By Rebecca Woolington
The Oregonian
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. — A man in Washington County called 911 to see where he could get some marijuana.
The Washington County dispatch center released the May 1 call as part of its “You called 911 for that?!” campaign. The dispatch agency also posted the call on its Facebook page.
“This is just one of many examples of what you shouldn’t be calling 9-1-1 for,” the agency wrote on Facebook.
During the call, the man asks the dispatcher where he could buy some marijuana. The dispatcher tells him she doesn’t have a clue. The call ends.
The dispatch center, officially known as WCCCA, launched its campaign in January and has provided examples of uses, deemed inappropriate by the agency. The examples first were released weekly, but last month, dispatch scaled back the campaign.
Mark Chandler, a dispatch spokesman, said the agency changed the campaign because 911 call takers were not sending as many examples and it was time consuming to feature a call each week. Now, dispatch plans to post call examples the second Tuesday of each month on Facebook and Twitter.
The goal, the dispatch center said, is to educate people on the appropriate use of 911.
Chandler said the pitch of 911 calls is modified to camouflage the callers’ voices.
People, Chandler said, should use 911 for police-, fire- or medical-related emergencies “when life or property is in jeopardy and immediate assistance is necessary.”
Copyright 2014 The Oregonian