I saw this on my local TV news last night, that an 86 year old woman in Charlotte, NC was arrested for abusing 911. She called more than 20 times in 38 minutes. You can read the story here.

Why is this national news?
I live near Charlotte, so I could understand why another nearby city might pick up the story and run with it. It’s certainly unusual — news of the weird. But come on, this woman is 86 years old. She may be suffering from the onset of senile dementia. She may just be an ornery old biddy. What she did was wrong, the police first warned her, then arrested her. But why do I need to see her mugshot on TV, hear it on the radio, and read it in the newspaper when there’s so much other news out there?

Not one of the stories I heard or read added any cautionary language about why you shouldn’t call 911 for a non-emergency. That’s the natural follow-up to this story.

In the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you that I also heard it wasn’t this woman’s first time abusing 911. I think her actions are regrettable, and I think she should face sanctions. I just don’t want a story like this wasting news time in my area.