Pittsfield woman charged with misuse of 911 line
By CRAIG CROSBY
Staff Writer
PITTSFIELD -- A woman's complaints about a missing house key landed her in handcuffs over the weekend.
Sandra Hickey, 58, of Pittsfield, was arrested shortly after midnight Saturday and charged with misuse of the 911 emergency line, a Class E misdemeanor, said Sgt. Timothy Roussin of the Pittsfield Police. Hickey called the line more than a dozen times over five days to complain someone had taken her house key, Roussin said.
The 911 emergency line is intended only for situations when life, health or property are in jeopardy. Department policy in Pittsfield, and in much of the state, requires officers to personally check on an individual who has called 911 even when dispatchers are told there is no emergency.
"She was warned repeatedly," Roussin said.
According to a partial Somerset County dispatch center call log, Hickey called 911 six times in less than 30 minutes on July 24, as well as three times in 45 minutes on July 27.
"She was asked by the dispatcher if there was an emergency," Roussin said. "Her response was there was no emergency at this time."
Hickey, who allegedly was intoxicated at the time of the calls, would sometimes make an excuse for calling the emergency number, Roussin said. At one point she claimed to have information on a murder, police say. But her complaints always went back to the missing key, Roussin said.
The missing house key, it was later learned, had been returned without Hickey's knowledge, Roussin said.
Police arrested Hickey after responding to a call she made a little after midnight on Saturday, Roussin said. She was later released on bail.
Though misuse and misdials of 911 are common, it is the first time Roussin can recall the department arresting someone for making too many false calls.
"All we have to do is warn them once," Roussin said. "They don't realize, for someone who has one chance to get in, they are tying up the line."
This was found at MaineToday.com
Seed Newsvine
No comments:
Post a Comment