Little boy called 911 from his disconnected cellphone — when deputy showed up on his doorstep, he gave the sheriff a big hug
People are only supposed to dial 911 when they are in some serious crisis or the middle of an emergency. But there have been cases in the past when people ended up dialing the cops for some of the most unusual reasons. However, when a little boy from Florida dialed 911, he didn't seek any help from the cops, per CBS News. Instead of calling the cops for any emergency, the boy named Gianni had a warm surprise for the cops on duty. When Deputy Scott Pracht from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office responded to the 911 call, little did he know that the young boy just wanted a hug.
A bodycam footage from Pracht and the doorbell camera at the boy's house captured the whole encounter and the footage was shared by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on Facebook. The footage showed Pracht talking to Gianni's mom on their front porch. "We had a 911 call," Pracht said in the video. "We can talk to my son," the boy's mother replied. "To be honest, he doesn't even know what 911 is." When Pracht inquired if Gianni had any disconnected cell phone with him, his mom confirmed that he indeed had one. Since phones that are not connected to service providers could connect to cops, Gianni was able to ring up 911.
Looking a bit surprised, Gianni's mom called him to come out of the house and asked him why he called the cop. "Well, I wanted to give him a hug," Gianni replied after showing up outside with his phone in hand. "You called him to give him a hug?" his mom asked with disbelief plastered on her face. She went through the young boy's phone log and revealed that he had indeed made a call that afternoon. Gianni didn't care much about anything except rushing to give the smiling cop a warm embrace. "I know what your phone number is. It's 911," the boy told the deputy.
Pracht seized the opportunity to educate Gianni about the importance of calling 911 and how it's only for the times when someone is in trouble. "It's very important," Pracht told the boy. "You need to be careful when you call that number, okay? Only in emergencies. If you're hurt or someone else is hurt and if your mom needs help. You know, when someone is doing something they're not supposed to do. Give us a call, okay?" Gianni apologized to the deputy as he told the little boy to not worry about it. The comment section of the Facebook video was flooded with people appreciating Pracht for educating the young boy and gushing over Gianni for his innocent intentions behind the call.
Zoran Krekic wrote, "Very cute and real moment! The kindness and compassion of HCSO deputies and staff don’t go unnoticed in our community! Love HCSO! Thank you for your service!" Jo Ann Chewning Tomes commented, "Thank you sir for being patient with this child and explaining things. A very kind thing to do. Mom, take him by the police station for a visit or by the fire station. It would mean so much to him." Cynthia Freeman added, "Such a sweet moment by all. Thank you to the police officer for the kind explanation to him. I am sure the hug was very appreciated by the boy and the officer."