his mind when we got home the next day, but I just don't respond well to situations like that; it's like most of my brain just shuts down for a few days afterward.

Considering what you've been through, it's not surprising you have trouble responding well to situations like that.

Yikes, is there a name for your condition?

It's called phototoxicity. It's induced by chemicals, so it has nothing to do with my immune system. Some drugs are known to cause it as a side effect, but everyone reacts differently and in my case it's severe. I'm under medication to treat a chronic illness and that's what causes it. If I stop taking the medication, I stop having the allergy. But the benefits I get from the drug far outweighs the side effects. When I take the drug, a chemical substance is added below my skin. It's this substance that is photosensitive and is causing a toxic reaction whenever I'm in contact with UVA rays.

There are two types of ultraviolet rays that can reach the surface of the Earth: A and B. UVB rays are responsible for sunburns and play a greater role in causing skin cancer. UVA rays also play a role in skin cancer formation. They also penetrate more deeply into skin than UVB rays. UVA rays are also responsible for premature skin aging. There are 500 times more UVA rays than UVB ones. Sunscreen products are more successful at blocking UVB rays than UVA ones. In other words, wearing sunscreen won't help me. Clothing and staying under shadows is much more effective.

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Accrovideogames posted...

Oh, I thought you meant the 911 operator was suggesting you take refuge among the homeless people while the police was en route. This changes everything. The police failed big time.

Yeah, it was mostly a thing that occurred to me in retrospect. I was too freaked out at the time to even think of pushing back on what they were saying. Things turned out okay but I wonder how many victims of domestic violence those cops have done this to. It sucks.

As an aside, the cops where I live have a pretty good reputation, and we've had no issue with the BLM protests here because the cops aren't attacking our protestors. It's surprising because we have some pretty bad problems with racist enclaves in this region, mostly extreme religious groups, but the cops aren't connected to it.

Considering what you've been through, it's not surprising you have trouble responding well to situations like that.

My father was very horribly treated as a child from every angle (my grandmother used to beat him with metal hot wheel rod tracks and he and his brothers would hide from her in the laundry chute, they were very cruelly treated in school because of their accents and clothes, he had deeply traumatizing experiences as a volunteer firefighter, etc... :( ) and it's hard to hold a grudge against someone who's tried so hard to get better. His temper really is borderline uncontrollable without medication; it's irrational and spontaneous but it fades just as arbitrarily.

It's called phototoxicity....

Thanks for the detailed response. That's simultaneously horrifying and interesting. I hope they're able to come up with a better drug for you to take someday.

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Nope never have!

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I mean in that police situation about the kid's the police should have likely recommended you talked with child services. Even in the extreme case of where they would step in they likely won't throw the father in jail.

Monopoman posted...

I mean in that police situation about the kid's the police should have likely recommended you talked with child services.

And that's where they failed big time. In these situations, involving the child protection services is what the police is supposed to do. They could have helped both the kids and the father, offering supervision and treatment.

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