Stratford Police say they received two 9-1-1 calls Tuesday morning from residents complaining the Amber Alert woke them up.
One person called in from Stratford and the other from St. Marys.
An Amber Alert notification went to people’s cell phones and of course, was broadcast over radio and television stations province-wide.
The alert was called after a 3-year old boy was abducted by his mother in Sudbury. The pair was headed to Toronto on an Ontario Northland bus. They have both been found in good health.
Stratford Police Service Community Resources Officer Constable Darren Fischer reminds the public that dialling 9-1-1 to complain is not what the service is meant for, “9-1-1 is specifically designed for emergencies only. These are emergencies regarding your safety, your wellbeing, your property, and your medical care. We encourage people to use 9-1-1 for those purposes only.”
Fischer says the improper use of 9-1-1 service could put someone else in danger, “There are limited lines available for 9-1-1 and if an emergency does come in and the line is tied up with a phone call that is not an emergency, the person that is an emergency might have to wait for service to be provided to them.”
Toronto Police Service tweeted out this morning that they also received 9-1-1 calls from people angry the Amber Alert had woke them up.
