The number 9-1-1 is one of the first phone numbers we get to learn as we grow up. Do you still remember how your mom and dad explained 9-1-1 to you?
Some kids get the chance to sit down, listen, and remember the importance of this emergency number, but some kids confuse this number for something else.
In Mesa, Arizona, last 2019, an adorable 5-year-old boy decided to be independent and order himself a Happy Meal.
However, instead of calling the McDonald’s delivery hotline, young Charlie called a different number.
In his sweet voice, little Charlie dialed 9-1-1 and said, “Hi. Is this McDonald’s?”
The Mesa Emergency operator said that it was the Mesa Police Department. He then asked the little boy if he had an emergency, to which Charlie replied:
“Can I get one Happy Meal?”
When the operator tried to verify the “emergency”, Charlie said bye and ended the call.
As part of the protocol, the operator needed to call back the number.
It didn’t matter if it looked like a mistake that a child made. They had to make sure there wasn’t any actual emergency.
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When their phone rang, it was Charlie’s dad, Randy Skabelund, who answered the phone.
Randy and his wife, Kim, were shocked when they heard what the emergency operator had to say.
“Oh my Gosh! I am so sorry,” was all Randy could say.
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The operator then said that they will send an officer for a welfare check.
Charlie said that they didn’t have to send anyone, and he didn’t want to disturb them any further.
The kind officer explained it was part of their protocol.
“We were completely surprised and a little embarrassed,” Kim said in her interview with Inside Edition.
Officer Randolph “Scott” Valdez later arrived later at the family’s home.
To the surprise of Randy and Kim, the officer had with him a Happy Meal.
Charlie’s parents were surprised!
The little boy was so thrilled when he saw a police officer bring him a special delivery, a Happy Meal.
“I felt like it’s a good time to bring him a Happy Meal, but at the same time, educate him,” said Officer Valdez when asked why he did what he did.
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Before handing the Happy Meal to the little boy, he explained to Charlie when would be the right time to call the emergency hotline.
The little boy listened and remembered the lesson that the kind officer thought him.
Kim was so touched by the kind officer’s gesture, and she said that he handled it with so much love and kindness.
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Instead of getting irritated because of a non-emergency call, the officer gave the child a Happy Meal and thought him a very valuable lesson.
Before their interview ended, Kim asked little Charlie, when is the right time to call 9-1-1.
To which the adorable boy answered, “Only in emergencies.”
Charlie did learn his lesson and even gained a new friend in the process.
Watch the adorable encounter of Charlie with 9-1-1 and how the officers of Mesa handled the Happy Meal emergency.
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