A middle-aged North Palm Beach, Florida, man got taken to jail after allegedly calling 911 to complain that his mother refused to give him money to buy a meal at the International House of Pancakes (IHOP).
The flapjack fan allegedly had called 911 multiple times in the past month or so for non-emergency reasons, including twice in two hours on the same night that he was arrested.
The Palm Beach Post has the details .
“Less than an hour after village police advised a man not to use 911 unnecessarily, the man used the emergency line to complain that his mom wouldn’t give him any money for IHOP, according to a police report. Gerald Anderson, 52, was arrested Tuesday for misusing the 911 system, after dispatching officers to his house at least 15 times since Sept. 18 for what police described as ‘frivolous’ reasons. According to a police report, North Palm Beach police officers arrived at Anderson’s house just after midnight, where officers noted that he was heavily intoxicated, as he had been during every interaction when they were dispatched to his house, police said.”
North Palm police: Man called 911, upset mom won’t pay for IHOP https://t.co/Gjf5857hFI pic.twitter.com/V95a3EpLhj
— The Palm Beach Post (@pbpost) October 26, 2016
The suspect faces a misdemeanor charge of misusing the 911 system, which in Florida could result in up to one year behind bars and a maximum fine of $1,000 upon a conviction. He is currently being held in the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Main Detention Center.
A local police official noted that “officers are required to respond to every single 911 call because it could turn out to be something serious” and that the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department responds to more than 1 million calls a year, CBS12 in West Palm Beach detailed in stressing the importance of making sure officers are deployed to bona fide emergencies. There is a county non-emergency number for someone to use for complaints about lunch money and other things, he added.
Man jailed for repeatedly calling 911 after mom refused him money for IHOP https://t.co/zqcf3lrxyd pic.twitter.com/f2hsrwPkfa
— WPEC CBS12 News (@CBS12) October 26, 2016
For some reason, as the Inquisitr has previously reported over the past couple of years, there appears to be a tendency for citizens to use 911 to order, or more often to complain about, food or drink disputes. And it’s just not in Florida, but let’s face it, the Sunshine State seems to pop up a lot.
For example, a dispute over pizza toppings resulted in a 911 call to the Hartford, Connecticut, police department in March. The unhappy customer called the cops to ask if they could do something because a local pizzeria wouldn’t give her a refund for an incomplete pie which was topped with hamburger rather than bacon.
In November 2015, a woman in the Orlando, Florida, area called 911, according to law enforcement authorities, because she wanted to place an order for cigarettes and chicken wings . In May 2014, a North Carolina woman called 911 because Subway allegedly put marinara sauce on her flatbread pizza and then wouldn’t refund her money, while a Memphis grandmother called 911 , according to police, because she apparently ran out of beer on New Year’s Day.
A woman tried to turn up the heat when she called 911 to report a case of raw waffles at a Tampa, Florida, restaurant.
An Arizona man once called 911 when his McDonald’s drive-thru order was missing hash browns . A woman called 911 three times to report that a McDonald’s had run out of Chicken McNuggets. A Georgia man called the emergency number because he ordered seven McDouble burgers but his bag only contained six. A Florida man allegedly called 911 approximately 80 times to request a home delivery of Kool-Aid, burgers, and weed .
Across the pond, a disgruntled customer called the U.K. equivalent of 911 to report that he was still waiting for the pizza delivery guy to show up after 45 minutes.
[Featured Image by Nick Ut/AP Images]
