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Man didn’t realize he called 911 thousands of times in one week

A Utah dispatch facility was beyond irritated when they received thousands of false 911 calls one week. Police were working to track down who made more than 4,0...
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A Utah dispatch facility was beyond irritated when they received thousands of false 911 calls one week.

Police were working to track down who made more than 4,000 calls to the Valley Emergency Communications Center from a disconnected cell phone, according to KSL, and emergency dispatcher Kari Bueno said at first she wanted the caller to be punished.

“At first, I admit it, we were pretty mad. ‘We’ve got to find who this person is. This is ridiculous,'” she recalled saying, according to KSL’s report.

Bueno said the operators have to answer every call and track down every call.

“It ties up all your 911 operators,” she said.

When the police figured out who was making the calls, everything changed.

A man with a mental disability, 30-year-old David VanBibber, had an old cell phone that he used as an mp3 player to listen to music on.  Even though it was disconnected, it could still dial 911, which was what was happening when he was trying to access his music.

According to Vanbibber’s family, he functions at about the level of an eight-year-old.

“He still is a kid in an adult body,” said his father, Steven VanBibber.

VanBibber had his phone taken away, but the dispatchers wanted him to still be able to enjoy his music, so they thought up a solution.

VanBibber, along with his family, was invited to the Valley Emergency Communications Center where he was given a tour and was presented with an iPod Nano and a $100 iTunes gift card. Employees at the center had contributed the money for the gifts.

The generosity brought his father to tears.

“You know, in an environment where the police are so unfairly treated, to see this kind of an outreach that touches my son and touches my family, it’s just incredible,” he said, according to KSL. “That they would honor my son for his disruption to such an important service, to be here today and to feel this outpouring for my son … is just really touching as a parent. [I’m] just grateful for this.”

As he was given the iPod VanBibber told Bueno, “You’re awesome,” and wished everyone a Merry Christmas before leaving the dispatch facility.

 

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