New Zealand Police’s emergency line received an unusual call recently that they thought was “too cute not to share.” In the incident, a toddler called 111 (the 911 equivalent in New Zealand to North America). The emergency dispatcher calmly asks the young boy why he is calling to which the boy responds with a question: “Police lady…can I tell you something?”
She says “yes” and the video below of their exchange reveals what was said:
If you have trouble viewing the video above, try the Instagram version below:
The young boy reveals that he has some toys for the police and he’d like them to come over and see them! Dad gets on the phone a moment later and tells the officer that there’s no emergency and that mom is sick and he (dad) was preoccupied with their other child and didn’t notice his other youngster using the phone.
New Zealand Police revealed that after the call was over a constable did show up at the home to check out the 4-year-old’s toys.
They wrote on Instagram: “Constable Kurt from Southern District Police responded by arriving at the child’s house and was shown an array of toys. He also had a good educational chat with the child and his parents about only using 111 for emergencies.”
Constable Kurt also shared that the boy did have “cool toys.”
Many people were impressed by the emergency operator’s calm disposition and that she made sure everything was okay with the family. “Good that they did a welfare check as well in case there was something else going on,” wrote one person on reddit. “Kid was fairly well clued up as they could not just dial the phone, but knew who they were speaking to immediately.”
“Exactly,” someone replied. “I commend her on making sure everything is okay without drama or fuss.”
“Smooth. Police made that kid’s day and checked everything was ok,” commented another person.
Another redditor shared their funny family story (although, it might not have been so funny at the time.) Qailxz commented:
“My child called 911 because his little sister was holding his teddy bear hostage. He was 6; she was 4. Unfortunately, he dropped the phone while still on the call and then they started saying things like ‘Let him go or I’ll kill one of yours!’ and ‘Stop, you’re hurting him!’. All while I was in the bathroom for 5 minutes, with the door open. So I heard the kids playing and what they were yelling, but I had no idea 911 had been called until the cops showed up at the door. (This was back in the day of cordless home phones. He called, dropped the phone, and it fell under the couch, still connected.) The cops saw to it that the animal was safely returned.”
They added, “it’s a favorite ‘remember that time’ story for our whole family.”
Both stories remind us of another young boy who called the emergency dispatcher over a matter with his homework.
Thankfully, all these moments turned out to be not only teachable moments for the children but funny stories for everyone to enjoy!
Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links.