Sm Nahiduzzaman
Spokane, Washington — Emergency dispatchers in Spokane received an unusual 911 call last Thursday afternoon. The call was not to report an accident or to report a crime, rather the 4-year-old boy who was calling from East Central Spokane—not far from South Perry Street—was just calling to talk about his two favorite activities, swimming and soccer.
A Call Like Most Others
At 3:45 p.m., a dispatcher at Spokane Regional Emergency Communications Center answered a call to a local residence on the 1100 block of South Perry Street. An excited, cheerful child shared his stories about how much he loved swimming in the pool and how much fun he had playing soccer in his backyard.
“I thought maybe someone was in the background who needed help,” said dispatcher Lisa Ramirez who took the call. “But then I was like, wait a minute, it’s just a little boy who wanted to talk.”
The Dispatcher’s Soft Approach
Ramirez remained calm and listened for a moment before gently explaining that 911 is for emergency use only. “He was so naive,” she remembers, “He told me all about his swimming pool and then went right in to soccer—it was the cutest thing.”
Police Response to the Home
As protocol requires, officers from the Spokane Police Department’s East Precinct were dispatched to the home to make sure there was no real emergency. Just a few minutes later, they arrived at a small single-family home located near East 11th Avenue and South Perry Street. The officers were met with an embarrassed parent and a boy who proudly declared he had called because he “wanted to talk.”
The officers laughed and reassured the parent, and then gently reminded the child that E911 is for emergencies only. “He was smiling ear to ear the whole time,” one officer said. “He clearly did no harm—it was pure childhood innocence.”
A Viral Story With a Lesson
The Spokane Police Department posted a funny post about the call with identifying details left out, and word quickly spread. Within a few hours, it gained thousands of reactions, along with many parents commenting about their own kids calling 911 for silly reasons.
Experts on child safety say these incidents are not as uncommon as people think. “At that age, children’s curiosity drives them,” Dr. Morgan Ellis, a child psychologist from Spokane, said. “They see adults using the phone and when they get to use the phone, that’s what they want to do. Part of the teachable moment is to understand when to call 911 and what a 911 call actually means.”
The Last Laugh
Ultimately, what started off as a possibly sad emergency call ended in a very different way. A Spokane boy learned a valuable lesson, dispatchers received a rare moment of laughter, and we were all reminded that sometimes, innocence can just bring smiles when we need it most.
