Man in Florida, USA, arrested for using 911 to complain about fast food

February 10, 2009

A man in Boynton Beach, Florida located in the United States, was arrested for misusing the city's 911 emergency phone service. Jean Fortune, 66, called 911 to complain about a fast food order from Burger King he had not yet placed.

On Monday Fortune called 911 to complain that the Burger King he was going to eat at did not sell lemonade. He also complained to 911 operators that the food he had yet to order, was going to take 15 minutes to complete.

"You cannot dial 911 because you are unhappy with your burger, ok. I know you don't seriously think that the police need to make Burger King give you food faster," says the operator as Fortune continued to complain. "If it takes 15 minutes to cook, it takes 15 minutes to cook, ok. You don't need to call 911."

It turns out, after nearly three minutes of arguing with the operator, Fortune never even placed an order.

"Have you given them any money?," asks the operator. Fortune replies "no." The operator then asks Fortune, "have they given you any food?" Again Fortune replies "no." The operator then tells Fortune that he is able to "just drive away" from the situation, but he disagrees and tells her he will "just move [his] car". The operator warns Fortune that the police are on their way and then tells him to not block the drive-thru.

When police arrived, they arrested him for misusing the emergency line, which is a criminal offense in Florida. He was formally charged with the crime, issued a notice to appear in court and then released.