Toledo police dept urges callers to stop ‘tying up’ 911 lines to snitch on social distancing violators

Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE.


State and local government officials calling on residents to report violators of coronavirus safety orders have already come under fire for encouraging tattling.

Now police in Ohio are reporting that they are experiencing an added problem, as people have been “tying up” emergency lines in order to call authorities about neighbors, businesses and others who are suspected of violating the state’s social-distancing orders.

The Toledo Police Department’s official Twitter account posted a message Tuesday urging residents to call the Lucas County Health Department, and not the police, to report violators.

“Citizens: We are posting this because people are tying up the 911 lines to report others who are not socially distancing,” a tweet by the Department read. “Our goal is to provide the appropriate number for people to call instead of them calling 911.”

While the Department reportedly had officers responding to fewer burglaries, robberies and vehicle thefts in the month of March as the pandemic began to spread, it now appears police are having to field calls of less dramatic emergencies due to panicked residents feeling the need to report anyone who they feel could pose a health risk.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday that the state will be cutting short its stay-at-home orders but the social-distancing rules still apply as restrictions on bars and restaurants, as well as a continued ban on large gatherings, will stay in place as mandatory.

Just one day before, the Republican governor stressed that the state would use law-enforcement and “all the resources at our disposal” to enforce social distancing at bars and restaurants following reports of crowded locations over the weekend.

The Toledo Police Department’s message to citizens on Monday drew immediate backlash from Twitter users who slammed the people tying up resources to make frivolous “emergency” calls about social distancing.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.
Frieda Powers

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

PLEASE JOIN OUR NEW COMMENT SYSTEM! We love hearing from our readers and invite you to join us for feedback and great conversation. If you've commented with us before, we'll need you to re-input your email address for this. The public will not see it and we do not share it.

Latest Articles