911 calls for the wrong pizza, missing WiFi password rank among Durham’s most ridiculous non-emergency calls in 2021

Durham Police receive a ton of calls in a given year; nearly 120,000 in 2021. Most people know well enough to only call in case of a real emergency, but some decide receiving the wrong pizza delivery or losing their WiFi password requires a police response.

In an effort to reduce frivolous calls and wasted emergency resources the Durham Police communications unit released a list of the “most ridiculous” 911 non-emergency calls they received over the year.

DRPS stressed 911 is for emergencies only; life or death situations or issues that could result in serious harm. Calls complaining of machines eating change do not warrant an emergency response and take time away from busy dispatchers who could be saving lives.

Without further ado (drum roll, please), the awards for the pettiest, most absurd and most ridiculous 911 callers of 2021 go to:

12: The driver stuck in a parking lot after the garage gate ate their change.

11: The pizza aficionado who got the wrong pie from a restaurant and wanted charges filed when it wasn’t replaced.

10: The caller who just wanted to know the non-emergency number. It’s (905) 579-1520 ext. 0 and in the phone book. Remember those?

9: The cat lover whose precious was stuck in a tree.

8: The Uber driver livid they had been waiting ten minutes for the customer to get in the car.

7: The caller who lost their COVID-19 test results.

6: The caller who lost their WiFi password and needed police to help find it. Life Pro Tip: keep a picture of it on your phone.

5: Parent-of-the-year runner-up whose child, 9, changed the WiFi password and wouldn’t tell them what the new one was. They wanted officers to force the kid to cough it up.

4: Parent-of-the-year who wanted police to come scare their kid who was talking back to them.

3: The kids who called to ask if the dispatcher’s refrigerator was running. Et tu, Bart?

2: The caller with a flooded kitchen who didn’t appreciate being told to call his insurance company, hung up, and called 911 again.

And finally, Number 1, what you’ve all been waiting for… The most ridiculous call of 2021…

The Karen who called 9-1-1 because she was stuck in a Taco Bell drive-through too long.

Durham Police say calls like those listed pose a real danger. “Misuse of 911 can potentially delay someone with a life-threatening emergency from getting help.”