Missouri man calls 911 to complain about sandwich, A man from Springfield, Mo., called 911 Tuesday night with an interesting problem. He was not happy with his sandwich purchased at a restaurant franchise of a national chain, so the caller dialed a phone number normally reserved for medical emergencies or life-threatening situations. The Springfield News-Leader reports the man, who remains unidentified because he has not been charged or arrested, has had his information forwarded to the Greene County Prosecutor for possible action. Even more astounding, this is not the first time this person has made strange 911 calls.
* Police records obtained by the News-Leader reveal the man allegedly abused the calling system 77 times since 2010. The call about bad sandwich seems to be the tipping point that led police officials to forward the man's case for prosecution.
* Misuse of the 911 system is a class B misdemeanor in Missouri, punishable by up to six months in jail plus fines.
* J.R. Webb, an assistant communications director for Greene County's 911 program, told the media outlet there are four dispatchers fielding as many as 12 calls simultaneously on any given day. Webb felt the sandwich call was an "obvious" time waster for the system.
* Webb also states the sandwich man isn't the only one in Springfield that has weird 911 calls. He remembers one call regarding the correct spelling of the word "Wichita." Another revolved around someone who needed underwear and a third case in which a man needed a woman because he took Viagra before his girlfriend canceled a date.
* Statistics published by the News-Leader point out the Greene County 911 system fielded 242,000 emergency calls came into the dispatch center in 2012. Phone interactions number 475,000. Around 80 percent of calls received ended up with emergency personnel dispatched to various situations.
* In 2011, there were 239,000 incoming calls and 469,500 total interactions. Of those calls in 2011, 71 percent were from wireless phones to just 29 percent on land lines.
* The Greene County system has been around since 1994 after the City of Springfield expanded its 911 dispatch. Basic services within the city were implemented in 1979.
* A Florida woman called her local 911 service six times on morning in mid-October to thank the sheriff for giving her his bologna sandwich. Christine Lee Brown, 51, was charged with six felony counts of misusing 911. A week before, the woman called the service 16 times in the span of one night, according to CFNews.com.
* A Connecticut man called 911 in mid-June complaining about his sandwich in East Hartford, Conn. The dispatcher's advice to Rother McLennon was "don't buy the sandwich," according to NBC News. Perhaps the Springfield sandwich victim could use this same common sense. Misuse of the 911 system in missouri 6 months in prison
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