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Man calls 911 over 4,000 times… and is rewarded by dispatchers

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – In one week 911 dispatchers received over 4,000 calls from the same cell phone.  Dispatchers were upset over the false calls, because they ...
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – In one week 911 dispatchers received over 4,000 calls from the same cell phone.  Dispatchers were upset over the false calls, because they have to answer and track down every call -taking time away from real emergencies. When police tracked down the man responsible though, emergency dispatcher Kari Bueno tells KSL-TV that, “We found out it was somebody with a disability who was just trying to listen to music. There was no intent to call 911.”

The caller was a 30-year-old man with a mental disability. The family of David VanBibber gave him a disconnected cell phone to listen to music, but all cell phones are still able to call 911 even without service.  David would call accidentally while he was trying to listen to music. His family says he functions around the level of an 8-year-old, and music is a big part of his life.

Dispatchers felt badly that VanBibber’s phone was taken away so he couldn’t make any more accidental emergency calls, so they decided to get him a present.  David and his family were invited to the Emergency Communications center where they gave him an iPod Nano and a $100 iTunes gift card.

VanBibber told the 911 dispatchers, “You’re awesome.” He then told everyone “Merry Christmas,” before leaving.

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