Authorities in Nashville had to remind the community about the proper use of 911 services after a local man persistently misused the emergency line for his personal desire for cigarettes. The Nashville Department of Emergency Communications highlighted an incident involving a man who, according to WSMV, made ten calls in one week with requests of tobacco instead of reporting actual emergencies.
"See smoke? Yes, call 911. Need smokes? No, call literally anyone else," a representative for the department declared in a statement reported by WSMV, emphasizing that 911 is exclusively for real-time crises and not for convenience runs. The man was undeterred and, according to the department, "He disagreed. Loudly. And then called again. And again. He persisted. Because, clearly, we were just being difficult."
This series of events culminated when 37-year-old Troy Nicholson, the caller, was arrested at 820 Ramsey Street after police found that he had indeed called 911 over ten times in an attempt to have cigarettes delivered to him. In response to his repetitive misuse of the emergency hotline, officers did not provide him with the requested cigarettes but rather a pair of handcuffs, as noted by FOX17. Nicholson now faces a charge for making non-emergency telephone calls to 911.
