U.S.

Police: Don't dial 911 to find out what's on TV

January 14, 2015 / 12:23 PM EST / CBS News

Does not knowing what's on TV tonight qualify as an emergency?

Police: Stop calling 911 for TV lineup 00:40

Dispatchers have fielded 911 calls for lots of unusual reasons - from people stuck in a corn maze to a woman looking for a designated driver to a couple terrorized by a "crazy cat."

But apparently someone in the Boston area used the emergency number for an even more dubious reason: to find out what's on television.

The Norwood, Mass. Police Department posted this Twitter message on Tuesday night:

We interrupt your Twitter feed to remind you that 9-1-1 is NOT for finding out tonights TV program schedule. That is all. #thatjusthappened
— Norwood Police (@NorwoodPolice) January 14, 2015

Police told WBZ-TV Wednesday they did not charge the caller, but they would like everyone to know if you need to talk to police and it's not an emergency, dial the department's main number, not 911.

In the meantime, police in the Boston area will continue to take 911 calls from boys who don't want to go to bed.

Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith is a managing editor for CBSNews.com based in New York. A Washington, D.C. native, Steve was previously an editorial producer for the Washington Post, and has also worked in Los Angeles, Boston and Tokyo.

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