Have you ever called the cops?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
81

Here is every time I ever called the cops.

Dispatcher: 911, what is your emergency

Me: The people next door are a bunch of insane freaks, it is 3AM and they are blasting music and just going buck wild or something."

Dispatcher: Would you like us to send a patrol car out?

Me: Yes, but NOT TO MY HOUSE. Go tell these freaks to STFU and go to bed.

(30 minutes later, cop knocking at my door)

Cop: Hello, what is the problem?

Me: As you can see, I am in my nightclothes and my home is dark. I am attempting to sleep. If you cock your ear you might hear Jay-Z playing at 180 decibels, and if you were to turn just 110 degrees and look 35 feet away from you, you would see a naked man kneeling in the front yard of a house yelling “I’m not going back to jail goddammit”. But thank you for stopping here and drawing all attention to me and my house.

Cop: So you want us to make a report, then?

Me: I would like you to say “Surprise! It’s a singing cop telegram for your birthday! We’re not really cops!” and then go away.

Cop: Uh, ok. Well, we will go over to the house and tell them that you asked them to keep the noise down.

Me: Really? I mean the telegram thing would probably take care of it, they’d probably be all like ‘WTF white people are into some weird shit’ and then go to bed.

Cop: No, if we’re dispatched then we have to take some action.

Me: OK, thanks then, you do that and I’ll sell my house as rapidly as possible and move somewhere else.

Cop: OK, glad to be of service, good night.

82

A friend of a flatmate was staying at my flat. The friend had been homeless in the past. One day the PS3 and some games went missing and the guy confessed to taking it to the pawn shop. I rang up the police then we went to the police station. We had tried ringing pawn shops but they hadn’t heard of him. At the police station we found out that the guy had been using a fake name. We eventually got most of the stuff back.

83

I just remembered another. I called to have them check on our neighbor’s house. There was an empty potato chip bag, coke can, and a kitchen knife beside their teenager’s window, and the screen was on the ground. He probably locked himself out of the house, had a snack while he waited for his mom to come home, gave up and broke in. But I didn’t want to be wrong and ignore it.

84

I got to call 911 once when my roommates and I were in a car whose throttle got stuck open. We did get the thing stopped, and all immediately bailed onto the shoulder, but Highway Patrol sent us an escort to wait with us until the tow truck showed up. We got a very young officer who was very, very concerned about the three 20-somethings, and displayed this by popping the hood and staring blankly into the innards of a car he clearly knew nothing about. :smiley:

I’ve also called for things like ‘dude lying on the sidewalk, looks unconscious, maybe check on him?’ a few times. Once for a couple of guys threatening to start punching each other in front of the reception desk I was manning. The last time was to report an accident – I was just about to cross the street when a truck took the bumper off a little sedan on the other side of the intersection. I apologized for calling 911 for that, but I was in the next town over and had no idea what the non-emergency number was there.

Police are generally very nice to me, but I look and sound harmless.

85

Years ago, I used to moderate on a niche dating website that had a lot of forums where members would talk. One night, I was made aware that someone active on the site was wanted for sexual assault. Sure enough, the guy’s profile pic matched the photo in the newspaper that was sent to me. So the site admins and I turned it over to the police in the guy’s area.

It was a :eek: moment.

86

In the 1970s, when we lived in Redondo Beach, CA, some surfer had been riding the waves and drinking beer all day. Around 2 a. m., I was awakened by the doorbell ringing insistently. I answered the door and it was the surfer. I slammed the door and went to the phone, even as I could hear the sound of wood cracking. I yelled at him to leave. He was at the wrong apartment, so he said. When the police came, they showed me his driver’s license, but I could not identify him because his eyes were closed in the picture. Nothing further ensued, other than me trying to pull myself together.

87

I’ve just got back from a flight. I was with my 5yr old boy in the stalls, and he was yelling for his mommy. Then he urinated in the toilet, we went out and washed our hands, and went back to mommy.

88

In my jurisdiction, you call <911> is you want police attendence. <911> is the interface for the police dispatch system.

You can call the local station during office hours to report a crime. They’ll send out a pair of officers at a time that is convenient for them. Wouldn’t help for loud late parties

89

One time I called 911 was last century. A group of cars towing trailer hitches parked around the corner and a few men wearing ski masks ran around to the houses on the block looking in the windows. It was quite obvious they were looking for a place to rob. I called 911 and the dispatcher said “That’s not against the law.” I stammered and said “Well, they are trespassing.” The dispatcher said “We’ll look into it.” Turned out all they did was cut a chain that was holding a motorcycle to a post and took off with the motorcycle. I called again to tell 911 about the motorcycle. A police car finally cruised by about half an hour later.

Another time, someone was ringing my doorbell and pounding on the front door. I was tired and not expecting anyone, so I ignored them. A minute later, I heard someone trying to pry open the windows on the side of the house. I call 911 and about 6 police cars arrived within minutes. Something spooked the burglars off however and there was no sign of them.

90

How come you have such a hard time getting this? I also did not call the police to report the Scottsboro Boys, and I did not call the police to report that Anne Frank lived upstairs. But you still accused me of complicity –

91

When did anyone ask you to report the Scottsboro Boys or Anne Frank? I asked you if you’d call in the guy breaking into cars. That’s the kind of crime people are reporting in the real world.

