Stop calling 911 to report social distancing violations, cops across the US say
Dialing 911 is for emergencies — not reporting social-distancing deviants, according to the Toledo, Ohio, Police Department.
On Twitter, the department said residents are clogging the emergency line to report suspected violations of the state’s social-distancing orders for businesses allowed to reopen amid the pandemic, including restaurants and bars.
Rather than call 911, police said people should direct their concerns about the crowds to the public health department.
“If you have a concern about people not social distancing at bars and restaurants, please call the Lucas County Health Department at 419-213-4161 extension 4,” the tweet read. “Our goal is to provide the appropriate number for people to call instead of them calling 911.”
The TPD isn’t the only agency warning people against tying up the phone lines. In North Carolina, Asheville police made a similar request last month after seeing its emergency line flooded with calls from people trying to report others for breaking social-distancing or stay-at-home orders, the Citizen Times reported.
State emergency management director Mike Sprayberry stressed that 911 lines need to be open for “true emergencies,” according to the newspaper.
Christina Hallingse, a spokesperson for Asheville police, echoed those sentiments in a statement, saying: “9-1-1-is NOT the place to report violations of the Stay at Home, Stay Safe order.” Instead, residents should call the department’s non-emergency line, she said, the Citizen Times reported.
Across the country, authorities in Oregon have also advised residents against using 911 to tell on those who aren’t social distancing. The Portland Bureau of Emergency Communications said complaints have spiked in the last few weeks with residents ringing 911 and the bureau’s non-emergency line more than 20 times a day to report alleged violators, according to local station KGW 8.
State authorities aren’t as pressed about penalizing those who fail to comply with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s stay-at-home order, and said the guidance is aimed at making locals “aware of the importance of compliance and to encourage them to voluntarily follow the directions given,” according to the police bureau’s FAQ page.
Oregon State Police are instead urging residents to educate their neighbors rather than dialing 911.
“OSP advises that people may choose to self-educate their fellow Oregonians, while maintaining social distancing themselves, if they see violations of the stay-at-home orders (primarily people gathering in large groups), or they may call their respective police agency’s non-emergency number,” the governor’s office said in a statement, according to KGW 8.