Shine OnWoman calls 911 because she wants a divorce
Unhappy in your marriage? Don't try this at home.
A 42-year-old Pennsylvania woman is facing charges because of an inappropriate 911 call.
Her emergency? She wanted a divorce.
The frustrated wife told the dispatcher that she wanted officers to come to her home and grant her a divorce — and make her husband leave the house.
And while affairs of the [broken] heart might seem urgent, 911 dispatchers informed the woman that they could not physically remove her husband from their marital home as no crime had been committed, nor do they handle divorce requests.
Also see: Ten-year-old boy calls 911 to avoid bedtime
The woman, who police have not publicly identified, was cited for disorderly conduct and misusing the Eris County 911 system, the Associated Press reports.
Moral of the story: Emergency divorce police do not exist. If you want a divorce, call a lawyer.
"Perhaps we need a 911 refresher course. 911 is for life-threatening emergencies. Like your house is burning down. Like you see someone drowning. Like you're drowning," writes The Stir's Kiri Blakeley. "And I don't mean drowning in the banalities of your bad marriage."
The divorce-seeking woman isn't the first to misuse the emergency number. Countless individuals have tried to use 911 as a personal concierge system.
One caller needed cigarettes. Someone else had a cheeseburger emergency. And one 10-year-old even tried using the number to avoid bedtime.
Also see: 911 caller has a cheeseburger emergency
Last year, more than 60 per cent of 911 calls in Edmonton, Alta., were for non-emergencies.
"This continues to be a concern…because someone with a real emergency is made to wait for help," Inspector Blair Edl says in a news release.
Toronto EMS outlines when to call 911 here.
"You should use 911 only in an emergency. 911 gives people priority access to emergency services and should be reserved for those who really need it," the site states.
A stubborn husband who won't move out does not qualify as an emergency.