You’re trying to pretend you’re some kind of moral hero because you’re ignoring street crime. But you’re not.

92

I’m not ignoring street crime, I’m distancing myself from it. There isn’t any in my neighborhood during the hours that I am out wandering around. If I saw a guy breaking into a car, first of all, in my neighborhood it’s probably his own car and he locked the keys inside, and second, if he was breaking into a car, he would be long gone before the police could respond, and it would make more sense to try to scare off the perp, and alert other possible witnesses. Since I live in Texas, there is a high probability that another bystander would just shoot the guy. Not me, I don’t leave the house in the morning thinking “maybe today will be the day I get to kill a person”.

In my part of the country, the “call the police” mentality has turned illegal aliens, who have absolutely no criminal intent, into desperadoes, forced to sneak around and behave like criminals for self-protection. representing a legitimate danger where there otherwise would have been none…

93

A few have commented about calling a police station vs calling 9-1-1. Frankly this is one issue that varies tremendously from one jurisdiction to the next.

Like Burger King, 9-1-1 systems have projected a sort of brand awareness. But 9-1-1 centers have not developed as consistent a brand identity.

I know I can get a burger and fries at any BK in the country. I know I can get police in an emergency at any 9-1-1 center. But the rest of the menu of services at any given 9-1-1 center varies much more than the BK menu does from one location to the next.

Some cities implement a non-emergency 3-1-1 system. Some places those calls are answered by the same staff who answer 9-1-1 calls. Many places there is no 3-1-1 line and you have to find the local non-emergency number yourself. And even if you dial the 7 digit non-emergency line, it might be answered by the 9-1-1- staff. There is just no consistency in the brand from location to location.

When in doubt, call 9-1-1. If it is a genuine matter for police or other emergency responders then we’ll try to help even if it is to transfer your call or refer you to someone better able to help you. Just don’t call us to ask the time of day or to relay your shopping list to your husband when your phone is out of credit. Please. There are limits.

94

I have called the police once, when a burglar broke into my parents’ house while I was at home. I think he didn’t realise anyone was there, and he ran away when I confronted him. I called 10111, which is the police emergency number here. I suppose that once he ran away there wasn’t technically an emergency any more, but in the heat of the moment I was in no state to go searching for the local station’s number in the phone book.

95

When I was taxi driving I had a booking from an elderly lady I’d taken home once or twice. I was supposed to pick her up from home one morning to take her to the railway station but when I got to the house there was no sign of her. I tried phoning but got no reply so I went away.

Later that day I was still worried that something might have happened so I called the non-emergency number. All I knew was her first name, the address and the fact that she’d told me she was going to visit her daughter somewhere in North Wales.

Around 15 minutes later I got a call back from the police to say all was fine. From the scant information I’d given them they had tracked down the daughter’s address and phone number and called to ensure the lady was OK.

Turned out a neighbour had given her a lift to the station and being a bit confused she’d completely forgotten that she had booked a taxi. Next time I saw her she thanked me for taking the trouble to check up on her. However she didn’t offer to pay for my wasted trip or even give me a tip. Bitch!

96

I think my previous comment covers it: You’re trying to pretend you’re some kind of moral hero because you’re ignoring street crime. But you’re not.

97

When I was a college freshman, one of the guys in my rooming house hanged himself in his room. I was the one who found the body. I was so shaken when I called the cops that I couldn’t remember our address for a minute.

98

Maybe people aren’t “getting it” because your stance is so bizarre it sounds like you’re distancing yourself from reality. All police are the “enemy” because of Nazis and persecution of blacks? What the shit?

Ignoring problems doesn’t make them go away, and in fact typically makes them worse. The way to prevent the police from acting like jack-booted thugs is to hold them accountable. That also includes holding them accountable for their job of enforcing the law.

Police were only able to be complicit when blacks were dragged away and hanged, and Jews were put on trains because people chose to “distance themselves” from them.

Well, technically they are breaking immigration laws, which is “criminal intent”. But I presume you meant they are non violent.
HMS Irruncible - Have you tried, you know, not acting like a sarcastic ass after you call the police? Because here is how the exact same situation went down in my town:

Dispatcher: Police Department, what is your non-emergency

Me: It’s after 11 (official town ordinance cutoff for loud parties) and the people above us have been blasting their music and being extremely loud.

Dispatcher: Ok, what is the address.?

Me: My address is…

Dispatcher: Ok, we’ll send someone over.

(1-20 minutes later, cop knocking at my door)

Cop: Hello, what is the problem?

Me: People upstairs have been partying all night.

Cop: Ok. Well, we will go over and tell them to keep the noise down.

Me: Good. Thank you.

[silence a few minutes later]

99

OK, we very simply have different sentiments on this issue. I’m not a “moral hero” who feels it necessary to report every scofflaw, and go out looking for them. Partly, as I said earlier, because I don’t trust the police to behave in the interest of justice…

100

I didn’t raise that issue. I was accused of enabling the KKK and the Nazis, by not calling the police (when, in fact, the KKK and the Nazis WERE the police).

Where did I say what you attributed to me? I said I do not trust the police to administer justice in today’s American society, and to you, it “sounds like” I am complicit in police-state brutality and abuse?